Microplankton Patchiness in the Northwest Altantic Ocean

• Published in: The Journal of Protozoology
• Main Author: FORNSHELL, JOHN A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1979
• Subjects: Newfoundland; Northwest Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1550-7408.1979.tb02778.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1550-7408.1979.tb02778.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1550-7408.1979.tb02778.x

SYNOPSIS Plankton samples were collected in the Northwest Atlantic on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland in August 1976 and on Flemish Cap in March 1977. The samples were taken using a Hardy Continuous Plankton Recorder towed at a depth of 9.1 m. On the Grand Banks the following species were found: Ceratium arcticum (Ehrenberg), C. longipes (Ehrenberg), C. lineatum (Ehrenberg), C. macroceros (Ehrenberg), C. fusus (Ehrenberg). C. tripos (Müller) and Ceratium spp. Other microplankton found in the samples included Radiolaria, Globigerina humilis (Brady), and the tintinnid ciliates Tintinnopsis cylindrica (Daday) and Tintinnopsis spp. In the samples from Flemish Cap only a single species of diatom was found in small numbers. The paucity of individuals in these samples is most probably related to the season of the survey, winter. The population density of C. arcticum had a patchiness with a length scale on the order of 10 4 m. The plankton tow on the Grand Banks was parallel to the north‐south axis of the Labrador Current. This patchiness scale on the order of 10 4 m may reflect a meandering of the Labrador Current.