Living coccolithophore communities in the central Mediterranean Sea (Summer 2016): Relations between ecology and oceanography

Coccolithophores were collected at 21 stations during summer 2016, from coastal and offshore areas of the Central Mediterranean Sea, to describe the ecology of the coccolithophore community integrating information on their abundance, environmental parameters (salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and fluorescence) and oceanographic data. Emiliania huxleyi dominated the assemblage from surface to intermediate layers, while Florisphaera profunda was more abundant in the deep photic zone. Principal Component Analysis revealed that the distribution of coccolithophore taxa was influenced by environmental parameters: K-strategist taxa were related to warm surface waters, whereas lower photic zone taxa were influenced by the development of a Deep Chlorophyll Maximum and high salinity values, well below the thermocline. These results confirmed that a vertical species zonation, as a typical feature of low-middle latitude, characterizes the Central Mediterranean during summer. The distribution of F. profunda once again confirmed its use as a proxy of Deep Chlorophyll Maximum development and paleoproductivity estimates. Gephyrocapsa spp. (= total Gephyrocapsa), and in particular G. oceanica, were more abundant along the Atlantic Water pathway. Finally, the high concentration value of Helicosphaera carteri, recorded in the Ligurian Sea at an offshore station, suggested an expansion of the opportunist nature of this taxon from coastal environments to the offshore areas characterized by high turbidity and high productivity.