Distribution of viable diatom resting stage cells in bottom sediments of the eastern Bering Sea shelf

Abstract

Information on diatom resting stages is fundamentally important to understanding the population dynamics of diatoms including bloom formation. The distribution of viable diatom resting stage cells in bottom sediments of the eastern Bering Sea in July 2009 was investigated by the most probable number (MPN) method. The abundances of diatom resting stage cells ranged from 1.7×103 to 1.2×106MPNcellscm−3 wet sediment, comparable to those in shallow eutrophic areas where diatom blooms frequently occur. Common species during the spring phytoplankton bloom in the eastern Bering Sea were also dominant in sediments as resting stage cells. It should be noted that relatively high numbers of ice algae species, especially ribbon-shaped chain forming pennate diatoms, were found in the sediments. The life cycle strategy using resting stage cells allows planktonic and ice algal species to survive unfavorable environmental conditions such as the dark winter season, and potentially contribute to form blooms of several types (subsurface of ice, ice edge, plankton) through vertical mixing.