Phytoplankton Growth Rate and Zooplankton Grazing in the Western Part of the Black Sea in the Autumn Period

The results of the studies within the framework of the international expedition onboard R/V Vladimir Parshin in September - October 2005 are presented. Intensive development of Bacillariophyceae and Dynophyceae was recorded in the coastal waters of Bulgaria, Turkey, and in the Danube River Delta during the period of the investigations. The increase in the algae population was accompanied by rising of the Chlorophyll a concentration up to 2.0-5.5 mg m(-3). In the deep water region, it did not exceed 0.54 mg m(-3). The phytoplankton growth rate in the surface water layer varied from 0.1 to 1.0 day(-1). The phytoplankton growth rate and NO2 + NO3 concentration, as well as the silicon concentration, were correlative, as was described by the Michaelis - Menten equation. The phytoplankton growth was affected by the integral impact of basic nutrients. The zooplankton grazing varied from 0.10 to 0.69 day(-1), and the average values in different regions may vary by 1.5 times. The microalgae size range is one of the major factors of the grazing regulation. The rate of the phytoplankton consumption was decreasing according the increasing of the largest diatom Pseudosolenia calcaravis impact on the total biomass of the nano- and microphytoplankton