ALBERT

Description: The marine dinophycean genus Azadinium has been identified as the primary source of azaspiracids (AZA), a group of lipophilic phycotoxins known to accumulate in shellfish. Blooms of Azadinium in the southern Atlantic off Argentina have been described from the 1990s, but due to a lack of cultures, the diversity of South-Atlantic Azadinium has not yet been fully explored and their toxin production potential is completely unknown. During a spring 2010 research cruise covering the El Rinco´n (ER) estuarine system (North Patagonian coast, Argentina, Southwestern Atlantic) a search was conducted for the presence of Azadinium. Although neither Azadinium cells nor AZA in field plankton samples were detected, 10 clonal strains of Azadinium poporum were successfuly established by incubation of sediment samples. Argentinean A. poporum were more variable in size and shape than the type description but conformed to it by the presence of multiple pyrenoids with starch sheath, in plate pattern and arrangement, and in the position of the ventral pore located on the left side of the pore plate. In contrast to all previous description of A. poporum, isolates of the Argentinean A. poporum possessed a distinct field of pores on the second antapical plate. Conspecificity of the Argentinean isolates with A. poporum was confirmed by molecular phylogeny of concatenated ITS and LSU rDNA sequences, where all Argentinean isolates together with some Chinese A. poporum strains formed a well-supported ribotype clade within A. poporum. All isolates produced AZA with the same profile, consisting of AZA-2 as the major compound and, to a lesser extent, its phosphated form. This is the first report of a phosphated marine algal toxin. This first confirmation of the presence of AZA producing Azadinium in the Argentinean coastal area underlines the risk of AZA shellfish contamination episodes in the Southwestern Atlantic region.

Description: The overlay of cooler nutrient enriched Beagle–Magellan water with warmer nutrient depleted shelf water and a strong stratification of the water column in the San Jorge Gulf region, Argentina, coincided with relatively high dinoflagellate abundances in April 2012, up to 34,000 cells L− 1. This dinoflagellate proliferation was dominated by Ceratium spp., but environmental conditions also favored to a lesser amount the occurrence of toxigenic dinoflagellates, such as Alexandrium tamarense and Protoceratium reticulatum, whose toxins were hardly detected in any other areas along the expedition transect of the R/V Puerto Deseado between 38 and 56°S (Ushuaia–Mar del Plata) in March/April 2012. Generally vegetative cells of A. tamarense and P. reticulatum co-occurred with their respective phycotoxins in the water column and their cysts in the upper sediment layers. Two strains of A. tamarense were isolated from the bloom sample and morphologically characterized. Their PSP toxin profiles consisted of C1/2, gonyautoxins 1/4 and to a lesser amount of neosaxitoxin and confirmed earlier data from this region. The ratios between autotrophic picoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria were higher in shelf waters in the north than in Beagle–Magellan waters in the south of San Jorge Gulf.

Description: The seasonal variability of inorganic and organic nutrients and stable isotopes and their relations with plankton and environmental conditions were monitored in Lake Chasicó. Principal component analysis evidenced the strong influence of the river runoff on several biogeochemical variables. Silicate concentrations were controlled by diatom biomass and river discharge. Higher values of nitrate and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) indicated agricultural uses in the river basin. Elevated pH values (∼9) inhibiting nitrification in the lake explained partially the dominance of ammonium: ∼83 % of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN). The low DIN/SRP ratio inferred nitrogen limitation, although the hypotheses of iron and CO2 limitation are relevant in alkaline lakes. Particulate organic matter (POM) and dissolved organic matter (DOM) were mainly of autochthonous origin. The main allochthonous input was imported by the river as POM owning to the arid conditions. Dissolved organic carbon was likely top-down regulated by the bacterioplankton grazer Brachionus plicatilis. The δ13C signature was a good indicator of primary production and its values were influenced probably by CO2 limitation. The δ15N did not evidence nitrogen fixation and suggested the effects of anthropogenic activities. The preservation of a good water quality in the lake is crucial for resource management.

Description: The extensive Argentine continental shelf supports high plankton productivity and fish catches. In particular, El Rincón coastal area and the adjacent shelf fronts (38.5–42º S, 58.5–62º W) comprise diverse habitats and hold species of economic and ecological value. So far, studies of the microbial community at the base of the food web remain scarce. Here we describe the early spring plankton (〉5-200 µm) structure in terms of abundance, biomass, species composition, functional groups and phycotoxin profiles in surface waters of El Rincón in September 2015. Diatoms were the most abundant and the largest contributors to carbon biomass at most stations. They dominated in coastal and inner-shelf (depths 〈50 m) while dinoflagellates and small flagellates (〈15 µm) dominated offshore at middle-shelf waters (depth ~100 m). Likewise, large (〉20 µm) heterotrophic protists, e.g. various ciliates and dinoflagellates species were more abundant offshore. Scanning of phycotoxins in the field disclosed that paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins were dominated by gonyautoxins-1/4 (GTX1/4). Lipophilic toxins were detected in low abundance, e.g. domoic acid (DA), although a bloom of Pseudo-nitzschia spp. (up to 3.6 x 105 cells L-1) was detected at inner-shelf stations. Pectenotoxin-2 (PTX-2) and 13-desmethyl spirolide C (SPX-1) were the most abundant in the field. PTX-2 co-occurred with Dinophysis spp., mainly D. tripos, while SPX-1 dominated at middle-shelf stations, where cells of Alexandrium catenella (1 strain) and A. ostenfeldii (3 strains) were isolated. The quantitative PSP profiles of the Alexandrium strains differed significantly from the field profiles. Moreover, the three A. ostenfeldii strains proved to be PSP producers and additionally produced 5 novel spirolides. Phylogenetic analyses of these first strains from the South Atlantic disclosed a new ribotype group suggesting a biogeographical distinction of the population. The plankton survey presented here contributes with baseline knowledge to evaluate potential ecosystem changes and to track the global distribution of toxigenic species.

Description: Fluorescence spectroscopy is commonly used to investigate the distribution and dynamics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in marine systems. However, the direct comparison with chemical signatures is essential to substantiate the molecular composition of specific fluorescent components. Here we report the relation between optical and chemical signatures of DOM in waters of the Beagle Channel (BCW) (south-east of Tierra del Fuego, in the southern Argentine shelf) at the Pacific-Atlantic connection and neighboring coastal (CW) and oceanic (OW) waters (54.75–55.75°S, 64–68°W). The relationships among concentrations of total dissolved carbohydrates (TDCHO) and amino acids (TDAA), and fluorescent DOM (FDOM), including terrestrial “humic-like” (FDOMC) and “protein-like” compounds (FDOMT), and bioavailability of DOM components were assessed from field measurements acquired in the austral summer 2012. The maximal concentrations of TDCHO, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and FDOMc intensities were found in BCW, while the minima in OW, displaying a negative correlation with salinity. This spatial distribution of biogeochemical signals suggests that humic compounds contributed by continental runoff contain refractory carbohydrates, and FDOMC resulted as a reliable tracer of carbon pathways in the Pacific-Atlantic connection. Conversely, TDAA and FDOMT showed the opposite distributional trend, with minimal concentrations in BCW and the maxima in CW and OW. The significant positive correlation of TDAA with salinity suggests open water sources of these components, however, phytoplankton biomass (Chla) in CW and OW was significantly lower than in BCW, ruling out the assumption of autochthonous source in open waters. TDAA were negatively correlated with the abundance of heterotrophic bacteria (HB), which displayed a consistent decrease from BCW towards OW, suggesting high bacterial uptake of TDAA in the BCW. This bacterial uptake is supported by the observed variation in carbon contribution of TDAA to DOC (amino acids carbon yield, in %), which is an indicator of DOM lability. The negative correlation found between amino acids carbon yield and HB abundance reflects intense bacterial activity in BCW, where phytoplankton biomass was maximum. Hence, higher DOM “freshness” occurs in the BCW, suggesting a tight coupling between microbial production and consumption.

Description: The present work reports the first data set on particulate organic carbon (POC) and nitrogen (PON), and the highresolution modelling of their stable isotope variability in the Patagonian Cold Estuarine System (PCES), with focus on particulate organic matter (POM) origin and distribution in dependence on physical, chemical and biological parameters. POC, PON, stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen isotopes (δ15N), dissolved organic nitrogen, phaeopigments, diatom, dinoflagellate and heterotrophic bacteria (HB) abundance are reported for 17 stations in different waters masses in the southern end of the Argentine shelf in late summer 2012. Most parameters denote clear differences between Beagle-Magellan Water (BMW), Subantarctic ShelfWater (SSW) and Subantarctic Water (SAW). POC and PON decreased frommaxima in BMWto intermediate values in SSWandminima in SAW. There was a highly significant correlation among POC, PON and fluorescence indicators of diagenetic maturity of dissolved humic matter. This, together with the inverse correlations of salinity with POC and PON, and the wide range of C:N ratios indicate that POM in the study area is partly derived from terrestrial runoff, superimposed by autochthonous components from plankton of different life stages. HB abundance was significantly correlated with POC and dissolved organic matter (DOM), likely reflecting a resource control of HB and a significant contribution of bacterial biomass to POM in the nanoparticle fraction. The direct relationship between HB and dissolved humics suggests bacterial uptake of DOM fractions otherwise considered refractory. POM complexity was reflected in a wide variation of δ13C, despite the narrowtemperature range of this region. The variability of stable isotopes of POC could be accounted for by a modelwith a degree of detail hitherto not reported in the literature. Amultiple regression including C:N ratio, ammonium and the quotient between log abundance of diatoms, dinoflagellates and HB explained 92% of δ13C variance, mostly produced by ammonium. Despite the strong effect of ammonium on δ13C, δ15N variability was largely explained by a strong inverse relationship with the fraction of unutilized nitrate, suggesting dominance of nitrate uptake. However, the proportion of presumably isotopically heavier ammoniumderived fromcontinental runoff in the marine δ15N-POM pool is unknown and requires investigation of the isotopic composition of dissolved inorganic nitrogen in the PCES. The presented newinformation and its comparison with data fromother sectors of the Argentine shelf constitute a contribution to an approach for the understanding of the organicmatter dynamics that can be potentially expanded to the entire Southwest Atlantic.

Description: Biogeochemical markers in combination with bacterial community composition were studied at two contrasting stations at the Río Negro (RN) estuary to assess the outwelling hypothesis in the Argentinian Patagonia. Inorganic nutrients and dissolved organic matter were exported clearly during the last hours of the ebb at the station Wetland. Moreover, a considerable outwelling of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), particulates and microalgae was inferred by this combined approach. The exported 22:6(n-3) and 20:5(n-3) contributed very likely to sustain higher trophic levels in the coasts of the Southwest Atlantic. The stable isotopes did not evidence clearly the outwelling; nevertheless, the combination of δ13C with fatty acid bacterial markers indicated organic matter degradation in the sediments. The dominance of Desulfobacterales and Desulfuromonadales suggested sulphate reduction in the sediments, a key mechanism for nutrient outwelling in salt marshes. Marivivens and other Rhodobacterales (Alphaproteobacteria) in the suspended particulate matter were clear indicators of the nutrient outwelling. The colonization of particles according to the island biogeography theory was a good hypothesis to explain the lower bacterial biodiversity at the wetland. The copiotrophic conditions of the RN estuary and particularly at the wetland were deduced also by the dynamic of some Actinobacteria, Bacteroidia and Gammaproteobacteria. This high-resolution snapshot combining isotopic, lipid and bacterial markers offers key pioneer insights into biogeochemical and ecological processes of the RN estuary.