Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
5-8-2024 9:00 AM
End Date
5-8-2024 11:00 AM
Subjects
Phytoplankton, Marine microbial ecology
Advisor
Anne Thompson
Student Level
Masters
Abstract
The Northern California Current system is a productive coastal ecosystem that encompasses a variety of temporal and spatial features. The photosynthetic microbial community plays a crucial role in supporting the rich ecosystem and economically important fisheries. My research integrates data across distance and two years to investigate the community composition of two major phytoplankton groups in this system: picocyanobacteria and picoeukaryotes. The abundances and sizes of the phytoplankton were measured using flow cytometry. Picoeukaryotes were found to be present at similar concentrations in both summer and winter. Abundances of both cell types were comparable in the winter, but picocyanobacteria were much more abundant in the summer. The relationship between the two types varied by transects with different coastal bathymetry, and abundances of both types of cells increased with distance from shore. Cell size also varied with season. More small cells were present during a marine heat wave summer (2023) than the typical summer (2022). Because the primary producers are the foundation of the rest of the ecosystem, understanding the phytoplankton community that underlies this important ecological system will help inform future ecosystem models in the context of climate change.
Creative Commons License or Rights Statement
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Included in
Phytoplankton Community Dynamics in the Northern California Current System
The Northern California Current system is a productive coastal ecosystem that encompasses a variety of temporal and spatial features. The photosynthetic microbial community plays a crucial role in supporting the rich ecosystem and economically important fisheries. My research integrates data across distance and two years to investigate the community composition of two major phytoplankton groups in this system: picocyanobacteria and picoeukaryotes. The abundances and sizes of the phytoplankton were measured using flow cytometry. Picoeukaryotes were found to be present at similar concentrations in both summer and winter. Abundances of both cell types were comparable in the winter, but picocyanobacteria were much more abundant in the summer. The relationship between the two types varied by transects with different coastal bathymetry, and abundances of both types of cells increased with distance from shore. Cell size also varied with season. More small cells were present during a marine heat wave summer (2023) than the typical summer (2022). Because the primary producers are the foundation of the rest of the ecosystem, understanding the phytoplankton community that underlies this important ecological system will help inform future ecosystem models in the context of climate change.