Characteristics, distribution and persistence of thin layers over a 48 hour period

The biological and physical processes contributing to planktonic thin layer dynamics were examined in a multidisciplinary study conducted in East Sound, Washington, USA between June 10 and June 25, 1998. The temporal and spatial scales characteristic of thin layers were determined using a nested sampling strategy utilizing 4 major types of platforms: (1) an array of 3 moored acoustical instrument packages and 2 moored optical instrument packages that recorded distributions and inten- sities of thin layers; (2) additional stationary instrumentation deployed outside the array comprised of meteorological stations, wave-tide gauges, and thermistor chains; (3) a research vessel anchored 150 m outside the western edge of the array; (4) 2 mobile vessels performing basin-wide surveys to define the spatial extent of thin layers and the physical hydrography of the Sound. We observed numerous occur- rences of thin layers that contained locally enhanced concentrations of material; many of the layers per- sisted for intervals of several hours to a few days. More than one persistent thin layer may be present at any one time, and these spatially distinct thin layers often contain distinct plankton assemblages. The results suggest that the species or populations comprising each distinct thin layer have responded to different sets of biological and/or physical processes. The existence and persistence of planktonic thin layers generates extensive biological heterogeneity in the water column and may be important in maintaining species diversity and overall community structure.

[1]  J. Turner,et al.  Buoyancy Effects in Fluids , 1973 .

[2]  Dale A. Kiefer,et al.  Chlorophyll α specific absorption and fluorescence excitation spectra for light-limited phytoplankton , 1988 .

[3]  L. V. M. Traykovski,et al.  Effects of orientation on acoustic scattering from Antarctic krill at 120 kHz , 1998 .

[4]  John Brindley,et al.  Plankton patchiness and its effect on larger-scale productivity , 2003 .

[5]  T. Cowles,et al.  Resolution of Biological Microstructure Through In Situ Fluorescence Emission Spectra: An Oceanographic Application Using Optical Fibers , 1993 .

[6]  D. Lapota,et al.  Correlations of planktonic bioluminescence with other oceanographic parameters from a Norwegian fjord , 1989 .

[7]  D. Holliday,et al.  Acoustical Sensing of Small-Scale Vertical Structures in Zooplankton Assemblages , 1998 .

[8]  R. Lasker.  FIELD CRITERIA FOR SURVIVAL OF ANCHOVY LARVAE: THE RELATION BETWEEN INSHORE CHLOROPHYLL MAXIMUM LAYERS AND SUCCESSFUL FIRST FEEDINGI , 2004 .

[9]  D. Caron,et al.  Sampling, preservation, enumeration and biomass of marine protozooplankton , 2000 .

[10]  A. Barnard,et al.  Global relationships of the inherent optical properties of the oceans , 1998 .

[11]  J. R. Romero,et al.  Boundary mixing and nutrient fluxes in Mono Lake, California , 1999 .

[12]  Mary-Elena Carr,et al.  SMALL-SCALE PLANKTONIC STRUCTURE: PERSISTENCE AND TROPHIC CONSEQUENCES , 1998 .

[13]  E. Buskey,et al.  Biolumiscence of heterotrophic dinoflagellates from Texas coastal waters , 1992 .

[14]  A. Bricaud,et al.  Spectral absorption coefficients of living phytoplankton and nonalgal biogenous matter: A comparison between the Peru upwelling areaand the Sargasso Sea , 1990 .

[15]  D. Holliday,et al.  Acoustic measurements of zooplankton distributions in the sea , 1984 .

[16]  Peter H. Wiebe,et al.  PLANKTON PATCHINESS: EFFECTS ON REPEATED NET TOWS1 , 1968 .

[17]  G. C. Anderson.  SUBSURFACE CHLOROPHYLL MAXIMUM IN THE NORTHEAST PACIFIC OCEAN1 , 1969 .

[18]  Mark D. Ohman,et al.  The Demographic Benefits of Diel Vertical Migration by Zooplankton , 1990 .

[19]  D. Bracher,et al.  Bioluminescence in the Monterey Submarine Canyon: image analysis of video recordings from a midwater submersible , 1989 .

[20]  Paul W. Johnson,et al.  Ultrastructure and Ecology of Perispira ovum (Ciliophora: Litostomatea): An Aerobic, Planktonic Ciliate that Sequesters the Chloroplasts, Mitochondria, and Paramylon of Euglena proxima in a Micro‐oxic Habitat , 1995 .

[21]  Joel H. Ferziger,et al.  Turbulence in stratified shear flows: implications for interpreting shear-induced mixing in the ocean , 1993 .

[22]  David C. Smith,et al.  Intense hydrolytic enzyme activity on marine aggregates and implications for rapid particle dissolution , 1992, Nature.

[23]  R. Hodson,et al.  Leucine incorporation and its potential as a measure of protein synthesis by bacteria in natural aquatic systems , 1985, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[24]  J. Imberger,et al.  On the nature of turbulence in a stratified fluid , 1991 .

[25]  P. Leblond,et al.  Estuary/Ocean exchange controlled by spring-neap tidal mixing , 1990 .

[26]  P. Wiebe,et al.  Patterns and Processes in the Time-Space Scales of Plankton Distributions , 1978 .

[27]  D. Holliday,et al.  A shallow scattering layer: High‐resolution acoustic analysis of nocturnal vertical migration from the seabed , 2003 .

[28]  Percy L. Donaghay,et al.  Micro- to Fine-Scale Chemical Gradients and Layers in Stratified Coastal Waters , 1998 .

[29]  Michael S. Twardowski,et al.  Microscale Quantification of the Absorption by Dissolved and Particulate Material in Coastal Waters with an ac-9 , 1999 .

[30]  P. Leblond,et al.  Velocity and temperature fluctuations in a buoyancy‐driven current off Vancouver Island , 1991 .

[31]  S. Neuer,et al.  In situ characterization of phytoplankton from vertical profiles of fluorescence emission spectra , 1993 .

[32]  James M. Sullivan,et al.  Occurrence and mechanisms of formation of a dramatic thin layer of marine snow in a shallow Pacific fjord , 2002 .

[33]  Timothy R. Parsons,et al.  A manual of chemical and biological methods for seawater analysis , 1984 .

[34]  R. Benner,et al.  Planktonic grazers are a potentially important source of marine dissolved organic carbon , 1997 .

[35]  W. Lampert.  Release of dissolved organic carbon by grazing zooplankton , 1978 .

[36]  S. MacIntyre,et al.  Nutrient fluxes from upwelling and enhanced turbulence at the top of the pycnocline in Mono Lake, California , 2001, Hydrobiologia.

[37]  T. Nielsen,et al.  Decimeter scale heterogeneity in the plankton during a pycnocline bloom of Gyrodinium aureolum , 1991 .

[38]  G. E. Hutchinson,et al.  The Balance of Nature and Human Impact: The paradox of the plankton , 2013 .

[39]  D. Mackas,et al.  Spectral Analysis of Zooplankton Spatial Heterogeneity , 1979, Science.

[40]  E. Buskey,et al.  Feeding, growth and bioluminescence of the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Protoperidinium huberi , 1994 .

[41]  J. Imberger,et al.  Mixing and turbulent fluxes in the metalimnion of a stratified lake , 2001 .

[42]  Michael M. Mullin,et al.  Webs and scales: Physical and ecological processes in marine fish recruitment , 1993, Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries.

[43]  M. Youngbluth,et al.  Bioluminescence of sound-scattering layers in the Gulf of Maine , 1992 .

[44]  J. Imberger,et al.  Anatomy of turbulence in a narrow and strongly stratified estuary , 2002 .

[45]  Patrick Gentien,et al.  In-situ depth profiling of particle sizes , 1995 .

[46]  Michael S. Twardowski,et al.  Temporal and spatial occurrence of thin phytoplankton layers in relation to physical processes , 2001 .

[47]  Richard E. Thomson,et al.  Oceanography of the British Columbia Coast , 1981 .

[48]  M. Latz,et al.  Growth and grazing rates of the heterotrophic dinoflagellates Protoperidinium spp , 1994 .

[49]  David C. Smith,et al.  A simple, economical method for measuring bacterial protein synthesis rates in seawater using 3H-leucine , 1992 .

[50]  M. Ohman,et al.  Reverse Diel Vertical Migration: An Escape from Invertebrate Predators , 1983, Science.

[51]  E. Itsweire,et al.  Horizontal Distribution and Characteristics of Shear Layers in the Seasonal Thermocline , 1989 .

[52]  Michael S. Twardowski,et al.  Thin layers and camouflage: hidden Pseudo-nitzschia spp. (Bacillariophyceae) populations in a fjord in the San Juan Islands, Washington, USA , 2002 .

[53]  Amir Etemad-Shahidi,et al.  Anatomy of turbulence in thermally stratified lakes , 2001 .

[54]  S. MacIntyre,et al.  Accumulation of marines now at density discontinuities in the water column , 1995 .

[55]  S. Johnsen,et al.  Thin layers of bioluminescent copepods found at density discontinuities in the water column , 1999 .

[56]  M. Menzinger,et al.  Patchiness and enhancement of productivity in plankton ecosystems due to the differential advection of predator and prey , 1997 .

[57]  Motoaki Kishino,et al.  Estimation of the spectral absorption coefficients of phytoplankton in the sea , 1985 .

[58]  Jörg Imberger,et al.  On the Nature of Turbulence in a Stratified Fluid. Part I: The Energetics of Mixing , 1991 .

[59]  F. Azam,et al.  Protein content and protein synthesis rates of planktonic marine bacteria , 1989 .

[60]  E. Buskey,et al.  PHOTOINHIBITION OF MECHANICALLY STIMULABLE BIOLUMINESCENCE IN THE HETEROTROPHIC DINOFLAGELLATE PROTOPERIDINIUM DEPRESSUM (PYRROPHYTA) 1 , 1996 .