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The influences of physico-chemical and biological variables on the concentrations of di- methyl sulphide (DMS) and its precursor β-dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) were investigated through an annual cycle in the temperate shelf seas of the western English Channel. Total DMSP to chlorophyll a ratios (DMSPt/chl a) varied seasonally by 40-fold, and DMS and DMSP concentrations became temporally uncoupled, with elevated relative DMS concentrations during spring and mid- summer. Taxonomic succession of high DMSP-producing phytoplankton, including Phaeocystis pouchetii, Scrippsiella trochoidea and Prorocentrum minimum, is apparent in the seasonal pattern of DMSPt concentrations. Peridinin and DMSPt concentrations showed similar seasonal trends (p < 0.0001), illustrating the substantial contribution by dinoflagellate taxa to DMSP production. Summer- time stratification of the water column coincided with increased mixed layer doses of photosyntheti- cally active radiation (PAR), increased surface ultraviolet-B (UVB) irradiance relative to PAR and a de- crease in nitrate and phosphate availability. PAR dose explained 68% of the variability in DMSP/chl a during the seasonal study; whilst nitrate concentrations were inversely related to DMSP/chl a and explained 64% of the variability in log-transformed DMSP/chl a. PAR dose explained only 25% of the variation in DMS concentration, whilst nitrate concentration was inversely related to DMS and explained 49% of the variation in log-transformed DMS concentration. The highly significant relation- ship between DMSP/chl a and PAR dose was similar to those observed for the chlorophyll-specific accumulation of the photoprotective xanthophyll compounds diadinoxanthin and diatoxanthin and the chlorophyll-specific concentrations of UV-absorbing mycosporine-like amino acids. These results lend further, indirect evidence for a photoprotective role of DMSP, possibly associated with physiological stress caused by high PAR and UV radiation and intensified by nutrient limitation.

The rates of plankton community production and respiration were determined from in vitro changes in dissolved inorganic carbon and dissolved oxygen and the incorporation of (NaHCO3)-C-14 at a coastal site in East Antarctica between 16 December 1993 and 12 February 1994. The breakout of seasonal fast ice was associated with a succession of dominant phytoplankton from Cryptomonas to Phaeocystis to a diatom assemblage. Gross production reached 33 mmol C m(-3) d(-1) and C-14 incorporation peaked at 24 mmol C m(-3) d(-1) on 23 January 1994, at the time of the chlorophyll a maximum (22 mg chi a m(-3)). Dark community respiration reached its maximum (13 mmol C m(-3) d(-1)) 4 d later. Photosynthetic rates calculated from C-14 incorporation were significantly lower (17 to 59%) than rates of gross production. The derivation of plankton processes from changes in both dissolved oxygen and dissolved inorganic carbon allowed the direct measurement of photosynthetic and respiratory quotients. A linear regression of all data gave a photosynthetic quotient of 1.33 +/- 0.23 and a respiratory quotient of 0.88 +/- 0.14. Concurrent determinations of bacterial, heterotrophic dinoflagellate, nanoflagellate and ciliate respiration could account for 15 to 58% of measured dark-community respiration. This study has improved the sparse data set of plankton respiration measurements, confirmed that heterotrophic respiration is a significant process in the carbon flux of coastal Antarctic waters and achieved a first apportionment of community respiration to the major microbial groups in this region

Heterotrophic dinoflagellates and their herbivory were quantified at a coastal site in East Antarctica in the vicinity of the Australian Antarctic station of Davis (68° 35' S, 77° 58' E). The study period, 14 January to 11 February 1994, coincided with the growth and decline of a diatom-dominated phytoplankton bloom. Nine taxa of heterotrophic dinoflagellates, including 2 naked and 7 armoured forms, were identified and selected for the determination of standing stock and grazing rates. All 9 taxa selected for grazing rate measurements showed an increase in abundance and biomass during the phytoplankton bloom. Total abundance and biomass increased exponentially from 14 January to reach a maximum abundance, when the 9 taxa were combined, of 46400 cells l-1 on the 31 January, equivalent to a standing stock of 114.5 µg C l-1. Taxon-specific grazing rates were determined at in situ predator and prey concentrations by tracing 14C through a 3 compartment (water, phytoplankton, heterotrophic dinoflagellate) model. Mean taxon-specific clearance rates varied more than 10-fold from 0.028 µl cell-1 h-1 in Diplopeltopsis spp. to 0.318 µl cell-1 h-1 in a Protoperidinium sp. In contrast, mean taxon-specific rates of ingestion varied only 3-fold from 0.72 pg chl a cell-1 h-1 in Diplopeltopsis spp. to 2.38 pg chl a cell-1 h-1 in the same Protoperidinium sp. The total ingestion rate of the 9 taxa was 29.7 ng chl a l-1 h-1 on 31 January, of which 92% was consumed by the 3 most abundant taxa, Gyrodinium sp.1, Gyrodinium sp.2 and Diplopeltopsis spp. This activity represented 6.7% of the water column cleared, 4.8% of autotrophic biomass and 25% of daily primary production ingested per day. The estimated rates of specific ingestion and growth of heterotrophic dinoflagellates were lower in the coastal waters of East Antarctica than in laboratory studies carried out at higher temperatures. However, when the environmental parameters, predator size and prey type and concentration are taken into account, values measured in the present study are tenable, comparing well with other in situ measurements. Furthermore, the estimates of grazing impact on phytoplankton biomass and production illustrate that heterotrophic dinoflagellates play an important part in the biotic control of phytoplankton production and therefore of carbon flux through the food web of coastal waters of East Antarctica.

The coastal sea ice in the vicinity of Davis Station, Antarctica (68* 35' S, 77* 58' E), supported a diverse microbial community which varied in composition and biomass in response to increasing insolation and temperature during the austral summer. To understand more fully the fate of photosynthetically fixed carbon in sea ice, we examined the dynamics of community composition, biomass and production in autotrophs, heterotrophic protozoa and bacteria. The microbial community inhabiting the bottom few centimeters of land fast ice differed markedly from the interior communities in taxonomic composition and biomass and in the timing and fate of production. Total microbial biomass integrated throughout the ice depth declined during the season from a mean of 1150 mg C m-2 on 17 November to 628 mg C m-2 by 22 December. This largely reflected a decrease in the biomass of the bottom ice community which was dominated by the diatom Entomoneis spp. In contrast, the biomass of the interior ice community increased during summer and was dominated by autotrophic forms

Bacterial production and heterotrophic nanoflagellate (HNAN) bacterivory were determined concurrently with measurements of abundance and biomass at weekly intervals between 30 December 1993 and 11 February 1994 at a shallow, coastal location in Prydz Bay, eastern Antarctica. Bacterial production was measured by [3H]thymidine incorporation and HNAN bacterivory by the uptake of fluorescently labelled bacteria. Bacterial abundance, biomass and production ranged from 2 to 8 x 108 l-1, 13 to 64 µg C l-1 and 8 to 14 µg C l-1 d-1, respectively, with maximum values recorded in mid January. The HNAN community comprised choanoflagellate, non-collared and colonial taxa, with non-collared forms dominating abundance and biomass in late January and early February. Total HNAN abundance and biomass ranged from 1.6 to 4.2 x 106 l-1 and 8 to 16 µg C l-1, respectively. HNAN cellular ingestion and clearance rates differed between taxa with maximum rates of 8.28 particles cell-1 h-1 and 9.32 nl cell-1 h-1 recorded for large non-collared forms. During the study period the HNAN community grazed 0.9 to 4.7 µg bacterial C l-1 d-1, equivalent to 3 and 12% of bacterial biomass, and 10 and 36% of daily bacterial production; however, these values are likely to be minimal estimates and grazing impact may have been higher on occasion. Choanoflagellates were responsible for much of the grazing impact at the beginning of the study period, while non-collared HNAN were the dominant grazers in late January and early February. The HNAN community therefore appears to graze substantial bacterial production in Antarctic coastal waters during the austral summer, although alternative sources of bacterial mortality are likely to be of importance.