Production characteristics of bacteria and phytoplankton in the Sea of Okhotsk and Bering Sea during spring–summer

Abstract

Production parameters for bacterioplankton were assessed during the spring–summer period in the western parts of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea, as well as in northwestern Pacific Ocean. The lowest values of bacterial production were observed in early June during the spring phytoplankton bloom (0.08 mg C day^–1 m^–3), while the maximum values (up to 55 mg C day^–1 m^–3) occurred in late July‒early August, 1.5 to 2 months after the bloom. The concentration of dissolved organic matter, the substrate for bacterioplankton, was assessed using satellite data. The ratio between bacterial and primary production in the surface samples varied from 0.5% at the peak of phytoplankton bloom to 180% at the peak of bacterioplankton development.