When a Year Is Not Enough: Further Study of the Seasonality of Planktonic Protist Communities Structure in an Ice-Free High Arctic Fjord (Adventfjorden, West Spitsbergen)

Abstract

As a contribution to understanding the ecological framework of protistan seasonal succession patterns, we present the weekly-to-monthly (January–October) light microscopy-based study of nano- and microplanktonic protist communities of Adventfjorden waters in 2013. In general, protist dynamics corresponded to the classic paradigm for the Arctic ice-free waters with extremely low abundance and diversity in winter, with the main abundance and chlorophyll-a peak in April-May, followed by a diverse but low abundant community during summer/autumn. However, the reference of the obtained data to the previously conducted year-round research in 2012 allows us to observe substantial variability in seasonal patterns between the two consecutive years. The most striking difference concerned the spring bloom composition and abundance, with clear domination of Phaeocystis pouchetii in Atlantified fjord waters in 2012 and Bacillariophyceae-dominated (mainly Fragilariopsis, Thalassiosira nordenskioeldii, and, in a lesser extent, also Pseudo-nitzschia seriata) bloom in 2013 when local water prevailed. On the other hand, a surprisingly high share of spring bloom taxa persisted throughout the summer/autumn of 2013 when they co-occurred with typical summer taxa (dinoflagellates and other small flagellates). Their extended growth could, at least in part, result from scarce Ciliophora throughout the season, which, in turn, can be attributed to the high grazing pressure of very numerous meroplankton and mesozooplankton. In light of this, our results may be relevant in discussions proposed for the West Spitsbergen waters link between the Atlantic water inflow and the spring bloom composition, as well as its further progression in the productive season. They also highlight the strong need for further high-resolution monitoring of annual plankton cycles and great caution when looking for phenological patterns within a single year or when interpreting short-term data.