Downwelling and dominance of autochthonous dinoflagellates in the NW Iberian margin: the example of the Ría de Vigo

Abstract

Dinoflagellate blooms in coastal upwelling systems are restricted to times and places with reduced exchange and mixing. The Rías Baixas of Galicia are four bays in the NW Iberian upwelling with these characteristics where harmful algal blooms (HABs) of dinoflagellates are common. These blooms are especially recurrent at the end of the upwelling season, when autumn downwelling amplifies accumulation and retention through the development of a convergence front in the interior of Rías. Because oceanic water enters the Rías during downwelling, it has been hypothesised that dinoflagellate blooms originate by the advection and subsequent accumulation of allochthonous populations. To examine this possibility, we studied the microplankton succession in relation to hydrographic variability in the Ría de Vigo one of these four bays) along an annual cycle making use of a high sampling frequency. The results indicated that upwelling lasted from May to August, with downwelling prevailing in winter. Microplankton during upwelling, although dominated by diatoms, evidenced a progressive increase in the importance of dinoflagellates, which achieved maximum abundance at the end of the upwelling season. Thus, diatoms characterised the spring bloom, while diatoms and autochthonous dinoflagellates composed the autumn bloom. Diatoms dominated during the first moments of the autumn downwelling and dinoflagellates were more abundant later, after stronger downwelling removed diatoms from the water column. Since the dinoflagellates selected by downwelling belonged to the local community, it is concluded that advection of alien populations is not required to explain these autumn blooms.