Adaptation and niche breadth of phytoplankton species along a nutrient gradient in the ocean

• Published in: Journal of Plankton Research
• Main Author: Hulburt, Edward M.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press 1985
• Subjects: Articles; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://plankt.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/7/4/581; https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/7.4.581

In the phytoplankton of the western North Atlantic, species are considered adapted to impoverished nutrient availability if they respond best to such conditions, and are considered unadapted only if they do not respond. The same holds for improved nutrient availability. Further, if species adapted to impoverished nutrient availability are broader niched, then narrower niched species are adapted only to improved nutrient availability. Thus two kinds of species are described: (i) adapted-to-impoverished-nutrient, broader niched species; (ii) adapted-to-improved-nutrient, narrower niched species.