Abstract
The vertical distribution of bacterial abundance and biomass was investigated in relation to algal biomass in ice cores taken from drifting ice floes in two Arctic shelf areas: the Barents Sea and the Laptev Sea. Bacteria were not homogeneously distributed throughout the cores but occurred in dense layers. Different types of distribution patterns were found: either a single maximum occurred inside or at the bottom of the ice floe or maxima were found in different parts of the floes. Bacterial concentrations ranged from 0.4 to 36.7 · 105 cells ml−1. The size spectra of sea-ice bacteria were determined by image analysis. Cell sizes showed considerable variation between the ice floes. In multi-year sea ice, the largest bacteria were observed in the area of an internal chlorophyll a maximum. No specific vertical distribution patterns were found in first-year ice floes. Bacterial biomass for the ice cores ranged from 19.2 to 79.2 mg C m−2, and the ratio of bacterial:ice algal biomass ranged from 0.43 to 10.42. A comparison with data collected from fast ice revealed large differences in terms of cell size, abundance and biomass.
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Received: 7 September 1995 / Accepted: 10 September 1996
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Gradinger, R., Zhang, Q. Vertical distribution of bacteria in Arctic sea ice from the Barents and Laptev Seas. Polar Biol 17, 448–454 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/s003000050139
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s003000050139