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, September 2015, Pages 484–497The UK Western Channel Observatory: Integrating pelagic and benthic observations in a shelf sea ecosystemEdited By Tim Smyth, Angus Atkinson, Stephen Widdicombe, Matthew Frost, Icarus Allen, David Sims and Manuel Barange
Decrease in diatom palatability contributes to bloom formation in the Western English Channel, , , , , , , , , , a Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, Plymouth, PL1 3DH, UKb Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research (CSAR), Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UKc National Centre for Earth Observation, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK&Abiotic and biotic mechanisms underpin bloom dynamics.&Phytoplankton nutritional status contributes to bloom formation and evolution.&High C:P in diatoms reduces the transfer of carbon to the higher trophic levels.The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of phytoplankton nutritional status in the formation of the spring bloom regularly observed at the station L4 in the Western English Channel. Using a modelling approach, we tested the hypothesis that the increase in light from winter to spring induces a decrease in diatom nutritional status (i.e., an increase in the C:N and C:P ratios), thereby reducing their palatability and allowing them to bloom. To this end, a formulation describing the Stoichiometric Modulation of Predation (SMP) has been implemented in a simplified version of the European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model (ERSEM). The model was coupled with the General Ocean Turbulence Model (GOTM), implemented at the station L4 and run for 10 years (). Simulated carbon to nutrient ratios in diatoms were analysed in relation to microzooplankton biomass, grazing and assimilation efficiency. The model reproduced in situ data evolutions and showed the importance of microzooplankton grazing in controlling the early onset of the bloom. Simulation results supported our hypothesis and provided a conceptual model explaining the formation of the diatom spring bloom in the investigated area. However, additional data describing the microzooplankton grazing impact and the variation of carbon to nutrient ratios inside phytoplanktonic cells are required to further validate the proposed mechanisms.
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