Abstract
Abstract. This study reports on diversity and distribution of planktonic foraminifera (PF) in the Barents Sea Opening (BSO). Populations of PF living in late summer (collected by means of stratified plankton tows) and recently deposited individuals (sampled by interface corer) were compared. High abundances reaching up to 400 ind.m-3 in tow samples and 8000 ind.m-3 in surface sediments were recorded in the centre of the studied area while low abundances were observed in coastal areas, likely due to continental influences. The living and core-top assemblages are mainly composed of the same four species Neogloboquadrina pachyderma, Neogloboquadrina incompta, Turborotalita quinqueloba and Globigerinita uvula. The two species G. uvula and T. quinqueloba dominate the upper water column, whereas surface sediment assemblages display particularly high concentrations of N. pachyderma. The unusual dominance of G. uvula in the water sample assemblages compared to its low proportion in surface sediments might be the signature of (1) a seasonal signal due to summer phytoplankton composition changes at the BSO, linked to the increase in summer temperature at the study site, and/or (2) a signal of a larger timescale and wider geographical reach phenomenon reflecting poleward temperate/subpolar species migration and consecutive foraminiferal assemblage diversification at high latitudes due to global change. Protein concentrations were measured on single specimens and used as a proxy of individual carbon biomass. Specimens of all species show the same trend, a northward decrease in their size-normalized-protein concentration. This suggests that foraminiferal biomass is potentially controlled by different constituents of their organelles (e.g. lipids). The coupling of data from plankton tows, protein measurements and surface sediments allows us to hypothesize that PF dynamics (seasonality and distribution) are decoupled from their metabolism.
Highlights
Polar areas are sensitive to global temperature changes, in the Arctic where warming occurs faster than in the rest of the world and has accelerated over the past 50 years (Shepherd, 2016)
This study reports on diversity and distribution of planktonic foraminifera (PF) in the Barents Sea Opening (BSO)
Taking the opportunity of a cruise dedicated to the exploration of the physical oceanography of the western Barents Sea (MOCOSED 2014 cruise), we investigated the connections between the spatial variability of living PF, phytoplankton communities (Giraudeau et al, 2016) and the hydrological system through a south-to-north transect, between northern Norway and Spitsbergen [68–76]◦ N
Summary
Polar areas are sensitive to global temperature changes, in the Arctic where warming occurs faster than in the rest of the world and has accelerated over the past 50 years (Shepherd, 2016). Some taxa of calcifying groups (i.e. foraminifera, coccolithophores, molluscs and echinoderms; Beaugrand et al, 2013) exhibit a poleward movement in agreement with expected biogeographical changes under sea temperature warming Both satellite images (Smyth et al, 2004; Burenkov et al, 2011) and in situ measurements (Dylmer et al, 2013; Giraudeau et al, 2016; AMAP, 2018) have shown rapid expansion of temperate species of coccolithophores in the Arctic. The shift of PF assemblages to warmer conditions, since the pre-industrial stage, has been very recently highlighted more globally in the Northern Hemisphere (Jonkers et al, 2019) These major modifications in PF distribution patterns display changes more related to primary production than to water temperature itself More studies on living PF communities in the Arctic regions are needed to assess the spatial and temporal variability in their population dynamics and to better constrain today’s polar and subpolar species ecological preferences
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