Nutrient stoichiometry drives the phytoplankton populations during the progression of upwelling along the eastern Arabian Sea

Abstract

The basin-wide phytoplankton succession and community behaviour in response to varying nutrient patterns during various upwelling phases are detailed, for the first time, in the eastern Arabian Sea (EAS, ∼6^◦ to 22^◦N) during the summer monsoon (SM) of 2018. Three consecutive observations were carried out during early SM (June-July), peak SM (August), and late SM (September-October), representing different phases of upwelling. During the early phase of upwelling, high phytoplankton biomass was observed in the south (column-integrated chlorophyll a: 74.09 ± 60.05 mg m⁻²) and moderate levels in the central (25.75 ± 6.51 mg m⁻²) and north (30.31 ± 12.32 mg m⁻²) EAS coastal waters. Diatoms were the dominant group (60–90 %) in the coastal stations throughout the upwelling period. Offshore regions characterised by deeper nutriclines (>50 m) had pico-phytoplankton dominance, including cyanobacteria (14–30 %), chlorophytes (19–24 %) and prochlorophytes (12–15 %); however, due to low nitrogen to phosphorous ratio (N/P: 2.6 ± 1.31) during this period, the contribution of diatoms decreased to less than 20 % in the offshore waters compared to the coastal EAS. During peak SM, upwelling induced shoaling of nutriclines and high N/P conditions (8.4 ± 5.25) in the mixed layers of south EAS coastal waters substantially enhanced phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll a: 129.06 ± 96.24 mg m⁻²). Additionally, the shallow nutriclines supported diatoms dominance in offshore waters, particularly in the central EAS (up to 65 %), relative to the south and north EAS (22 to 33 %), where the upwelling intensity was weaker. The withdrawal of upwelling led to a deepening of nutricline and low N/P conditions (3.33 ± 2.77 in coastal and 3.35 ± 2.26 in offshore waters) during late SM. This supported the occurrence of cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates, as the contribution of diatoms to the total phytoplankton community sharply decreased to 50 %. In other words, upwelling in the EAS brings nitrogen-deficient (denitrified) waters; the available nitrogen is immediately consumed by the diatom community, resulting in low N/P conditions that favour the dominance of the cyanobacterial population towards late SM. Overall, substantial intra-seasonal variability was observed in nutrient stoichiometry, strongly modulated by the intensity of physical processes affecting the phytoplankton populations. Continuous monitoring is required to understand the phytoplankton populations, their impact on higher trophic levels, and the overall health of aquatic food web structure in the EAS.