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Response of phytoplankton functional types to Hurricane Fabian (2003) in the Sargasso Sea

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Abstract
Understanding how tropical cyclones affect phytoplankton communities is important for studies on ecological variability. Most studies assessing the post-storm phytoplankton response rely on satellite observations of chlorophyll a concentration, which inform on the ocean surface conditions and the whole phytoplankton community. In this work, we assess the potential of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology marine ecosystem model to account for the response of individual phytoplankton functional types (PFTs, coccolithophores, diatoms, diazotrophs, mixotrophic dinoflagellates, picoeukaryotes, Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus) in the euphotic zone to the passage of Hurricane Fabian (2003) across the tropical and subtropical Sargasso Sea. Fabian induced a significant mean concentration increase (t-test, p < 0.05) of all PFTs in the tropical waters (except for Prochlorococcus), which was driven by the mean nutrient concentration increase and by a limited zooplankton grazing pressure. More specifically, the post-storm nutrient enrichment increased the contribution of fast-growing PFTs (e.g. diatoms and coccolithophores) to the total phytoplankton concentration and decreased the contribution of slow-growing dominant groups (e.g. picoeukaryotes, Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus), which lead to a significant increase (t-test, p < 0.05) of the Shannon diversity index values. Overall, the model captured the causal relationship between nutrient and PFT concentration increases in the tropical waters, although it only reproduced the most pronounced PFT responses such as those in the deep euphotic zone. In contrast, the model did not capture the oceanic perturbations induced by Fabian as observed in satellite imagery in the subtropical waters, probably due to its limited performance in this complex oceanographic area.
Keywords
Pollution, Aquatic Science, General Medicine, Oceanography, Remote sensing, Phytoplankton community, Modelling, Major hurricane, Diversity

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Citation

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MLA
Avila Alonso, Dailé, et al. “Response of Phytoplankton Functional Types to Hurricane Fabian (2003) in the Sargasso Sea.” MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH, vol. 190, 2023, doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.106079.
APA
Avila Alonso, D., Baetens, J., Cardenas, R., & de Baets, B. (2023). Response of phytoplankton functional types to Hurricane Fabian (2003) in the Sargasso Sea. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH, 190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.106079
Chicago author-date
Avila Alonso, Dailé, Jan Baetens, Rolando Cardenas, and Bernard de Baets. 2023. “Response of Phytoplankton Functional Types to Hurricane Fabian (2003) in the Sargasso Sea.” MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.106079.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Avila Alonso, Dailé, Jan Baetens, Rolando Cardenas, and Bernard de Baets. 2023. “Response of Phytoplankton Functional Types to Hurricane Fabian (2003) in the Sargasso Sea.” MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 190. doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.106079.
Vancouver
1.
Avila Alonso D, Baetens J, Cardenas R, de Baets B. Response of phytoplankton functional types to Hurricane Fabian (2003) in the Sargasso Sea. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH. 2023;190.
IEEE
[1]
D. Avila Alonso, J. Baetens, R. Cardenas, and B. de Baets, “Response of phytoplankton functional types to Hurricane Fabian (2003) in the Sargasso Sea,” MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH, vol. 190, 2023.
@article{01H6NK131JXZ183DQ0KF6KJVKE,
  abstract     = {{Understanding how tropical cyclones affect phytoplankton communities is important for studies on ecological variability. Most studies assessing the post-storm phytoplankton response rely on satellite observations of chlorophyll a concentration, which inform on the ocean surface conditions and the whole phytoplankton community. In this work, we assess the potential of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology marine ecosystem model to account for the response of individual phytoplankton functional types (PFTs, coccolithophores, diatoms, diazotrophs, mixotrophic dinoflagellates, picoeukaryotes, Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus) in the euphotic zone to the passage of Hurricane Fabian (2003) across the tropical and subtropical Sargasso Sea. Fabian induced a significant mean concentration increase (t-test, p < 0.05) of all PFTs in the tropical waters (except for Prochlorococcus), which was driven by the mean nutrient concentration increase and by a limited zooplankton grazing pressure. More specifically, the post-storm nutrient enrichment increased the contribution of fast-growing PFTs (e.g. diatoms and coccolithophores) to the total phytoplankton concentration and decreased the contribution of slow-growing dominant groups (e.g. picoeukaryotes, Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus), which lead to a significant increase (t-test, p < 0.05) of the Shannon diversity index values. Overall, the model captured the causal relationship between nutrient and PFT concentration increases in the tropical waters, although it only reproduced the most pronounced PFT responses such as those in the deep euphotic zone. In contrast, the model did not capture the oceanic perturbations induced by Fabian as observed in satellite imagery in the subtropical waters, probably due to its limited performance in this complex oceanographic area.}},
  articleno    = {{106079}},
  author       = {{Avila Alonso, Dailé and Baetens, Jan and Cardenas, Rolando and de Baets, Bernard,}},
  issn         = {{0141-1136}},
  journal      = {{MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH}},
  keywords     = {{Pollution,Aquatic Science,General Medicine,Oceanography,Remote sensing,Phytoplankton community,Modelling,Major hurricane,Diversity}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{19}},
  title        = {{Response of phytoplankton functional types to Hurricane Fabian (2003) in the Sargasso Sea}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.106079}},
  volume       = {{190}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}

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