Green Edge Ice Camp Campaigns: Understanding the Processes Controlling the Under-Ice Arctic Phytoplankton Spring Bloom

The Green Edge initiative was developed to investigate the processes controlling the primary productivity and fate of organic matter produced during the Arctic phytoplankton spring bloom (PSB) and to determine its role in the ecosystem. Two field campaigns were conducted in 2015 and 2016 at an ice camp located on landfast sea ice southeast of Qikiqtarjuaq Island in Baffin Bay (67.4797∘ N, 63.7895∘ W). During both expeditions, a large suite of physical, chemical and biological variables was measured beneath a consolidated sea-ice cover from the surface to the bottom (at 360 m depth) to better understand the factors driving the PSB. Key variables, such as conservative temperature, absolute salinity, radiance, irradiance, nutrient concentrations, chlorophyll a concentration, bacteria, phytoplankton and zooplankton abundance and taxonomy, and carbon stocks and fluxes were routinely measured at the ice camp. Meteorological and snow-relevant variables were also monitored. Here, we present the results of a joint effort to tidy and standardize the collected datasets, which will facilitate their reuse in other Arctic studies. The dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.17882/59892 (Massicotte et al., 2019a)

Green Edge ice camp campaigns : understanding the processes controlling the under-ice Arctic phytoplankton spring bloom

The Green Edge initiative was developed to investigate the processes controlling the primary productivity and fate of organic matter produced during the Arctic phytoplankton spring bloom (PSB) and to determine its role in the ecosystem. Two field campaigns were conducted in 2015 and 2016 at an ice camp located on landfast sea ice southeast of Qikiqtarjuaq Island in Baffin Bay (67.4797∘ N, 63.7895∘ W). During both expeditions, a large suite of physical, chemical and biological variables was measured beneath a consolidated sea-ice cover from the surface to the bottom (at 360 m depth) to better understand the factors driving the PSB. Key variables, such as conservative temperature, absolute salinity, radiance, irradiance, nutrient concentrations, chlorophyll a concentration, bacteria, phytoplankton and zooplankton abundance and taxonomy, and carbon stocks and fluxes were routinely measured at the ice camp. Meteorological and snow-relevant variables were also monitored. Here, we present the results of a joint effort to tidy and standardize the collected datasets, which will facilitate their reuse in other Arctic studies

Use of Stress Signals of Their Attached Bacteria to Monitor Sympagic Algae Preservation in Canadian Arctic Sediments

Based on the strong aggregation of sympagic (ice-associated) algae and the high mortality or inactivity of bacteria attached to them, it was previously hypothesized that sympagic algae should be significant contributors to the export of carbon to Arctic sediments. In the present work, the lipid content of 30 sediment samples collected in the Canadian Arctic was investigated to test this hypothesis. The detection of high proportions of trans vaccenic fatty acid (resulting from cis-trans isomerase (CTI) activity of bacteria under hypersaline conditions) and 10S-hydroxyhexadec-8(trans)-enoic acid (resulting from 10S-DOX bacterial detoxification activity in the presence of deleterious free palmitoleic acid) confirmed: (i) the strong contribution of sympagic material to some Arctic sediments, and (ii) the impaired physiological status of its associated bacterial communities. Unlike terrestrial material, sympagic algae that had escaped zooplanktonic grazing appeared relatively preserved from biotic degradation in Arctic sediments. The expected reduction in sea ice cover resulting from global warming should cause a shift in the relative contributions of ice-associated vs. pelagic algae to the seafloor, and thus to a strong modification of the carbon cycl

Use of Stress Signals of Their Attached Bacteria to Monitor Sympagic Algae Preservation in Canadian Arctic Sediments

Based on the strong aggregation of sympagic (ice-associated) algae and the high mortality or inactivity of bacteria attached to them, it was previously hypothesized that sympagic algae should be significant contributors to the export of carbon to Arctic sediments. In the present work, the lipid content of 30 sediment samples collected in the Canadian Arctic was investigated to test this hypothesis. The detection of high proportions of trans vaccenic fatty acid (resulting from cis-trans isomerase (CTI) activity of bacteria under hypersaline conditions) and 10S-hydroxyhexadec-8(trans)-enoic acid (resulting from 10S-DOX bacterial detoxification activity in the presence of deleterious free palmitoleic acid) confirmed: (i) the strong contribution of sympagic material to some Arctic sediments, and (ii) the impaired physiological status of its associated bacterial communities. Unlike terrestrial material, sympagic algae that had escaped zooplanktonic grazing appeared relatively preserved from biotic degradation in Arctic sediments. The expected reduction in sea ice cover resulting from global warming should cause a shift in the relative contributions of ice-associated vs. pelagic algae to the seafloor, and thus to a strong modification of the carbon cycle

Control of the preservation of sympagic algal material in surficial sediments of central and eastern Baffin Bay by bactericidal hydroperoxides and free fatty acids

International audienceMonounsaturated fatty acids and their oxidation products were quantified in surficial sediments (0–1 cm) dominated by sympagic (ice-associated) material released at the end of the ice melt collected in summer in central and eastern Baffin Bay during the 2016 GreenEdge campaign. Sympagic algae preservation towards bacterial mineralization was monitored based on intact and oxidized C16:1ω7 (palmitoleic) acid, and oxidation products of C18:1ω7 (vaccenic) and C16:1ω5 acids provided insights on the photooxidative and autoxidative alterations of bacteria present in these sediment samples. Preservation of sympagic algal material appeared to be highest at the stations that were relatively unaffected by copepod grazing and that contained strongly autoxidized (and thus inactive) bacteria. Analysis of sinking particles collected with a drifting trap showed an intense flux of highly photooxidized ice algae in early July that was dominated by Navicula spp. and associated with bacteria that had also been strongly altered by photooxidative processes. It is proposed that subsequent homolytic decomposition of the hydroperoxides resulting from this intense photooxidation may have driven the strong autoxidation of sympagic algae and bacteria observed in the sediments. The lack of colonization of sympagic material by active benthic bacteria observed at some of the stations investigated was attributed to its high content in deleterious autoxidative hydroperoxides and free fatty acids (reaching for example 107% and 22% of residual palmitoleic acid, respectively, at station 605

Bacterial diversity and lipid biomarkers in sea ice and sinking particulate organic material during the melt season in the Canadian Arctic

International audienceThe estimation of important carbon fluxes in a changing Arctic environment remains a challenge, one that could benefit from the development of biomarkers that distinguish between sympagic (ice-associated) and pelagic organic material. Products of 10S-DOX-like lipoxygenase and fatty acid cis-trans isomerase (CTI) activity of bacteria attached to sympagic particulate organic matter (POM) were proposed previously as potential biomarkers of the contribution of sympagic biota to carbon fluxes to the seafloor. To date, neither the bacteria involved in such enzymatic activities nor the detection of these potential biomarkers at their presumed source (i.e., sea ice) has been investigated. Here, we determined and compared the diversity of prokaryotic communities (based on operational taxonomic units) attached to sea ice POM and under-ice sinking particles during an early stage of ice melt (brine drainage) in Baffin Bay (Canadian Arctic). Based on a time series of biodiversity analyses and the quantification of lipid tracers of these two bacterial enzymatic activities, we suggest that CTI-active bacteria, exposed to hypersaline stress, are attached to algal POM just above bottom sea ice and released into the water column following brine drainage. In contrast, bacteria attached to sinking particles and exhibiting 10S-DOX-like lipoxygenase activity are suggested to come from the bottommost layer of sea ice, where they may play a role in the detoxification of algae-produce free fatty acids. These results provide a refined view of the potential use of products of CTI activity as specific biomarkers of sympagic organic matter

Reliance of deep-sea benthic macrofauna on ice-derived organic matter highlighted by multiple trophic markers during spring in Baffin Bay, Canadian Arctic

Benthic organisms depend primarily on seasonal pulses of organic matter from primary producers. In the Arctic, declines in sea ice due to warming climate could lead to changes in this food supply with as yet unknown effects on benthic trophic dynamics. Benthic consumer diets and food web structure were studied in a seasonally ice-covered region of Baffin Bay during spring 2016 at stations ranging in depth from 199 to 2,111 m. We used a novel combination of highly branched isoprenoid (HBI) lipid biomarkers and stable isotope ratios (δ13C, δ15N) to better understand the relationship between the availability of carbon sources in spring on the seafloor and their assimilation and transfer within the benthic food web. Organic carbon from sea ice (sympagic carbon [SC]) was an important food source for benthic consumers. The lipid biomarker analyses revealed a high relative contribution of SC in sediments (mean SC% ± standard deviation [SD] = 86% ± 16.0, n = 17) and in benthic consumer tissues (mean SC% ± SD = 78% ± 19.7, n = 159). We also detected an effect of sea-ice concentration on the relative contribution of SC in sediment and in benthic consumers. Cluster analysis separated the study region into three different zones according to the relative proportions of SC assimilated by benthic macrofauna. We observed variation of the benthic food web between zones, with increases in the width of the ecological niche in zones with less sea-ice concentration, indicating greater diversity of carbon sources assimilated by consumers. In zones with greater sea-ice concentration, the higher availability of SC increased the ecological role that primary consumers play in driving a stronger transfer of nutrients to higher trophic levels. Based on our results, SC is an important energy source for Arctic deep-sea benthos in Baffin Bay, such that changes in spring sea-ice phenology could alter benthic food-web structure

Stress factors resulting from the Arctic vernal sea-ice melt

International audienceDuring sea-ice melt in the Arctic, primary production by sympagic (sea-ice) algae can be exported efficiently to the seabed if sinking rates are rapid and activities of associated heterotrophic bacteria are limited. Salinity stress due to melting ice has been suggested to account for such low bacterial activity. We further tested this hypothesis by analyzing samples of sea ice and sinking particles collected from May 18 to June 29, 2016, in western Baffin Bay as part of the Green Edge project. We applied a method not previously used in polar regions—quantitative PCR coupled to the propidium monoazide DNA-binding method—to evaluate the viability of bacteria associated with sympagic and sinking algae. We also measured cis-trans isomerase activity, known to indicate rapid bacterial response to salinity stress in culture studies, as well as free fatty acids known to be produced by algae as bactericidal compounds. The viability of sympagic-associated bacteria was strong in May (only approximately 10% mortality of total bacteria) and weaker in June (average mortality of 43%; maximum of 75%), with instances of elevated mortality in sinking particle samples across the time series (up to 72%). Short-term stress reflected by cis-trans isomerase activity was observed only in samples of sinking particles collected early in the time series. Following snow melt, however, and saturating levels of photosynthetically active radiation in June, we observed enhanced ice-algal production of bactericidal compounds (free palmitoleic acid; up to 4.8 mg L–1). We thus suggest that protection of sinking sympagic material from bacterial degradation early in a melt season results from low bacterial activity due to salinity stress, while later in the season, algal production of bactericidal compounds induces bacterial mortality. A succession of bacterial stressors during Arctic ice melt helps to explain the efficient export of sea-ice algal material to the seabed

Efficiency of sympagic-benthic coupling revealed by analyses of n-3 fatty acids, IP25 and other highly branched isoprenoids in two filter-feeding Arctic benthic molluscs: Mya truncata and Serripes groenlandicus

International audienceThe aim of this work was to determine the impact of sympagic (ice-associated) algal primary production on the quality of Arctic filter-feeding bivalves. For this purpose, we investigated the sea ice production of lipids (including omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) and highly branched isoprenoids (HBI)), as well as their subsequent incorporation into the truncate softshell clam (Mya truncata) and the Greenland cockle (Serripes groenlandicus), during the melting periods of two consecutive years in Baffin Bay. Lipid and primary production exhibited seasonal variability and overall contrasts between the two years, as a result of distinct physical forcings and the ensuing biological responses. Whilst less productive in terms of total lipids or chlorophyll a, spring 2016 was more productive than spring 2015 for n-3 PUFA, which are essential for benthic fauna. The sea ice diatom HBI biomarker IP25 was quantified in sea ice from both years. Interestingly, such production was preceded by a production of the hitherto ‘pelagic’ biomarker, HBI III, in sea ice. In bivalves, HBI contents and correlations confirmed the tightness of the Arctic sympagic-benthic coupling and highlighted that S. groenlandicus can be used as a sentinel species for assessing the degree of this coupling. The confirmation that bivalves incorporate sea-ice derived HBI III and not only IP25, may introduce uncertainties into the use of some HBI-based indices. Monitoring of the fatty acid contents of bivalves allowed identification of their spawning periods and suggests that M. truncata did not store enough n-3 PUFA to sustain its reproductive effort

Viability and stress state of bacteria associated with primary production or zooplankton-derived suspended particulate matter in summer along a transect in Baffin Bay (Arctic Ocean)

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