De Cauwer, K.

Goffin, A.

Lagring, R.

Nohe, A.

Sabbe, K.

Tyberghein, L.

Vyverman, W.

Open Marine Archive

-  54  -  
Oral presentation Science in the North Sea 
The impact of decades of environmental change on phytoplankton 
communities in the Belgian part of the North Sea 
Nohe Anja
1
, Goffin Annelies
2
, Tyberghein Lennert
2
, Lagring Ruth
3
, De Cauwer Karien
3
, Vyverman Wim
1
 and 
Sabbe Koen
1
 
1
  Laboratory of Protistology & Aquatic Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Ghent, Krijgslaan 
281 S8, 9000 Gent, Belgium 
E-mail: anja.nohe@ugent.be  
2
  Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), Wandelaarkaai 7, 8400 Oostende, Belgium 
3
  Belgian Marine Data Center (BMDC), Operational Directorate Natural Environment, Royal Belgian 
Institute of Natural Sciences, Gulledelle 100, 1200 Brussels, Belgium 
 
Long-term time series are crucial for identifying trends and changes in the biomass and structure of 
marine communities in the context of environmental and climate change resulting from natural and 
anthropogenic causes (e.g. eutrophication and modified nutrient cycles). In Belgium phytoplankton 
research has been conducted since the 1970s in the framework of several independent research projects. 
In the course of the Belspo BRAIN-be project 4DEMON (4 DEcades of Belgian marine MONitoring), an 
initiative to recover and integrate (historical) marine biodiversity and environmental data in the Belgian 
part of the North Sea (BPNS), phytoplankton diversity and biomass data from the 1970s to the 2000s 
were compiled, standardized and analyzed, with a focus on diatoms and dinoflagellates. 
 
Comparison of diatom and dinoflagellate communities between the 1970s and the 2000s revealed 
significant changes, including a marked increase in both diatom and dinoflagellate abundance and shifts 
in phenology, with an earlier start of the diatom spring bloom and the emergence of a pronounced 
dinoflagellate summer bloom. In addition, the annual phytoplankton community composition has 
become more similar the whole year round. The observed changes are probably a result of complex 
bottom-up and top-down interactions. On the basis of environmental datasets, such as historical abiotic 
data measured in the BPNS (4DEMON), EU LifeWatch ERIC data series, and Dutch long-term monitoring 
(Rijkswaterstaat) programs, we hypothesize that the observed changes may be partly related to a 
combination of increasing (winter) water temperatures, clearer water conditions and changing nutrient 
ratios. 
 
Keywords: diatoms; dinoflagellates; time series; Belgian part of the North Sea 
 
  


The impact of decades of environmental change on phytoplankton communities in the Belgian part of the North Sea

http://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/318180.pdf

The impact of decades of environmental change on phytoplankton communities in the Belgian part of the North Sea

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