Biomass of Bacterioplankton and Protists and Their Ecological Importance in the Bering Sea

Abstract

The abundance, biomass and distribution of phytoplankton, bacterioplankton and heterotrophic protists in the Bering Sea were investigated from July to August 1999. Chlorophyll a concentrations in the surface waters ranged from 0.16 to <TEX>$3.79{\mu}g\;l^{-1}$</TEX> Nano-phytoplankton were found to constitute from 63 to 98% of the total phytoplankton biomass, and were clearly the dominant primary producers. The biomass of bacterioplankton in the surface layers varied from 1.46 to <TEX>$20.2{\mu}g\;C\;l^{-1}$</TEX> and accounted for 30% of the total phytoplankton biomass. The biomass of bacterioplankton integrated over a depth of 0 to 100m averaged 65.4% of the total phytoplankton biomass. The surface biomass of heterotrophic protists ranged from 1.2 to <TEX>$27.4{\mu}g\;C\;l^{-1}$</TEX>, and was within the same order of magnitude as that of bacterioplankton. Of the total biomass of heterotrophic protists in the upper 100m of the water column, 65% was attributed to protists in the nano-size class. The results of this study suggest that bacteria and nano-protists are important components of the planktonic community in the Bering Sea during the summer season. The abundance of bacterioplankton and planktonic protists decreased from the western to northeastern and eastern regions of the Bering Sea. The abundance of these organisms also decreased with depth. The available evidence suggests that variation in the abundance and distribution of these organisms may be affected by water currents and vertical temperature variation in the Bering Sea.