Chlorophyll a of size-fractionated summer phytoplankton blooms at a coastal station in Malaga Bay, Alboran Sea
Rodriguez, V.; Guerrero, F.J.
Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 39(4): 413-419
1994
ISSN/ISBN: 0272-7714 Accession: 008310557
The chlorophyll a content of four different size fractions ( lt 2, 2-20, 20-45, 45-100 mu-m) of phytoplankton at a coastal station of Malaga Bay (South Spain) were studied throughout the summer and autumn of 1989. Pigment concentrations in the surface of sediments were also measured. Episodes of increased chlorophyll a concentration revealed the transitory existence of several blooms. The large increases in biomass consisted mostly of nanoplankton (2-20 mu-m) and this generally represents some 50% of the chlorophyll a. Forty percent of the chlorophyll was distributed equally between the two particle-size classes lt 2 mu-m and 20-45 mu-m. Only 10% was found in the 45-100 mu-m particle-size class. When the plankton blooms were particularly intense, the rapid sedimentation of a large amount of cells is clearly indicated by the transitory increases of the chlorophyll a in the sea-bottom sediments.