Responses of phyto- and zooplankton communities to Prymnesium polylepis (Prymnesiales) bloom in the Baltic Sea

PLoS One. 2014 Nov 13;9(11):e112985. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112985. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

A large bloom of Prymnesium polylepis occurred in the Baltic Sea during the winter 2007-spring 2008. Based on numerous reports of strong allelopathic effects on phytoplankton exerted by P. polylepis and its toxicity to grazers, we hypothesized that during this period negative correlations will be observed between P. polylepis and (1) main phytoplankton groups contributing to the spring bloom (i.e., diatoms and dinoflagellates), and (2) zooplankton growth and abundance. To test these hypotheses, we analyzed inter-annual variability in phytoplankton and zooplankton dynamics as well as growth indices (RNA:DNA ratio) in dominant zooplankton in relation to the Prymnesium abundance and biomass. Contrary to the hypothesized relationships, no measurable negative responses to P. polylepis were observed for either the total phytoplankton stocks or the zooplankton community. The only negative response, possibly associated with P. polylepis occurrence, was significantly lower abundance of dinoflagellates both during and after the bloom in 2008. Moreover, contrary to the expected negative effects, there were significantly higher total phytoplankton abundance as well as significantly higher winter abundance and winter-spring RNA:DNA ratio in dominant zooplankton species in 2008, indicating that P. polylepis bloom coincided with favourable feeding conditions for zooplankton. Thus, primary consumers, and consequently also zooplanktivores (e.g., larval fish and mysids), may benefit from haptophyte blooms, particularly in winter, when phytoplankton is scarce.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Ecosystem*
  • Eutrophication / physiology*
  • Haptophyta / physiology*
  • Phytoplankton / physiology*
  • Zooplankton / physiology*

Grants and funding

Financial support was received from The Swedish EPA's National Marine Monitoring Program (UL, EG), SYVAB's marine monitoring program in Himmerfjärden (UL), and Stockholm University's strategic marine environmental research program Baltic Ecosystem Adaptive Management (EG). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.