Epipelagic planktonic bioluminescence in the marginal ice zone of the Greenland Sea

Abstract

Epipelagic planktonic bioluminescence in the marginal ice zone of the Fram Strait was investigated during April and May 1989. Vertical profiles of bioluminescence potential were measured using a HIDEX (High Input Defined EXcitation) design bathyphotometer. Mesozooplankton samples were collected with oblique tows using a 153 μm mesh net. The amount of bioluminescence produced by mechanical stimulation of individual organisms was measured using an integrating sphere and photon-counting system. These measures of bioluminescence potential along with estimated abundances of bioluminescent organisms allow an independent estimated of integrated epipelagic bioluminescence potential. The zooplankton community structure was relatively simple in this region and the number of bioluminescent species correspondingly small. The majority of epipelagic bioluminescence was produced by copepods (Metridia spp.), larvaceans (Oikopleura spp.), euphausiids (Thysanoeassa spp.) and ostracods (Conchoecia spp.), although the relative contribution of these organisms to the overall bioluminescence potential varied considerably with time and location over the 2 mo period. Bioluminescent dinoflagellates were rare and did not contribute significantly to epipelagic bioluminescence. Integrated bioluminescence potential in the water column was significantly correlated with zooplankton biomass, but not with any other measured environmental parameter. No enhancement of chlorophyll, zooplankton biomass or bioluminescence was observed in the marginal ice zone compared to the adjacent open waters of the Fram Strait during this spring cruise.