Fresh waters favor small algae

	Climate-driven changes to the Arctic Ocean are making "ecological winners" out of the region's smaller ocean algae. Click here for more information.

Climate-driven changes to the Arctic Ocean are making "ecological winners" out of the region’s smaller ocean algae, William Li and colleagues report in a Brevium in the Oct. 23 issue of Science. If the dominance of tiny plankton persists, say the researchers, it could have significant effects on the way carbon is harvested and sequestered in marine ecosystems. Warmer temperatures, increased precipitation and greater ice melt and runoff have produced fresher Arctic surface waters that are less nutrient-rich than deeper water. The high surface area to volume ratio of picoplankton — which are less than 2 micrometers in diameter — gives the algae a competitive edge over larger plankton when it comes to extracting food from the upper waters. As a result, the smaller algae have increased in numbers since 2004, while populations of some larger algae have dwindled.

Article #5: "Smallest Algae Thrive as the Arctic Ocean Freshens," by W.K.W. Li at Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, NS, Canada; F.A. McLaughlin; E.C. Carmack at Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney, BC, Canada; C. Lovejoy at Universite Laval in Laval, QC, Canada.

Contact: William K.W. Li at +1-902-426-6349 (phone), or LiB@mar.dfo-mpo.gc.ca (email)

Kids News: A related kids news story is available: http://www.eurekalert.org/scienceforkids/