Data from: Shifts in growth light optima among diatom species support their succession during the spring bloom in the Arctic ...

• Main Authors: Croteau, Dany, Lacour, Thomas, Schiffrine, Nicolas, Morin, Philippe-Israël, Forget, Marie-Hélène, Bruyant, Flavienne, Ferland, Joannie, Lafond, Augustin, Campbell, Douglas, Tremblay, Jean-Éric, Babin, Marcel, Lavaud, Johann
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2022
• Subjects: FOS Biological sciences; growth rate; 14C-uptake photosynthesis response curves; photosynthesis rates; seasonal succession; Arctic Ocean; photoacclimation; Diatoms; Arctic; Baffin Bay; Baffin; Phytoplankton; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.sn02v6x65; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.sn02v6x65

Diatoms of the Arctic Ocean annually experience extreme changes of light environment linked to photoperiodic cycles and seasonal variations of the snow and sea-ice cover extent and thickness which attenuate light penetration in the water column. Arctic diatom communities exploit this complex seasonal dynamic through a well-documented species succession during spring, beginning in sea-ice and culminating in massive phytoplankton blooms underneath sea-ice and in the marginal ice zone. The pattern of diatom taxa sequentially dominating this succession is relatively well conserved interannually, and taxonomic shifts seem to align with habitat transitions. To understand whether differential photoadaptation strategies among diatom taxa explain these recurring succession sequences, we coupled lab experiments with field work in Baffin Bay at 67.5°N. Based on field data, we selected five diatom species typical of different ecological niches and measured their growth rates under light intensity ranges representative ...