Community structure and spatial distribution of phytoplankton in relation to hydrography in the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea (autumn 2008)

Abstract

The Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea are remote areas of the Arctic region where detailed data on phytoplankton composition and spatial distribution remain limited. In the context of the ongoing environmental changes (increasing warming and ice melting) and prospective exploration activities (oil and gas production) on the Arctic shelves, understanding of the seasonal and interannual phytoplankton community dynamics is of critical importance. Our study provides new specifying data on species composition of phytoplankton over the vast area of the Laptev Sea shelf and the East Siberian Sea shelf. We found that the outer shelf of the Laptev and East Siberian seas was characterized by typical late spring diatom species (Chaetoceros furcellatus, Chaetoceros diadema, Chaetoceros debilis, Chaetoceros constrictus). On the inner shelf of the Laptev Sea, which is strongly affected by the Lena River water masses, the phytoplankton were characterized by the transition from the summer to an autumn stage of development. Local algal assemblages were composed by mixo- and heterotrophic dinoflagellates (Dinophysis and Protoperidinium genera) together with marine and brackish water-marine diatoms (Thalassiosira hyperborea, Thalassiosira baltica, Thalassiosira gravida, Thalassiosira nordenskioeldii) accompanied by sporadically occurring freshwater riverine planktonic diatom species (Aulacoseira granulata, Aulacoseira italica, Asterionella formosa). These variations in species composition over the Laptev Sea shelf were attributed to differences in the hydrography, marine chemical conditions, and the sea-ice regime.