Typology of environmental conditions at the onset of winter phytoplankton blooms in a shallow macrotidal coastal ecosystem, Arcachon Bay (France)

Type Article
Date 2007-11
Language English
Author(s) Gle C1, Del Amo Y1, Bec B1, Sautour B1, Froidefond J2, Gohin Francis3, Maurer Daniele4, Plus MartinORCID4, Laborde P2, Chardy P1
Affiliation(s) 1 : Univ Bordeaux 1, CNRS, Stn Marine, ECOBIOC,UMR EPOC 5805, F-33120 Arcachon, France.
2 : Univ Bordeaux 1, CNRS, ECOBIOC, UMR EPOC 5805, F-33405 Talence, France.
3 : IFREMER, Ctr Brest, F-29280 Plouzane, France.
4 : IFREMER, F-33120 Arcachon, France.
Source Journal of plankton research (0142-7873) (Oxford university press), 2007-11 , Vol. 29 , N. 11 , P. 999-1014
DOI 10.1093/plankt/fbm074
WOS© Times Cited 15
Keyword(s) macrotidal ecosystem, phytoplankton inoculum, onset, winter blooms
Abstract Phytoplankton dynamics were assessed in the macrotidal ecosystem of Arcachon Bay through high-frequency surveys over a 5-year period in order to characterize typology of environmental conditions at the onset of the productive period. Temporal variations of hydrological and biological parameters were examined in external and internal waters of the lagoon, during the winter-spring periods from 1999 to 2003. An additional survey was performed during winter-spring 2005 in order to study the vertical structure of the water column. The occurrence of winter phytoplankton blooms between January and March emerged as a recurrent event. The early onset of the productive period is influenced by the biological functioning of adjacent Bay of Biscay oceanic waters. It is hypothesized that under a propitious hydrodynamic regime, phytoplankton inocula from the Bay of Biscay enter in the Arcachon Bay where cells presumably find favourable conditions for their fast development. The timing of the onset of those winter blooms in Arcachon Bay seems to be mainly influenced by the presence of anticyclonic weather conditions (associated with an increase in incident irradiance) during late winter (i.e. by February), while the water column does not show any particular stabilization nor stratification liable to facilitate the onset of these blooms. Moreover, these winter blooms dominated by diatoms led to an early nutrient depletion which could have inevitable consequences on the structuration of the food web during spring and summer.
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Gle C, Del Amo Y, Bec B, Sautour B, Froidefond J, Gohin Francis, Maurer Daniele, Plus Martin, Laborde P, Chardy P (2007). Typology of environmental conditions at the onset of winter phytoplankton blooms in a shallow macrotidal coastal ecosystem, Arcachon Bay (France). Journal of plankton research, 29(11), 999-1014. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbm074 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/3513/