Sponsor
The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article. Funding was provided through a PSU Faculty Development Grant to AWT, NSF-OCE 1851412 to AWT, and Simons Foundation award LS-ECIAMEE-00001481 to AWT. The research cruises described in this work were funded by NSF OCE-2125407 (to Robert Cowen and Su Sponaugle) and OCE-2125408 (Kelly Sutherland).
Published In
Frontiers in Marine Science
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-27-2025
Subjects
Oceanographic research, Oceanography -- California -- United States
Abstract
The Northern California Current (NCC) system is a productive coastal ecosystem with a mosaic of temporal and spatial features. The phytoplankton community plays a crucial role in supporting the rich ecosystem and economically important fisheries of the NCC. Our study integrates data across two years (2022-2023) and multiple transects to investigate the community composition of two major phytoplankton groups in the NCC: picocyanobacteria and photosynthetic picoeukaryotes (PPE). The abundances and cell sizes of the phytoplankton were measured using flow cytometry. We found PPE present at similar concentrations in both summer and winter, while picocyanobacteria were much more abundant in the summer than the winter. The relationship between the picocyanobacteria and PPE varied across on- to off-shore transects with different coastal bathymetry. Abundances of both picophytoplankton increased with distance from shore. Cell size also varied along these gradients. Sampling during a marine heatwave in summer 2023 revealed a shift towards smaller picophytoplankton. Overall, these data reveal a dynamic microbial community underlying a productive coastal system, which could inform management decisions and future ecosystem models in the context of climate change and marine heat waves.
Rights
Copyright (c) 2025 The Authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Locate the Document
DOI
10.3389/fmars.2025.1575767
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/43981
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Citation Details
Forgrave, K. E., Sweeney, C. P., Steinman, M., Kerkar, A. U., Pettit, T. M., & Thompson, A. W. (2025). Impact of oceanographic gradients and marine heatwaves on the picophytoplankton community in the Northern California Current System. Frontiers in Marine Science, 12.