Mineralised phytoplankton community composition in the Scotia and Weddell seas (Southern Ocean), with emphasis on diatoms and coccolithophores Amy Harington.

Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references. Phytoplankton community composition in the Southern Ocean (SO) determines levels of primary production, which support marine ecosystems and export of material to the deep sea. Nanoplankton (cell diameters 2-20 μm) are poorly resolved by traditi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Harington, Amy
Other Authors: Lucas, Mike, Poulton, Alex
Format: Master Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Cape Town 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6267
https://open.uct.ac.za/bitstream/11427/6267/1/thesis_sci_2012_harington_a.pdf
Description
Summary:Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references. Phytoplankton community composition in the Southern Ocean (SO) determines levels of primary production, which support marine ecosystems and export of material to the deep sea. Nanoplankton (cell diameters 2-20 μm) are poorly resolved by traditional microscopy, and it is becoming apparent that unknown diversity and ecosystem functionality may be contained in this size class: for example, small diatoms (< 10 μm) appear widespread in the SO, and may limit our understanding of the response of phytoplankton communities to climate change.