Phytoplankton in the northwestern Kara Sea

Studies were conducted in the northwestern Kara Sea in late September of 2007 and 2011. The assessment of species, size, structure, abundance, and biomass of phytoplankton and the role of autotrophic and heterotrophic components in phytocenoses was conducted. The abundance of autotrophic micro-, nanoand picoplankton increased by more than an order of magnitude in each of the following smaller-sized groups of algae. Microphytoplankton dominated in the total biomass of autotrophic phytoplankton. The wet biomass of microphytoplankton was 2.5 times higher than the wet biomass of nanophytoplankton and 5 times higher than that of picoplankton. Nanophytoplankton dominated in abundance and biomass in the heterotrophic component of phytoplankton. The ratio of the total abundance of autotrophic and heterotrophic phytotoplankton was 7: 1, the ratio of the wet biomass of the both groups was 2.5: 1, and the proportion of the carbon biomass was 2: 1. Three biotopes were distinguished in the area of the outer shelf, the continental slope, and the deepwater area adjacent to the St. Anna Trough, which differed in composition and quantitative characteristics of phytocenoses. Frontal zones dividing the biotopes are characterized by high phytoplankton biomass and the dominance of diatoms in the community (more than 40% of the total biomass), which indicates the local availability of “new” nutrients for planktonic algae.