Unusual <i>Hemiaulus</i> bloom influences ocean productivity in Northeastern US Shelf waters

Castillo Cieza, S. Alejandra; Stanley, Rachel H. R.; Marrec, Pierre; Fontaine, Diana N.; Crockford, E. Taylor; McGillicuddy Jr., Dennis J.; Mehta, Arshia; Menden-Deuer, Susanne; Peacock, Emily E.; Rynearson, Tatiana A.; Sandwith, Zoe O.; Zhang, Weifeng; Sosik, Heidi M.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1235-2024

Articles | Volume 21, issue 5

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1235-2024

© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1235-2024

© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 21, issue 5

Research article

|

13 Mar 2024

Research article |

| 13 Mar 2024

Unusual Hemiaulus bloom influences ocean productivity in Northeastern US Shelf waters

S. Alejandra Castillo Cieza, Rachel H. R. Stanley, Pierre Marrec, Diana N. Fontaine, E. Taylor Crockford, Dennis J. McGillicuddy Jr., Arshia Mehta, Susanne Menden-Deuer, Emily E. Peacock, Tatiana A. Rynearson, Zoe O. Sandwith, Weifeng Zhang, and Heidi M. Sosik

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1235-2024-supplement

Data sets

Oxygen-argon dissolved gas ratios using Equilibrator Inlet Mass Spectrometry (EIMS) and triple oxygen isotopes (TOI) from NES-LTER Transect cruises, ongoing since 2018 R. H. Stanley et al. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/97962a0efac0bf05c8ef3e9c7f199def

Net community production (NCP) and gross oxygen production (GOP), based on oxygen-argon ratios and triple oxygen isotopes, from seasonal NES-LTER Transect cruises in 2018 R. H. Stanley et al. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/9a87e2405270d4cb6e11af8c2197364d

Net community production (NCP) and gross oxygen production (GOP), based on oxygen-argon ratios and triple oxygen isotopes, from seasonal NES-LTER Transect cruises in 2019 R. H. Stanley et al. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/4245ab405991d4a8a66ca472371c5a57

Net community production (NCP) and gross oxygen production (GOP), based on oxygen-argon ratios and triple oxygen isotopes, from seasonal NES-LTER Transect cruises in 2020 R. H. Stanley et al. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/bfb44609041df03c58472e7e2b36b8ed

Net community production (NCP) and gross oxygen production (GOP), based on oxygen-argon ratios and triple oxygen isotopes, from seasonal NES-LTER Transect cruises in 2021 R. H. Stanley et al. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/3a05fe6ce9a039f48c75770c989b4fbb

Net community production (NCP) and gross oxygen production (GOP), based on oxygen-argon ratios and triple oxygen isotopes, from seasonal NES-LTER Transect cruises in 2022 R. H. Stanley et al. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/12d7cb2b1651ff2a2de8bcbbadbc4a28

Phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing rates from NES-LTER transect cruises, ongoing since 2018 S. Menden-Deuer and P. Marrec https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/b3366e0d4206a401b415953ed3e60389

Size-fractionated chlorophyll from water column bottle samples collected during NES-LTER Transect cruises, ongoing since 2017 H. M. Sosik et al. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/a8170b4f30fec183592ea7868d7bc1d4

Abundance and biomass of Hemiaulus on the Northeast U.S. Shelf from 2013 to 2023 determined by Imaging FlowCytobot H. M. Sosik et al. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/295ae0c4539022751a6e37a65b2b0e85

Size-fractionated net primary productivity (NPP) estimates based on 13C uptake during cruises along the Northeast U.S. Shelf Long Term Ecological Research (NES-LTER) Transect, D. N. Fontaine and T. A. Rynearson https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/95dde1f0c5bb3da0cac9bc47be2526b0

Crockford. IFCB Dashboard NES-LTER Transect H. M. Sosik et al. https://ifcb-data.whoi.edu/timeline?dataset=NESLTER_transect

Crockford. IFCB Dashboard NES-LTER Broadscale H. M. Sosik et al. https://ifcb-data.whoi.edu/timeline?dataset=NESLTER_broadscale

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Short summary

The coastal ocean in the northeastern USA provides many services, including fisheries and habitats for threatened species. In summer 2019, a bloom occurred of a large unusual phytoplankton, the diatom Hemiaulus, with nitrogen-fixing symbionts. This led to vast changes in productivity and grazing rates in the ecosystem. This work shows that the emergence of one species can have profound effects on ecosystem function. Such changes may become more prevalent as the ocean warms due to climate change.