Microbial communities from the sea ice and adjacent water column at the time of ice melting in the northwestern part of the Weddell Sea

• Main Authors: Mathot, Sylvie, Becquevort, Sylvie, Lancelot, Christiane
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 1991
• Subjects: Océanographie biologique; Ecologie; microbial; communities; sea; ice; melting; adjacent; water; Weddell; southern; ocean; antarctic; diatoms; bacteria; protozoans; Antarctic; Southern Ocean; Weddell Sea; Antarc*; Polar Research; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/57049; https://dipot.ulb.ac.be/dspace/bitstream/2013/57049/1/1991-PR-10-267-275.pdf

Microbial composition-including microalgae, bacteria and protozoans- and potential metabolic activity of its autotrophic compartment were measured in December 1988 in several micro-environments that characterise the North-West Sector of the marginal area of the Weddell Sea; infiltration and band assemblages of ice floes and adjacent waters were investigated. At the time of ice melting, a shift from a diatom dominated population (ice) to a flagellate dominated population (water column) was observed. Nevertheless, this shift was not due to an "inability" of the ice-diatoms to grow in the water colum. Macro-grazing and/or sedimentation are suggested as possible causes of the disappearance of diatoms during ice melting. The remaining small autotrophic forms released by the ice would constitute a significant seeding stock for the growth of ice-edge blooms. SCOPUS: NotDefined.j info:eu-repo/semantics/published