Experimental, Levantine Sea (eastern Mediterranean)

Chlorophyll pigment concentrations in water bodies; Phaeopigment concentrations in sediment; Primary production in the water column; Phytoplankton taxonomic volume in water bodies; Phytoplankton taxonomic abundance in water bodies; Microzooplankton taxonomic abundance in water bodies

Fluorometers; discrete water samplers; optical microscopes; liquid scintillation counters

Primary production measurements, together with phytoplankton and microzooplankton community structures during microcosm experiments and experimental cruises in the Levantine Basin. The aim of CYCLOPS (Cycling of Phosphorus in the Mediterranean) is to confirm directly that phosphorus is the growth-limiting nutrient in the Eastern Mediterranean using a novel field strategy that avoids artefacts of bottle experiments. Detailed measurements were made to determine how small additions of phosphate change the microbial ecosystem structure and increase biomass and productivity.

Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology & Aquaculture
Gournes Pediados P.O. Box 2214
Heraklion
Crete
71003
Greece