Abstract:

Surface water phytoplankton and protozoan community data collected in 2010 from long term coastal Louisiana monitoring stations were analyzed in relation to similar data from 1994, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003 and 2008 to explore whether there were changes in community composition or other effects due to oil or other factors. Nutrient, temperature, and salinity data were also analyzed for those years. Additional Data Contributors / Authors: Dr. Nancy Rabalais, Wendy Morrison

Suggested Citation:

Dr. Michael Parsons, Rabalais, Nancy, and Wendy Morrison. 2014. Phytoplankton, protozoans, nutrients, temperature, and salinity collected at stations C6* on the C-transect in Louisiana coastal waters May – October for the years 1994, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2008, and 2010.. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N7PK0D3S

Publications:

Parsons, M. L., Morrison, W., Rabalais, N. N., Turner, R. E., & Tyre, K. N. (2015). Phytoplankton and the Macondo oil spill: A comparison of the 2010 phytoplankton assemblage to baseline conditions on the Louisiana shelf. Environmental Pollution, 207, 152–160. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2015.09.019

Quigg, A., Parsons, M., Bargu, S., Ozhan, K., Daly, K. L., Chakraborty, S., … Buskey, E. J. (2021). Marine phytoplankton responses to oil and dispersant exposures: Knowledge gained since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 164, 112074. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112074

Parsons, M. L., Brandt, A. L., Turner, R. E., Morrison, W. L., & Ralabais, N. N. (2021). Characterization of common phytoplankton on the Louisiana shelf. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 168, 112458. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112458

Purpose:

To determine if and to what degree the phytoplankton and protozoan communities of 2010 were different than baseline years (those most similar to 2010 in terms of environmental conditions) in possible response to the Macondo oil spill.

Data Parameters and Units:

Attribute_Label: Year Attribute_Definition: Year the water sample was collected Attribute_Label: Month Attribute_Definition: Month the water sample was collected Attribute_Label: Sampling Date 1 Attribute_Definition: Actual date within the specified month when the sample was collected Attribute_Label: Sampling Date 2 Attribute_Definition: If more than one sample was collected within a given month, this value reflects the actual date of the second sampling Attribute_Label: Sampling Date 3 Attribute_Definition: If more than one sample was collected within one given month, this value reflects the actual date of the third sampling Attribute_Label: Station Attribute_Definition: Producer defined station name of location sampled Attribute_Label: Latitude (decimal degrees) Attribute_Definition: Latitude of sampling station in decimal degrees Attribute_Label: Longitude (decimal degrees) Attribute_Definition: Longitude of sampling sta tion in decimal degrees Attribute_Label: Water Depth (m) Attribute_Definition: 0.0 depth = surface bucket sample Attribute_Label: Temperature (deg C) Attribute_Definition: Water temperature (in degrees Celsius) at the time the sample was collected Attribute_Label: Salinity (psu) Attribute_Definition: Salinity (in practical salinity units) in surface waters at the time the sample was collected Attribute_Label: NH4 (µM/L) Attribute_Definition: Ammonium (in micromoles per liter) in surface waters at the time the sample was collected Attribute_Label: NO2+NO3 (µM/L) Attribute_Definition: Nitrate + nitrite (in micromoles per liter) in surface waters at the time the sample was collected Attribute_Label: SiO3 (µM/L) Attribute_Definition: Silicate (in micromoles per liter) in surface waters at the time the sample was collected Attribute_Label: PO4 (µM/L) Attribute_Definition: Phosphate (in micromoles per liter) in surface waters at the time the sample was collected Attribute_Label: Genus species or Descriptive Category Attribute_Definition: Phytoplankton identified to genus, species, or producer defined descriptive category Attribute_Label: Phytoplankton Abundance (cells/L) Attribute_Definition: Absolute abundance of cells observed

Methods:

Water samples for nutrients and nanoplankton were collected from surface waters with a clean sample bucket. Subsamples of 100 ml for phytoplankton/protozoan analysis were preserved in the field with 0.5 % glutaraldehyde and stored in the refrigerator until processed in the lab by size-fractionating across 0.2 µm, 3.0 µm, and 8.0 µm 25 mm polycarbonate membrane filters (with proflavine stain added to the 3.0 and 8.0um fractions) in a volume appropriate for desired cell density, then mounted onto microscope slides for enumeration. Counts were obtained by scanning areas of each filter at different magnifications to yield cells per liter abundances for each category of phytoplankton and protozoan observed. Water for nutrient analysis was placed unfiltered into triple-rinsed snap cap vials in the field and frozen for later analysis. Salinity and temperature data were obtained from shipboard Seabird CTD.

Instruments:

Phytoplankton and protozoan samples were counted using an Olympus BH-2-R! FCA epifluorescence microscope with blue and green excitation cubes.

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