Description: The present paper reviews the literature related to the life cycle of the prymnesiophyte Phaeocystis and its controlling factors and proposes novel hypotheses based on unpublished observations in culture and in the field. We chiefly refer to P. globosa Scherffel as most of the observations concern this species. P. globosa exhibits a complex alternation between several types of free-living cells (non-motile, flagellates, microzoopores and possibly macrozoospores) and colonies for which neither forms nor pathways have been completely identified and described. The different types of Phaeocystis cells were reappraised on the basis of existing microscopic descriptions complemented by unpublished flow cytometric investigations. This analysis revealed the existence of at least three different types of free-living cells identified on the basis of a combination of size, motility and ploidy characteristics: non-motile cells, flagellates and microzoospores. Their respective function within Phaeocystis life cycle, and in particular their involvement in colony formation is not completely understood. Observational evidence shows that Phaeocystis colonies are initiated at the early stage of their bloom each by one free-living cell. The mechanisms controlling this cellular transformation are still uncertain due to the lack of information on the overwintering Phaeocystis fomms and on the cell type responsible for colony induction. The existence of haploid microzoospores released from senescent colonies gives however some support to sexuality involvement at some stages of colony formation. Once colonies are formed, at least two mechanisms were identified as responsible of the spreading of colony form: colony multiplication by colonial division or budding and induction of new colony from colonial cells released in the external medium after colony disruption. The latter mechanism was clearly identified, involving at least two successive cell differentiations in the following sequence: motility development, subsequent flagella loss and settlement to a surface, mucus secretion and colony formation, colonial cell division and colony growth. Aggregate formation, cell motility development and subsequent emigration from the colonies, release of non-motile cells after colony lysis on the other hand, were identified as characteristics for termination of Phaeocystis colony development. These pathways were shown to occur similarly in natural environments. In the early stages of the bloom however, many recently-formed colonies were found on the setae of Chaetoceros spp, suggesting this diatom could play a key-rôle in Phaeocystis bloom inception. Analysis of the possible environmental factors regulating the transition between the different phases of the life cycle, suggested that nutrient status and requirement of a substrate for attachment of free-living cells would be essential for initiation of the colonial form. Physical constraints obviously would be important in determining colony shape and fragmentation although autogenic factors cannot be excluded. Some evidence exists that nutrients regulate colony division, while temperature and nutrient stress would stimulate cell emigration from the colonies.

Description: Within the framework of the JGOFS Pilot Study in 1989 mesozooplankton (0.2–20 mm) was sampled by means of a Hydro-Bios multinet in five depth strata (0–25, 25–50, 50–100, 100–200, 200–500 m) during four Lagrangian drift experiments of 8–14 days' duration at 18, 33, 46 and 58°N, to follow the seasonal progress of the phytoplankton spring bloom development in the northeast Atlantic. Mesozooplankton standing stock, measured as dry weight and ash-free dry weight, increased by a factor of about 6 from 18 to 58°N. Day/night differences amounted to 10–20% of the average and were—with one exception at 18°N—not statistically significant. Using the data on weight-specific respiration rates measured by colleagues on the same cruise, the ingestion rates and potential community grazing of mesozooplankton on phytoplankton within the upper 100 m of the water column were calculated. During all four drift experiments, quasi-steady-state conditions were observed in phyto- and zooplankton standing stock, primary production and daily sedimentation at 100 m depth. The maximum potential grazing rate by mesozooplankton accounted for about half of the daily primary production. Since sedimentation of fresh phytoplankton was negligible, it is concluded that the grazing pressure exercised by mesozooplankton together with micro- and nanozooplankton was responsible for keeping the phytoplankton standing stock at a more or less constant level during the investigated spring bloom in the four areas. Particle flux was thus dominated by zooplankton faecal material.

Description: The so-called ‘turbulence incubator’ overcomes an essential disadvantage of static in situ incubations where at high irradiances an artificial photoinhibition is caused by neglecting turbulent mixing in the upper water column. It is operated on deck and simulates the changing light conditions for vertically mixed phytoplankton cells by moving the sample bottles horizontally through a circular water bath covered by a glass lid of neutral optical density filters. In this way the exponentially decreasing irradiance within the euphotic zone is simulated and photoinhibition near the surface is avoided. A crucial point is the choice of revolution rate for simulating turbulent mixing under natural conditions. The incubator is characterized by its handy size, a relatively simple and inexpensive construction and a battery-driven motor. It can thus even be operated on small vessels without an electric generator. The incubator is especially suited for vertically mixed waters such as shallow bays, tidal estuaries and rivers. Its reliability was successfully tested by a simultaneous comparison with in situ measurements at various stations representing different water types and environmental conditions, ranging from the turbid River Elbe to the clear open Baltic Sea. In 9 out of 11 experiments, higher primary production rates were obtained in the turbulence incubator than in static in situ incubations. The majority of the latter were characterized by a pronounced photoinhibition in the upper two incubation depths representing the 100 and 50% light levels. The average rate increase amounted to 22%, with a range between 11 and 53% depending on light attenuation and irradiance.

Description: In an assessment of non-indigenous species transported by international ship traffic to German waters, commissioned by the German Federal Environmental Agency, the survival of tropical plankton organisms in ballast water was studied by accompanying a container vessel on its 23-day voyage from Singapore to Bremerhaven in Germany. Two tanks, one filled off Singapore and the other off Colombo, Sri Lanka, were monitored for their phyto- and zooplankton content by daily sampling. As already reported in previous studies, species abundance and diversity, especially of zooplankton, decreased sharply during the first days, and only a few specimens survived the whole cruise. The contents of the Colombo tank, however, changed dramatically during the last week. The harpacticoid copepod, Tisbe graciloides, increased its abundance by a factor of 100 from 0.1 to 10ind. l–1 within a few days. This is the first time that a ballast water organism has been found to multiply at such a high rate. Opportunistic species such as Tisbe are apparently able to thrive and propagate in ballast water tanks under certain conditions. Ballast water tanks may thus serve as incubators for certain species depending on their characteristics.