Gross and net production during the spring bloom along the Western Antarctic Peninsula

• Published in: New Phytologist
• Main Authors: Goldman, Johanna A. L., Kranz, Sven A., Young, Jodi N., Tortell, Philippe D., Stanley, Rachel H. R., Bender, Michael L., Morel, Francois M. M.
• Other Authors: US National Science Foundation, Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2014
• Subjects: Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Palmer Station; Palmer-Station; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nph.13125; http://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fnph.13125; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fnph.13125; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/nph.13125; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/nph.13125; https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/nph.13125

Summary This study explores some of the physiological mechanisms responsible for high productivity near the shelf in the W estern A ntarctic P eninsula despite a short growing season and cold temperature. We measured gross and net primary production at Palmer Station during the summer of 2012/2013 via three different techniques: incubation with H 2 18 O incubation with 14 CO 2 and in situ measurements of O 2 / A r and triple oxygen isotope. Additional laboratory experiments were performed with the psychrophilic diatom F ragilariopsis cylindrus . During the spring bloom, which accounted for more than half of the seasonal gross production at P almer S tation, the ratio of net‐to‐gross production reached a maximum greater than c . 60%, among the highest ever reported. The use of multiple techniques showed that these high ratios resulted from low heterotrophic respiration and very low daylight autotrophic respiration. Laboratory experiments revealed a similar ratio of net‐to‐gross O 2 production in F . cylindrus and provided the first experimental evidence for an important level of cyclic electron flow ( CEF ) in this organism. The low ratio of community respiration to gross primary production observed during the bloom at Palmer Station may be characteristic of high latitude coastal ecosystems and partially supported by a very active CEF in psychrophilic phytoplankton.