A review of Russian plankton research in the Mexico Gulf and the Caribbean Sea in the 1960-1980s

A book, 28 articles and two technical reports were published as results of the Soviet-Cuban and Soviet expeditions in 1962-1984, involving plankton samples collected at about 2,070 stations in the Mexico Gulf and the Caribbean Sea. Results have remained unknown to the International community because they were published in Russian. Two circulation types in the Mexico Gulf water as resulting of the Yucatan Current intensity were distinguished. It was concluded that oceanic regions of the Mexico Gulf and the Caribbean Sea are oligotrophic, while deep Caribbean regions are more rich in phytoplankton compared with deep Gulf areas. Due to the upwellings and runoff of the Mississippi river, the Campeche Bank, the northwestern Gulf part, and the west Florida continental shelf were characterized by a higher plankton production and by pronounced changes in their biomass. The reason found for spatial changes in Gulf productivity is the cyclonic horizontal circulation and anticyclonic. In various regions, the highest productivity was reported in different seasons. The annual dynamics of plankton biomass were traced in the Campeche Bank. In the Caribbean Sea, both the Venezuela shelf and the Honduras continental slope were characterized by higher productivity. The data obtained can be used to evaluate long-term changes in biological productivity in the region, species composition, and plankton communities.