TOTAL AND SIZE FRACTIONATED PHYTOPLANKTON BIOMASS OFF KARATAS, NORTH-EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN COAST OF TURKEY

Total and size fractionated phytoplankton biomass off Karatas, north-eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey

Sevim Polat, Ayça (Akiz) Aka

Çukurova University, Faculty of Fisheries, 01330 Balcalı, Adana, TURKEY

Abstract

The biomass of phytoplankton in terms of chlorophyll-a was investigated in an Mediterranean coastal area, off Karataş. Data were obtained during four cruises conducted in July 2003, November 2003, February and May 2004. In addition to total chlorophyll a determination, chlorophyll-a was fractionated into size classes as: <20 µm and >20 µm fractions. Inorganic nutrients were also determined. Total chlorophyll-a values ranged  from  0.10 to 7.43 µg 1-1. The conributions of the <20 µm and >20 µm fractions to the total chlorophyll-a were similar. The proportion of <20 µm fraction to total chlorophyll a ranged between 9% and 96%. On the other hand, the lowest proportion of >20 fraction to total chlorophyll-a was 4 %, and the highest one was 91 %. Despite the dominancy of small sizes in the oligotrophic seas such as Mediterranean, the biomass of small size fraction was not higher than large size in the present study.

Keywords: Chlorophyll a, phytoplankton, size fraction, northeastern Mediterranean

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