Growth and abundance of Synechococcus sp. in a Mediterranean Bay:seasonality and relationship with temperature

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 170:45-53 (1998) - doi:10.3354/meps170045 Growth and abundance of Synechococcus sp. in a Mediterranean Bay: seasonality and relationship with temperature Nona S. R. Agawin*, Carlos M. Duarte, Susana Agustí Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes, CSIC, Camino de Santa Bàrbara s/n, E-17300 Blanes (Girona), Spain *E-mail: agawin@ceab.csic.es ABSTRACT: In this study, we confirm the relationship between temperature and Synechococcus sp. experimental growth rates (r = 0.87, p < 0.005) and provide evidence of the existence of a general relationship. This link leads to a strong seasonality of abundance and biomass of Synechococcus sp. in the Bay of Blanes (NW Mediterranean), which was followed for 2 yr (1995, 1996), with high values in summer months (6 x 107 cells l-1) and low values in winter (5 x 105 cells l-1). The growth rate achieved in summer months (1.5 d-1) is close to or at the maximum possible at the in situ water temperature. As a result, Synechococcus growth may exceed the grazing capacity of its predators in summer, and this explains its significant contribution of >30% of the total gross autotrophic production and >20% of the total autotrophic biomass in summer. Thus, Synechococcus is an important source of organic C and nutrients for the coastal Mediterranean food web in the summer. KEY WORDS: Synechococcus sp. · NW Mediterranean Sea · Growth and abundance · Temperature Full text in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 170. Publication date: September 03, 1998 Print ISSN:0171-8630; Online ISSN:1616-1599 Copyright © 1998 Inter-Research.