A review of Russian plankton research in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea in the 1960-1980s
A book, 28 articles and two technical reports were published as results of the Soviet-Cuban and Sovietexpeditions in 1962-1984, involving plankton samples collected at about 2,070 stations in the Gulf of Mexico andthe Caribbean Sea. The results of those studies remained virtually unknown to the inte...
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2003 |
| País: | México |
| Institución: | Universidad Veracruzana |
| Repositorio: | Redalyc-UV |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:redalyc.org:57813306 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=57813306 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Biología Plankton upwelling Caribbean Sea Gulf of Mexico primary production |
| Sumario: | A book, 28 articles and two technical reports were published as results of the Soviet-Cuban and Sovietexpeditions in 1962-1984, involving plankton samples collected at about 2,070 stations in the Gulf of Mexico andthe Caribbean Sea. The results of those studies remained virtually unknown to the international communitybecause they were published mainly in Russian. Two main types of water circulation in the Gulf resulting fromthe intensity of the Yucatan Current were distinguished. It was concluded that offshore regions of the Gulf ofMexico and the Caribbean Sea were oligotrophic, the deep-sea regions of the latter being richer inphytoplankton compared to deep-sea areas of the Gulf. Due to the upwellings and runoff from the Mississippiriver, the Bank of Campeche, the northwestern Gulf, and the west Florida shelf were characterized by arelatively higher plankton production and by more pronounced seasonal changes in plankton biomass. Cyclonicand anticyclonic horizontal circulations were found to be the main reason for spatial changes in productivity ofthe Gulf. In various regions, the highest productivity was reported in different seasons, principally in winter onthe northern shelf and in summer-autumn on the southern shelf of the Gulf. The annual dynamics of planktonbiomass were traced in the Bank of Campeche. In the Caribbean Sea, both the Venezuela shelf and theHonduras continental slope were characterized by their higher productivity. The large amount of data obtainedcan be used to evaluate long-term changes in biological productivity in the region, species composition, andplankton communities. |
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