Long-term studies in phytoplankton from the Pechakovskaya salma strait in the Onega bay of the White Sea (on the results from observations in 2001-2016)

Purpose of the study: to trace the qualitative and quantitative, seasonal and annual changes in phytoplankton in the strait Pechakovskaya Salma of the Onega Bay of the White Sea (the Solovetsky Islands) for the period 2001–2016.

Methods used: according to 16 years of research, a comparative floristic analysis of the plankton community is presented. Based on this analysis, biological indices were calculated and statistical analysis was carried out.

Up-to-dateness: long-term multifaceted studies of phytoplankton have never been conducted in this area before.

The result: the presented paper summarizes the results of long-term seasonal studies of phytoplankton in the Proliv Pechakovskaya Salma for the period 2001–2016. The temperature of the surface layer in this area varied significantly by seasons and years. Salinity was consistently high throughout the study period. 363 microalgae taxa belonging to eight divisions were found in the Proliv Pechakovskaya Salma. Based on the abundance of all detected microalgae species, indices were calculated: to assess the structure and smoothing of the community — the Shannon index, to determine the species richness — the Menhinick index, to assess the general similarity degree of phytocenoses — the Koch biotic dispersion index (IBD). The long-term mean of the abundance, biomass and concentration of chlorophyll-a amounted to 17.34 million cells / m³, 240.72 mg / m³ and 0.60 mg / m³, respectively. The average annual indicator of primary production for the entire research period was 22.13 mg C / m³·day with a minimum of 8.25 mg C / m³·day in 2003 and a maximum of 48.93 mg C / m ³ day in 2012. The phytoplankton community of the Pechakovskaya Salma showed the highest production activity during the hydrological summer and autumn, although for the White Sea, the production maxima of phytoplankton are typical for hydrological spring.

Practical significance: in the investigated area, anthropogenic influence on phytoplankton vital activity indicators was not revealed in 2001–2016, which makes it possible to use the obtained characteristics of planktonic algocenoses as background for comparison with other areas of the sea in the area of the Solovetsky Islands.

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