Temporal variation in the structure of autotrophic and heterotrophic communities in the subarctic Pacific

Autotrophic and microheterotrophic plankton populations were monitored in the euphotic zone of the eastern subarctic Pacific during 6 one-month cruises in spring and summer, 1984, 1987 and 1988. Transmitted light, epifluorescence, and electron microscopy were used to identify, enumerate and estimate the biomass of size-populations of species. The 2–10μm size class dominated the biomass of both autotrophs and heterotrophs. The autotrophic flagellate, Phaeocystis pouchetii, was frequently observed in its non-colonial phase. Temporal variation in all the stocks was evident and could be explained only partially by the physical, chemical or biological factors investigated here. The general structure of the autotrophic community was similar to that in the North Atlantic, but major, unexplained variations between cruises occurred. Variation in mixed-layer depth and day length (but not variation in daily insolation) explained 25% of the variation in autotrophic doubling rate. Heterotrophic biomass comprised, in decreasing order of importance, non-pigmented flagellates, dinoflagellates, and ciliates. Ciliates rarely contributed more than 40% to the total. Microheterotrophic biomass rarely exceeded 30μg C 1−1 (avg 15μg C 1−1, 0–60m) whereas autotrophic biomass averaged 20μg C 1−1, 0–60m, and reached 74μg C 1−1 on one occasion, yet the grazing capacity of these microheterotrophs averaged 100% of primary production.