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Hakai Institute Oceanography Program Protistan Plankton Timeseries from the Northern Salish Sea, British Columbia, Canada

Citation

Del Bel Belluz J, Jackson J (2021). Hakai Institute Oceanography Program Protistan Plankton Timeseries from the Northern Salish Sea, British Columbia, Canada. Hakai Institute. Sampling event dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/q748tc accessed via GBIF.org on 2022-08-07.

Description

The Hakai Institute Oceanography Program has been monitoring surface (0-1 or 5m depth) protistan plankton community composition, via optical microscopy, at a fixed location in the northern Salish Sea (Strait of Georgia) since 2016. Data were collected to characterize and monitor phytoplankton community composition and investigate links to environmental/physical/chemical drivers, the food web and carbon dynamics. Additionally, data were used to support group level phytoplankton composition derived via HPLC phytoplankton pigment analysis and validate remote sensing products.

Purpose

The dataset was developed to investigate protistan plankton (primarily phytoplankton) community composition and variability and links to environmental/physical/chemical drivers, the food web and carbonate chemistry. Additionally, the data were collected to support HPLC phytoplankton pigment analysis and remote sensing.

Sampling Description

Study Extent

Data were collected in surface waters (0-1 or 5 m depth) at a fixed location (QU39) in the northern Salish Sea (Strait of Georgia) on a weekly to bi-weekly period throughout the year.

Sampling

Water samples were collected at 0-1 or 5 m depths using a Niskin bottle from small research vessels (less than 40 ft). Sample water was transferred into 250 mL amber glass bottles and immediately fixed using Lugol's acid-iodine solution (1% concentration) (Edler & Elbrächter 2010; Del Bel Belluz et al., 2021). The use of acidic Lugol’s solution removes CaCO3 containing cells (i.e. coccolithophores) and these species were not enumerated. Sample were kept cool and stored in a dark fridge until analysis was performed. Analysis was performed at LCLJ Marine Ecological Services by Dr. Louis Hobson. Protistan plankton were enumerated with the Utermöhl method using 50 mL settling chambers and phase contrast microscopy on an inverted light microscope (Edler & Elbrächter 2010; Hobson & Galbraith, 2018). The analyst was able to resolve species down to approximately 4 μm in size.

Quality Control

Some samples, particularly those from the beginning of the timeseries, were stored for up to 2-3 years prior to analysis. The analyst did not see signs of weakened preservative or cell degradation, but storage time should be considered as degradation can bias results (Williams et al., 2016). In the occurrence extension, the dateIdentified column was used to specify a date range of when each sample was analyzed and the taxonomic identifications determined. Exact analysis dates are not available. Data have been broadly compared to functional group level phytoplankton biomass derived from HPLC pigments and chemotaxonomic analysis and show general agreement (Del Bel Belluz et al., 2021). More detailed comparisons are being performed and additional information will be added when available.

Method steps

  1. See sampling description, quality control and bibliographic citations.

Additional info

The published data were used to support HPLC phytoplankton pigment characterization of phytoplankton community composition in Del Bel Belluz et al. (2021). The link to this work is provided in the bibliographic citations.

Taxonomic Coverages

We targeted autotrophic protists, but data include mixotrophic and heterotrophic species including ciliophora and small metazoa. The analyst was able to resolve species as small as approximately 4 um.
  1. Bacillariophyceae
    common name: Diatoms rank: class
  2. Chrysophyceae
    common name: Chrysophytes rank: class
  3. Dictyochophyceae
    common name: Silicoflagellates rank: class
  4. Dinophyceae
    common name: Dinoflagellates rank: class
  5. Euglenoidea
    common name: Euglenophytes rank: class
  6. Chlorophyta
    common name: Green Algae rank: phylum
  7. Prymnesiophyceae
    rank: class
  8. Raphidophyceae
    common name: Raphidophytes rank: class
  9. Cryptophyta
    common name: Cryptophytes rank: phylum
  10. Copepoda
    common name: Copepods rank: subclass
  11. Choanoflagellatea
    rank: class
  12. Appendicularia
    rank: class
  13. Ciliophora
    common name: Ciliates rank: phylum
  14. Ebriophyceae
    rank: class
  15. Xanthophyceae
    rank: class

Geographic Coverages

Data were collected at the Hakai Institute oceanographic station QU39 at the northern edge of the Salish Sea (Strait of Georgia) in the center of Sutil Channel.

Bibliographic Citations

  1. Del Bel Belluz, J., Peña, M.A., Jackson, J.M., Nemcek, N. (2021). Phytoplankton composition and environmental drivers in the Northern Strait of Georgia (Salish Sea), British Columbia, Canada. Estuaries and Coasts, 44(5), 1419-1439. 10.1007/s12237-020-00858-2 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-020-00858-2
  2. Edler, L., and Elbrächter, M. (2010). “The utermöhl method for quantitative phytoplankton analysis,” in Microscopic and Molecular Methods for Quantitative Phytoplankton Analysis, eds B. Karlson, C. Cusack, and E. Bresnan (Paris: UNESCO), 13–20. - https://repository.oceanbestpractices.org/bitstream/handle/11329/303/WKNCT_Handbook_ver5May2010_2.pdf?sequence=1#page=17%22
  3. Hobson, L.A., Galbraith, M. (2018). Protistan plankton dynamics and composition in a turbulent, nutrient-rich region of the Salish Sea, 1997-2014. (unpublished). - https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.17368.75522
  4. Williams, O.J., Beckett, R.E. & Maxwell, D.L. (2016). Marine phytoplankton preservation with Lugol’s: a comparison of solutions. J Appl Phycol 28, 1705–1712. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-015-0704-4 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-015-0704-4

Contacts

Justin Del Bel Belluz
originator
position: Research Technician
Hakai Institute
1010 Langley St.
Victoria
V8W1V7
British Columbia
CA
email: justin.belluz@hakai.org
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3536-9508
Jennifer Jackson
originator
position: Principal Investigator
Hakai Institute
1010 Langley St.
Victoria
V8W1V7
British Columbia
CA
email: jennifer.jackson@hakai.org
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2318-8814
Justin Del Bel Belluz
metadata author
position: Research Technician
Hakai Institute
1010 Langley St.
Victoria
V8W1V7
British Columbia
CA
email: justin.belluz@hakai.org
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3536-9508
Justin Del Bel Belluz
administrative point of contact
position: Research Technician
Hakai Institute
1010 Langley St.
Victoria
V8W1V7
British Columbia
CA
email: justin.belluz@hakai.org
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3536-9508
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