Phytoplankton community structure in the Arabian Sea during and after the SW monsoon, 1994

Diatoms, dinoflagellates, coccolithophores, nanoflagellates, picophytoplankton and procaryote algae (Synechococcus spp. and prochlorophytes) were quantified by microscopy and flow cytometry, and their biomass determined, at 12 stations along a 1600 km transect across the Arabian Sea at the end of the SW monsoon in September, and during the inter-monsoon period of November/December 1994. The transect spanned contrasting oceanic conditions that varied from seasonally eutrophic, upwelling waters through mesotrophic, downwelling waters to permanently oligotrophic, stratified waters. The overall diversity of diatoms, dinoflagellates and coccolithophores along the transect was not significantly different between the SW monsoon and inter-monsoon. However, diatoms showed greatest diversity during the SW monsoon and coccolithophores were most diverse during the inter-monsoon. Integrated phytoplankton standing stocks during the SW monsoon ranged from 3 to 9 g C m-2 in the upwelling eutrophic waters, from 3 to 5 g C m-2 in downwelling waters, and from 1 to 2 g C m-2 in oligotrophic waters. Similar phytoplankton standing stocks were found in oligotrophic waters during the inter-monsoon, but were ca. 40% lower compared to the SW monsoon in the more physically dynamic waters. Phytoplankton abundance and biomass was dominated by procaryote taxa. Synechococcus spp. were abundant (often >108 cells l-1) during both the SW monsoon and inter-monsoon, where the nitrate concentration was ⩾0.1 μ mol l-1, and often dominated the phytoplankton standing stocks. Prochlorophytes were restricted to oligotrophic stratified waters during the SW monsoon period but were found at all stations along the transect during the inter-monsoon, dominating the phytoplankton standing stocks (>40%) in the oligotrophic region during this period. Of the nano- and micro-phytoplankton, only diatoms contributed significantly to phytoplankton standing stocks, and then only in near-shore upwelling waters during the SW monsoon. There were significant changes in the temporal composition of the phytoplankton community. In nearshore waters a mixed community of diatoms and Synechococcus spp. dominated during the SW monsoon. This gave way to a community dominated by Synechococcus spp. in the intermonsoon. In the downwelling zone, a Synechococcus spp. dominated community was replaced by a mixed procaryote community of Synechococcus spp. and prochlorophytes. In the oligotrophic stratified waters, the mix of procaryote algae was replaced by one dominated by prochlorophytes alone.