Nutrient regimes and their effect on distribution of phytoplankton in the Bay of Bengal.

The seasonal dynamics of nutrient ratios and abundance of phytoplankton cells from the central (CB) and western (WB) Bay of Bengal (BOB) were studied during the fall intermonsoon (FIM; September-October 2002) and spring intermonsoon (SpIM; April-May 2003). The nutrient molar ratios of macronutrients such as nitrate to phosphate (N:P), nitrate to silicate (N:Si) and silicate to phosphate (Si:P) in the top 120 m were calculated for both FIM and SpIM. During both the seasons, the N:P ratios along the CB and WB were lower than 16, indicating nitrate deficiency. Whereas, along both transects the N:Si ratio was <1 and Si:P>3 in the top 20 and 40 m during FIM and SpIM, respectively, indicating Si enrichment. Relatively greater nutrient concentrations along the WB than the CB appear to contribute to higher phytoplankton abundance. The preponderance of diatoms in the Bay could be attributed to rapid utilization of available nutrients in particular during FIM thus resulting in low N:Si ratios in the water column. Among diatoms, pennales were predominantly controlled by nutrients and their ratios. While, apart from nutrients, physical stratification, light and eddies also seem to influence the distribution and abundance of centrales.

Spatial variations of DMS, DMSP and phytoplankton in the Bay of Bengal during the summer monsoon 2001.

Data on the distribution of dimethylsulphide (DMS) and dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) in relation to phytoplankton abundance in different oceanic environments is important to understand the biogeochemistry of DMS, which plays an important role in the radiation balance of the earth. During the summer monsoon of 2001 measurements were made for DMS and DMSPt (total DMSP) together with related biological parameters in the Bay of Bengal. Both DMS and DMSPt were restricted to the upper 40 m of the water column. Diatoms accounted for more than 95% of the phytoplankton and were the major contributors to the DMS and DMSPt pool. The mean concentration of DMS in the upper 40 m was observed to be around 1.8+/-1.9 nM in the study area, while DMSPt concentrations varied between 0.7 nM and 40.2 nM with a mean of 10.4+/-8.2 nM. The observed lower DMSPt in the northern Bay in spite of higher mean primary productivity, chlorophyll a and phytoplankton cell counts seemed to result from grazing. Though salinity divides the Bay into different biogeochemical provinces there is no relation between salinity and DMS or DMSPt. On the other hand DMS was linearly related to chlorophyll a:phaeopigments ratio. The results suggest the need for deeper insight into the role of diatoms in the biogeochemical cycling of DMS.