Summer monsoon onset-induced changes of autotrophic pico- and nanoplankton in the largest monsoonal estuary along the west coast of India.

This study presents the response of autotrophic pico- and nanoplankton to southwest monsoon-associated hydrographical transformations in the Cochin backwaters (CBW), the largest monsoonal estuary along the west coast of India. By the onset of the southwest monsoon, the euhaline/mesohaline conditions in the downstream/upstream of CBW usually transform into oligohaline/limnohaline. The flow cytometer analysis revealed the dominance of picoeukaryotes > Synechococcus > nanoautotrophs, with Prochlorococcus either very low or entirely absent. Synechococcus abundance was high during the pre-southwest monsoon (10(6) L(-1)), which dwindled with heavy fresh water influx during the southwest monsoon (10(5) L(-1)). The drastic drop in salinity and faster flushing of the CBW during the southwest monsoon replaced the euhaline/mesohaline strain of Synechococcus with an oligohaline/limnohaline strain. Epifluorescence microscopy analyses showed that, among the two strains of Synechococcus, the phycoerythrin-rich (PE-rich) one was dominant in the mesohaline/euhaline conditions, whereas the phycocyanin-rich (PC-rich) strain dominated in oligohaline/limnohaline conditions. Although Synechococcus abundance diminished during the southwest monsoon, the total abundance of picoplankton community remained virtually unchanged in the upstream due to an increase in the abundance of picoeukaryotes. On the other hand, the autotrophic nanoplankton abundance increased from pre-monsoon levels of av. 3.8 × 10(6)-av. 9.5 × 10(6) L(-1) at the onset of the southwest monsoon. Utilizing suitable multivariate analyses, the study illustrated the differential response and niche preference of various smaller communities of autotrophs to the southwest monsoon-associated hydrographical ramifications in a large monsoonal estuary, which may be applicable to similar such estuaries situated along the Indian coastline.

Why do satellite imageries show exceptionally high chlorophyll in the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Bay during the Norteast Monsoon?

The Gulf of Mannar (GoM) and the Palk Bay (PB) are two least studied marine environments located between India and Sri Lanka. Exceptionally high chlorophyll a concentration in the GoM and the PB during the Northeast Monsoon (November-February) is a consistent feature in satellite imageries, which has been attributed to the intrusion of the Bay of Bengal (BoB) waters. The analyses of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and field chlorophyll data collected from 30 locations in the Indian sector of the GoM and the PB in January 2011 showed significant overestimations in the satellite data. This error was much higher in the PB (60-80 %) as compared to the GoM (18-28 %). The multivariate analyses evidenced that the exceptionally high satellite chlorophyll in the PB is contributed largely by turbidity, colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), and bottom reflectance. The paper cautions that though MODIS is superior in estimating chlorophyll a in optically complex waters, there are still chances of overestimations in regions like the PB.