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Phytoplankton community and primary production in the Caribbean waters: the biological oceanography component of the LAPE Project

Scientific Basis for Ecosystem-Based Management in the Lesser Antilles Including Interactions with Marine Mammals and Other Top Predators (LAPE)

Year of publication 2008

Pages 88

Author Marie-Hélène Forget (Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth);Fishery and Aquaculture Economics and Policy Division

Product type Project

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) An experimental cruise took place in April and May 2006 to assess the marine ecosystem in the Caribbean waters. The phytoplankton portion of the study was devoted mainly to the description of the community structure and the quantification of primary production from satellite imagery. The community structure was assessed by pigment analyses (High Performance Liquid Chromatography, HPLC) and by phytoplankton absorption. The computation for primary production required measurements of bi omass profiles and photosynthesis-irradiance experiments. Monthly composites of chlorophyll-a concentration were produced using data from the MODIS satellite sensor for the annual cycle of 2006. Monthly images of primary production were computed from remote-sensing of ocean colour over an annual cycle for the year 2006. Based on the chlorophyll concentration, three classes were determined: coastal and open ocean north and south. The production to biomass (in carbon) P/C ratio was c alculated from measurements of production and phytoplankton biomass. To transform the chlorophyll a concentration into carbon units, a relationship was establish between the measurements of particulate organic matter (POC) and chlorophyll-a concentration, the slope being the C:B ratio. Three relationships were established according to the three water classes. The P/C values so obtained for the 21 stations where photosynthetic parameters were available averaged at 43.5 yr-1. When the averaged P/C values for each class were weighted by the area of each class, the P/C decreased slightly to 42.1 yr.

Cite this content as:

Scientific Basis for Ecosystem-Based Management in the Lesser Antilles Including Interactions with Marine Mammals and Other Top Predators: Phytoplankton Community and Primary Production in the Caribbean Waters: the Biological Oceanography Component of the LAPE Project, by Marie-Hélène Forget, PhD, FAO, Barbados, 2008. ix + 88 pp., 8 Tables and 20 Figures, FI:GCP/RLA/140/JPN. Technical Document No. 5

Language English

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