scholarly journals Century-scale changes in phytoplankton phenology in the Gulf of Maine

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas R. Record ◽  
William M. Balch ◽  
Karen Stamieszkin

The phenology of major seasonal events is an important indicator of climate. We analyzed multiple datasets of in situ chlorophyll measurements from the Gulf of Maine dating back to the early 20th century in order to detect climate-scale changes in phenology. The seasonal cycle was consistently characterized by a two-bloom pattern, with spring and autumn blooms. The timing of both spring and autumn blooms has shifted later in the year at rates ranging from ∼1 to 9 days per decade since 1960, depending on the phenology metric, and trends only emerged at time scales of >40 years. Bloom phenology had only weak correlations with major climate indices. There were stronger associations between bloom timing and physical and chemical variables. Autumn bloom initiation correlated strongly with surface temperature and salinity, and spring bloom with nutrients. A later spring bloom also correlated with an increased cohort ofCalanus finmarchicus, suggesting broader ecosystem implications of phytoplankton phenology.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas R Record ◽  
William M Balch ◽  
Karen Stamieszkin

The phenology of major seasonal events is an important indicator of climate. We analyzed multiple datasets of in situ chlorophyll measurements from the Gulf of Maine dating back to the early 20th century in order to detect climate-scale changes in phenology. The seasonal cycle was consistently characterized by a two-bloom pattern, with spring and autumn blooms. The timing of both spring and autumn blooms has shifted later in the year at rates ranging from ~1 to 9 days per decade since 1960, depending on the phenology metric, and trends only emerged at time scales of >40 years. Bloom phenology had only weak correlations with major climate indices. There were stronger associations between bloom timing and physical and chemical variables. Autumn bloom initiation correlated strongly with surface temperature and salinity, and spring bloom with nutrients. A later spring bloom also correlated with an increased cohort of Calanus finmarchicus, suggesting broader ecosystem implications of phytoplankton phenology.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas R Record ◽  
William M Balch ◽  
Karen Stamieszkin

The phenology of major seasonal events is an important indicator of climate. We analyzed multiple datasets of in situ chlorophyll measurements from the Gulf of Maine dating back to the early 20th century in order to detect climate-scale changes in phenology. The seasonal cycle was consistently characterized by a two-bloom pattern, with spring and autumn blooms. The timing of both spring and autumn blooms has shifted later in the year at rates ranging from ~1 to 9 days per decade since 1960, depending on the phenology metric, and trends only emerged at time scales of >40 years. Bloom phenology had only weak correlations with major climate indices. There were stronger associations between bloom timing and physical and chemical variables. Autumn bloom initiation correlated strongly with surface temperature and salinity, and spring bloom with nutrients. A later spring bloom also correlated with an increased cohort of Calanus finmarchicus, suggesting broader ecosystem implications of phytoplankton phenology.


2010 ◽  
Vol 70 (3 suppl) ◽  
pp. 879-887 ◽  
Author(s):  
RM Santos ◽  
NF. Negreiros ◽  
LC. Silva ◽  
O. Rocha ◽  
MJ. Santos-Wisniewski

Secondary production of zooplankton, the main energy pathway in many aquatic ecosystems, is crucial to an Understanding of functioning of these systems function. In this study, we analyzed the magnitude and seasonal variations of the population density, biomass and secondary production of Cladocera in the Furnas Reservoir (Brazil). Samples were carried out monthly at 6 points in the reservoir, from August 2006 to July 2007. Main physical and chemical variables in the water column were measured in situ. Data on density, biomass and development times were obtained and used to calculate the secondary production of eight Cladocera species. The total production of Cladocera varied from 0.02 to 28.6 mgDWm-3.day-1, among the sampling sites. The highest values were recorded in spring and summer months (September to January), and were correlated to the increase in the biomass of the phytoplankton. The mean production:biomass ratio was 0.32. The level of production in Furnas Reservoir fell within the range of those reported in the literature and was of the same order of magnitude of the production values recorded for oligotrophic reservoirs. Cladocera production differed spatially inside the Sapucaí compartment and also in the temporal scale, seasonally.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 339-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Pershing ◽  
Karen Stamieszkin

Compared with terrestrial ecosystems, marine ecosystems have a higher proportion of heterotrophic biomass. Building from this observation, we define the North Atlantic biome as the region where the large, lipid-rich copepod Calanus finmarchicus is the dominant mesozooplankton species. This species is superbly adapted to take advantage of the intense pulse of productivity associated with the North Atlantic spring bloom. Most of the characteristic North Atlantic species, including cod, herring, and right whales, rely on C. finmarchicus either directly or indirectly. The notion of a biome rests inherently on an assumption of stability, yet conditions in the North Atlantic are anything but stable. Humans have reduced the abundance of many fish and whales (though some recovery is underway). Humans are also introducing physical and chemical trends associated with global climate change. Thus, the future of the North Atlantic depends on the biome's newest species, Homo sapiens.


Author(s):  
R. J. Conover ◽  
E. D. S. Corner

Rates of respiration and nitrogen excretion have been measured for freshly caught Calanus finmarchicus (Gunnerus), Calanus hyperboreus (Krayer), Metridia longa (Lubbock) and Pareuchaeta norvegica (Boeck), from the Gulf of Maine at all seasons. The dry weight, total (Kjeldahl) nitrogen, and fat were also determined for the same animals. Seasonal variation in weight-corrected respiration and nitrogen excretion followed a similar pattern for all four species, being high in the spring and decreasing gradually through summer and fall to a winter minimum. However, the relative proportions of oxygen utilized to nitrogen excreted were different from season to season for each species. In Calanus spp., O: N ratios by atoms were highest in May, immediately after the spring bloom of phytoplankton, when the animals were rich in fat. With C. hyperboreus the ratio then declined gradually through summer and fall to a low point just before the spring bloom (March and April) when populations contained the least amount of fat; but with C. finmarchicus the ratio fell much more rapidly, remaining near 17 through summer and fall and increasing again with the production of the overwintering generation. In Metridia and Pareuchaeta the O:N ratios did not show as much seasonal variation, although there was a pronounced increase for Metridia just after the spring bloom. Both species usually had higher respiration and excretion rates and lower O:N ratios compared with Calanus spp.


2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (9) ◽  
pp. 1686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romina Álvarez-Troncoso ◽  
Cesar João Benetti ◽  
Amadou Babacar Sarr ◽  
Josefina Garrido

We analysed the microhabitat preferences of caddisfly species in four rivers in north-western Spain. In each river, we sampled five sites with different types of substrate. These sites were characterised in situ according to the predominant material type (macrophytes, moss, pebbles and sand). A one-way ANOVA was used to test for significant differences in species abundance among substrates, and a nested ANOVA was used to test for significant differences in physical and chemical variables among rivers and sampling sites. A similarity percentage-species contribution analysis was performed to estimate the contribution of each species to the characterisation of each substrate. We observed significant differences in the abundance of seven species (Drusus bolivari, Glossosoma privatum, Larcasia partita, Micrasema longulum, M. servatum, M. gr. moestum and Sericostoma sp.) among substrates, confirming that these species have substrate preferences. According to similarity percentage-species contribution, the species that contributed most to differences were as follows: for sand, Sericostoma sp.; for macrophytes, Rhyacophila adjuncta, Hydropsyche ambigua, Sericostoma sp.; for moss, Micrasema gr. moestum, M. servatum, M. longulum, Hydropsyche tibialis and R. adjuncta; and for pebbles, Sericostoma sp., Larcasia partita and H. tibialis. These preferences can be explained by the fact that different species use different materials from the substrate to build their cases and also as a source of stability, protection and food.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D. Risser ◽  
Michael F. Wehner ◽  
John P. O’Brien ◽  
Christina M. Patricola ◽  
Travis A. O’Brien ◽  
...  

AbstractWhile various studies explore the relationship between individual sources of climate variability and extreme precipitation, there is a need for improved understanding of how these physical phenomena simultaneously influence precipitation in the observational record across the contiguous United States. In this work, we introduce a single framework for characterizing the historical signal (anthropogenic forcing) and noise (natural variability) in seasonal mean and extreme precipitation. An important aspect of our analysis is that we simultaneously isolate the individual effects of seven modes of variability while explicitly controlling for joint inter-mode relationships. Our method utilizes a spatial statistical component that uses in situ measurements to resolve relationships to their native scales; furthermore, we use a data-driven procedure to robustly determine statistical significance. In Part I of this work we focus on natural climate variability: detection is mostly limited to DJF and SON for the modes of variability considered, with the El Niño/Southern Oscillation, the Pacific–North American pattern, and the North Atlantic Oscillation exhibiting the largest influence. Across all climate indices considered, the signals are larger and can be detected more clearly for seasonal total versus extreme precipitation. We are able to detect at least some significant relationships in all seasons in spite of extremely large (> 95%) background variability in both mean and extreme precipitation. Furthermore, we specifically quantify how the spatial aspect of our analysis reduces uncertainty and increases detection of statistical significance while also discovering results that quantify the complex interconnected relationships between climate drivers and seasonal precipitation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (7) ◽  
pp. 191
Author(s):  
Yanshuai Wang ◽  
Siyao Guo ◽  
Biqin Dong ◽  
Feng Xing

The functionalization of graphene has been reported widely, showing special physical and chemical properties. However, due to the lack of surface functional groups, the poor dispersibility of graphene in solvents strongly limits its engineering applications. This paper develops a novel green “in-situ titania intercalation” method to prepare a highly dispersed graphene, which is enabled by the generation of the titania precursor between the layer of graphene at room temperature to yield titania-graphene nanocomposites (TiO2-RGO). The precursor of titania will produce amounts of nano titania between the graphene interlayers, which can effectively resist the interfacial van der Waals force of the interlamination in graphene for improved dispersion state. Such highly dispersed TiO2-RGO nanocomposites were used to modify epoxy resin. Surprisingly, significant enhancement of the mechanical performance of epoxy resin was observed when incorporating the titania-graphene nanocomposites, especially the improvements in tensile strength and elongation at break, with 75.54% and 176.61% increases at optimal usage compared to the pure epoxy, respectively. The approach presented herein is easy and economical for industry production, which can be potentially applied to the research of high mechanical property graphene/epoxy composite system.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 811
Author(s):  
Hao Liu ◽  
Zexun Wei

The variability in sea surface salinity (SSS) on different time scales plays an important role in associated oceanic or climate processes. In this study, we compare the SSS on sub-annual, annual, and interannual time scales among ten datasets, including in situ-based and satellite-based SSS products over 2011–2018. Furthermore, the dominant mode on different time scales is compared using the empirical orthogonal function (EOF). Our results show that the largest spread of ten products occurs on the sub-annual time scale. High correlation coefficients (0.6~0.95) are found in the global mean annual and interannual SSSs between individual products and the ensemble mean. Furthermore, this study shows good agreement among the ten datasets in representing the dominant mode of SSS on the annual and interannual time scales. This analysis provides information on the consistency and discrepancy of datasets to guide future use, such as improvements to ocean data assimilation and the quality of satellite-based data.


2003 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo Henrique C. Marques ◽  
Haydée Torres de Oliveira ◽  
Eunice da Costa Machado

The Piraquara river basin (Upper Iguaçu River basin - Brazil) was studied as an ecological system throughout a complete seasonal cycle, comprising the rainy and dry season. Analyzes of 16 physical and chemical water variables (dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, temperature, pH, conductivity, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, ortophosphates, nitrite, nitrate, ammonium, reagent silicate, total suspended solids, chlorophyll - a, flow velocity and depth) showed correlations between water composition and watershed physiographic features, and the Principal Component Analysis allowed to evidence spatial gradients and seasonal differences. The sampling points were clustered in patches with homogeneous behavior, according to ecologycal concepts: patch 1, with strong influence of Serra do Mar mountains; patch 2, medium course, under Piraquara Dam influence and patch 3, under wetlands influence. Two main factors of serial discontinuity were identified: the Piraquara dam effect and the influence of wetlands. The watershed zoning based on limnological characteristics seeks to subsidize research and biomonitoring for this public springs area.


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