Weak response of biological productivity and community structure of phytoplankton to mesoscale eddies in the oligotrophic Philippine Sea

Abstract

In the Philippine Sea, mesoscale eddies have been frequently observed, but little is known about their contributions to the biological productivity and community structure of phytoplankton in the region. In situ carbon and nitrogen uptake rates and phytoplankton community structure were investigated in the Philippine Sea based on the 13C‐15N dual‐tracer technique and photosynthetic pigment analysis from late August to September 2018. Based on the comparison of the phytoplankton community structure among the cold eddy, warm eddy, and outer area, we found that the phytoplankton composition was different in the warm eddy with relatively lower contributions of large phytoplankton. However, a distinct enhancement in phytoplankton biomass over the euphotic zone was not detected even in eddy occurrence. In terms of community, the picoplankton Prochlorococcus was persistently dominant, which was attributed to a low supply and chemical composition of nutrients. The average integrated primary productions (IPP) were 80.4, 75.9, and 76.3 mg C m−2d−1 for the cold eddy, warm eddy, and outer area, respectively. The IPP under the eddy condition was not largely different from that in reference sites, even though the vertical distribution of productivity maximum was found to be different depending on eddy condition. These weak biological responses to mesoscale eddies might be attributed to the sustaining picoplankton‐dominant community structure and no substantial upward inputs of nutrients to the euphotic zone. Our findings represent an important contribution to understanding the biological response of mesoscale eddies in the oligotrophic Philippine Sea.