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Sammanfattning

The Arctic icescape currently undergoes major transformations along with anthropogenic perturbations and climate change. These changes are affecting phytoplankton community composition and primary productivity in a possibly synergistic manner. With less ice, the phytoplankton communities will experience elevated light conditions, and there is a need to understand how low-light adapted phytoplankton species react to changes in light composition including ultraviolet B radiation (UVBR 280-320 nm) exposure. We therefore look back two decades (May 2002) in order to expand the limited but necessary baseline for comparative field observations of primary productivity and phytoplankton pigment composition, comparing under ice to open water conditions, and UVBR exposure to shielded conditions. Along the East Greenland Current cruise transects we observed a large patchiness in primary productivity, with indications of under-ice blooms with chlorophyll a values up to 9.9 mu g l(-1), nitrate concentration < 0.1 mu M, and primary productivity of 11.7 mu g C l(-1) h(-1). Surprisingly, we only observed a minor effect of UVBR treatment on primary productivity, and we did not observe a difference in mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) in the plankton community samples at surface (2 m) and deeper (approx. 20 m) water depths. Due to its early onset of climate related effects, studies in the Arctic region may signal future changes of ecosystems at lower latitudes. This comprehensive dataset on primary productivity, UV-absorbing compounds (MAAs), and pigment composition could offer a valuable baseline for assessing ecological change. It can inform climate impact modelling, support long-term ecosystem monitoring, and hopefully guide future management strategies in this vulnerable marine environment.

Nyckelord

Primary productivity; Climate change; Arctic; Photosynthetic pigments; UV-absorbing compounds; Sea ice retreat

Publicerad i

Journal of Sea Research
2025, volym: 207, artikelnummer: 102608

SLU författare

UKÄ forskningsämne

Klimatvetenskap
Oceanografi, hydrologi, vattenresurser

Publikationens identifierare

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seares.2025.102608

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/143335