The study of phytoplankton in the Banggai Deep Sea: The study case of Banggai Upwelling Dynamics and Ecosystem Experiment (BUDEE)

Abstract

The upwelling process in the Banggai deep-sea water occurs yearly during the east monsoon. The upwelling process is characterized by low surface water temperatures compared to the surrounding waters, high nutrient values of phosphate, nitrate, and silicate, and high values of primary productivity. The aim of this research was to determine the types of phytoplankton that are abundant in the Banggai deep-sea waters during the upwelling process. Phytoplankton sampling was conducted at 36 stations using a phytoplankton net from a depth of 150 m to the water surface. The mesh size of the phytoplankton net was 80 µm with a net length of 100 cm. Phytoplankton samples were preserved using 4% formalin. Based on the research results, the highest total abundance of phytoplankton was found at station 13 (315.457 cells.m-3), followed by stations 20 (234.746 cells.m-3), 26 (213.865 cells.m-3), station 14 (202.371 cells.m-3), station 18 (196.983 cells.m-3) and station 46 (187397 cells.m-3). Meanwhile, the other stations had an abundance of <150,000 cells/m3. The highest abundance at station 13 was dominated by the genera Bellerochea (64.068 cells.m-3), Chaetoceros (42.407 cells.m-3) and Nitzschia (35.390 cells.m-3). The high abundance of phytoplankton at Station 13 was due to upwelling.