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Macroscale patterns of the biological cycling of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and dimethylsulfide (DMS) in the Northwest Atlantic

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Abstract

The influence of the seasonal development of microplankton communities on the cycling of dimethylsulfide (DMS) and its precursor dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) was investigated along a South–North gradient (36–59°N) in the Northwest (NW) Atlantic Ocean. Three surveys allowed the sampling of surface mixed layer (SML) waters at stations extending from the subtropical gyre to the Greenland Current during May, July and October 2003. Pools and transformation rates of DMSP and DMS were quantified and related to prevailing physical and biochemical conditions, phytoplankton abundance and taxonomic composition, as well as bacterioplankton abundance and leucine uptake. The South–North progression of the diatom bloom, a prominent feature in the NW Atlantic, did not influence the production of DMS whereas conditions in the N Atlantic Drift lead to a persistent bloom of DMSP-rich flagellate-dominated phytoplankton community and high net DMS production rates. Macroscale patterns of the observed variables were further explored using principal component analysis (PCA). The first axis of the PCA showed a strong association between the spatio-temporal distribution of DMSP and the abundance of several phytoplankton groups including dinoflagellates and prymnesiophytes, as well as with microbial-mediated DMSPd consumption and yields and rates of the conversion of DMSP into DMS. The second axis revealed a strong association between concentrations of DMS and SML depth and photosynthetically active radiation, a result supporting the prominent role of solar radiation as a driver of DMS dynamics.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the officers, crew and fellow scientists onboard the CCGS Hudson and the CCGS Martha L. Black for their assistance during the three cruises. We are particularly grateful to S. Lessard for the enumeration and identification of phytoplankton, to H. Bussey, P. Matthews, M. Hale and K. Keats for bacterioplankton data, and to S. Roy for the coordination of the cruises. Finally, we thank two anonymous reviewers who provided highly constructive comments, which helped us to improve on the original manuscript. M. Lizotte received postgraduate scholarships from Québec-Océan and the Biology department of Laval University. This project is a contribution to the research programs of the Canadian Surface Ocean—Lower Atmosphere Study funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and of Québec-Océan funded by the Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la nature et les technologies. Funding for participation of R. Kiene was provided by the National Science Foundation through grants OPP-0083078 and OCE 0928968.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de biologie, Québec-Océan, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Martine Lizotte, Maurice Levasseur & Anissa Merzouk

  2. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Maurice Lamontagne Institute, Mont-Joli, QC, G5H 3Z4, Canada

    Sonia Michaud & Michael G. Scarratt

  3. Institut des sciences de la mer de Rimouski, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 310 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada

    Michel Gosselin

  4. Laboratoire de Radioécologie de Cherbourg-Octeville, Institut de Radioprotection et de Sureté Nucléaire, Cherbourg-Octeville, 50130, France

    Julien Pommier

  5. Ocean Sciences Center, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St-John’s, NF, A1C 5S7, Canada

    Richard B. Rivkin

  6. Department of Marine Sciences, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, 36688, USA

    Ronald P. Kiene

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  1. Martine Lizotte
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Correspondence to Martine Lizotte.

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Lizotte, M., Levasseur, M., Michaud, S. et al. Macroscale patterns of the biological cycling of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and dimethylsulfide (DMS) in the Northwest Atlantic. Biogeochemistry 110, 183–200 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-011-9698-4

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