Long-term changes in temperate Australian coastal waters: implications for phytoplankton

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 394:1-19 (2009) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08297 FEATURE ARTICLE Long-term changes in temperate Australian coastal waters: implications for phytoplankton P. A. Thompson1,*, M. E. Baird2, T. Ingleton3, M. A. Doblin4 1CSIRO Division of Marine and Atmospheric Research, GPO Box 1538, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia 2School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia 3Department of Environment and Climate Change, PO Box A290, Sydney South, New South Wales 1232, Australia 4Plant Functional Biology and Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology, Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway, New South Wales 2007, Australia *Email: peter.a.thompson@csiro.au ABSTRACT: A ~60 yr physical and chemical data set from 4 coastal stations around Australia plus remotely sensed SeaWiFS and phytoplankton taxonomic data were used to evaluate the temporal and spatial variation in phytoplankton ecology. The most consistent trend observed at all stations was a long-term increase in surface salinity of ~0.003 ± 0.0008 psu yr–1. All stations showed positive trends in temperature, with the fastest surface warming (0.0202°C yr–1 over 60 yr) in the western Tasman Sea. Long-term trends in warming and stratification were more evident in some months and were not well characterized by annual averages. There was no general pattern of increasing stratification (0 to 50 m); only some stations and a few months showed significant changes. Long-term trends in surface nitrate and phosphate concentrations were either not significant (3 instances) or positive (5 instances) and were up to 6.1 nM phosphate yr–1. A pronounced decline in silicate was evident at the 3 east coast stations, with concentrations falling by as much as 58 nM yr–1 over the last ~30 yr. The western Tasman Sea experienced a ~50% decline in the growth rate and biomass of the spring bloom from 1997 to 2007, while other sites showed significant temporal variability in chlorophyll a that was associated with the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). Diatoms tended to dominate the microplankton, especially during periods of low stratification. In conclusion, the physical, chemical and biological properties of Australian temperate waters have changed considerably over the last 60 yr in response to variation in the SOI and the strengthening East Australian Current. KEY WORDS: Salinity · Temperature · Chlorophyll a · Nutrients · Climate change · Stratification Full text in pdf format Information about this Feature Article NextCite this article as: Thompson PA, Baird ME, Ingleton T, Doblin MA (2009) Long-term changes in temperate Australian coastal waters: implications for phytoplankton. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 394:1-19. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08297 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 394. Online publication date: November 18, 2009 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2009 Inter-Research.