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ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil Advance Access originally published online on May 22, 2007
ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 2007 64(5):889-898; doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsm063
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© 2007 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Oxford Journals. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Interannual variability in Nordic seas primary production

Morten D. Skogen, W. Paul Budgell and Francisco Rey

Institute of Marine Research, PB 1870 Nordnes, N-5817 Bergen, Norway and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Allegaten 55, N-5007 Bergen, Norway

Correspondence to M. D. Skogen: tel: +47-5523 8461; fax: +47-5523 8531; e-mail: morten{at}imr.no

Skogen, M. D., Budgell, W. P., and Rey, F. 2007. Interannual variability in Nordic seas primary production. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 889–898.

Phytoplankton represents the primary trophic level in marine pelagic ecosystems, through which most biological material produced by photosynthesis is further channelled through the foodweb via grazing by zooplankton. Therefore, the level and variability of primary production is believed to be an important factor for fish recruitment and growth. The Nordic seas are important feeding areas for large and important commercial fish stocks, but because of a scarcity of measurements, only few estimates of primary production exist. Additionally, primary production is highly variable because of the wide variations in light, temperature, and nutrient supply at a specific time and location. Here, primary production in the Nordic seas is studied using a coupled 3D physical, chemical, and biological ocean model, revealing large variations in primary production in space and time. The model gives a mean annual production of 73 gC m–2 y–1 and a 20% variation in phytoplankton biomass between the years of highest and lowest production. The interannual variability is linked to the North Atlantic Oscillation, sea ice, and the transport of water into the Nordic seas. The strong control of phytoplankton production by the physics suggests a possible mechanism for how climate can be an important driver for the availability of biological material in foodwebs.

Keywords: ecological model, Nordic seas, primary production

Received 17 July 2006; accepted 19 March 2007; advance access publication 22 May 2007.


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