Extended Data Fig. 10: Proportional prokaryote contribution to phytoplankton community compared across time-series stations.
From: Microbial production and consumption of hydrocarbons in the global ocean
Depth profiles of ~20 years of data from the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series (BATS, at top, data obtained from Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study http://bats.bios.edu/bats-data/), the Hawaii Ocean Time-series (HOT, in middle, data obtained from Hawaii Ocean Time-series HOT-DOGS application; University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, National Science Foundation Award #1756517), and this study (at bottom). Data points are colored on a gradient by the proportional contribution to the phytoplankton community by Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus (total phytoplankton community is calculated as Pro. + Syn. + pico- + nano-Eukaryotes for BATS and this study, and Pro. + Syn. + pico-Eukaryotes for HOT). BATS and HOT data are each from a single station measured nearly monthly for ~20 years whereas measurements from this study incorporate spatial variability (see Fig. 1) with minimal temporal variability (all measurements taken in May 2017). The proportional contribution of Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus is >90 % of the phytoplankton community at BATS 84% of the time. At HOT, Pro. + Syn. is > 90 % of phytoplankton community ~100% of the time. For this study, Pro. + Syn. is >90% of the phytoplankton community (Pro. + Syn. + pico + nano-Eukaryotes) for 80% of the measurements, with most cases of lower proportional prokaryote abundance due to an anomalous nutrient pulse observed at station 9 (a Synechococcus bloom) or at low absolute abundance of Pro. + Syn.
