Determining the effects of ocean perturbations on marine phytoplankton assemblages

• Main Author: Foreman, Alan Dean
• Other Authors: Samuel Bowring., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2009
• Subjects: Earth; Atmospheric; and Planetary Sciences; Pacific; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/114369

Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 2009. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 34-35). The ocean provides a dynamic, constantly changing environment for marine phytoplankton. Understanding the effects of these changes on phytoplankton assemblages is fundamental when trying to anticipate future responses of primary producer's community to long-term environmental changes. In this study, artificial perturbation experiments were successfully performed on natural assemblages of phytoplankton to simulate conditions consistent with ocean acidification and North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG) upwelling patterns. These experiments demonstrated the feasibility and value of such perturbations in studying phytoplankton responses to environmental forcing. by Alan D. Foreman. S.B.