Temporal changes in the microplankton community due to Kuroshio branch current inflow

Abstract

Inflow from the Kuroshio Current into coastal areas stimulates biological production. However, to date there are no detailed reports on its temporal changes. In the target area of this study, Kagoshima Bay, Japan, the time of inflow of the Kuroshio branch current can be identified a posteriori based on water temperature data. This study aimed to determine the relationship between the Kuroshio branch current inflow from the surface layer and phytoplankton bloom at the mouth of the bay during the mixing season. Therefore, we compiled data from ship observations in the Kagoshima Bay from 2016 to 2019 to examine changes in water quality (temperature, salinity, and nutrients), microphytoplankton, and microzooplankton versus time since current inflow. In this study, significant relationships were obtained for microplankton in terms of both biomass and cell abundance, and specific growth rates (0.060 to 0.079 d–1) comparable to that of chlorophyll a. In addition, the current inflow provided nutrients to the surface in the absence of strong wind and waves. Over time, phytoplankton, mostly athecate dinoflagellates, as well as microzooplankton, mainly naked ciliates, proliferated and were quickly preyed upon by mesozooplankton. Over the study period, such events could be observed once every two weeks in most years, suggesting that these frequent phytoplankton blooms support the high biomass of mesozooplankton and larval fish found in this area.