Abstract
During May 1989, the composition of the phytoplankton con~munity and the distribution of photosynthetic pigments was studied at a series of stations across the Catalan front (Northwestern Mediterranean). The water column presented a stratified structure, with a well-marked pigment maximum between 40 and 60 m depth. This maximum, which included chlorophylls a, band c and several carotenoids, resulted from increased biomass of different phytoplankton taxa, as measured by epifluorescence and inverted microscope techniques, and from higher cellular content of most of the measured pigments (including chlorophylls and fucoxanthin derivatives). An exception was zeaxanthin, which showed a maximum at depth, but appeared to accumulate in Synechococcus spp. cells of the upper euphotic zone A patch of high phaeophorbide concentration near the front was associated to elevated mesozooplankton abundance. Changes in pigment/cell ratios throughout the deep pigment maximum layer suggest that this is a zone of significant gradients in parameters affecting phytoplankton growth.
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