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

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.

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

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.