BACTERIAL BIOMASS AND PRODUCTION IN PACK ICE OF ANTARCTIC MARGINAL ICE EDGE ZONES

Bacterial biomass and production in pack ice is little known even though the pack accounts for the majority of the 20 million square kilometer Antarctic sea ice habitat. On three cruises in marginal ice edge zones, spring 1983 (AMERIEZ I), autumn 1986 (AMERIEZ II), and late winter 1985 (Wintercruise I), considerable bacterial biomass and production was found throughout ice floes up to 2.22 m thick. We hypothesize that bacteria accumulate in pack ice as a result of both physical and biological processes. During the formation and growth of ice, physical processes act to concentrate and accumulate bacteria within the ice matrix. This is followed by in situ growth along physiochemical gradients found in several sea ice microhabitats. Bacterial biomass and production in ice were equal to that present in several meters of underlying seawater during all seasons. Among microhabitats, highest bacterial production and most rapid rates of growth ( >1 d-1) were found in saline ponds on the surface of floes and porewater in the interior of floes. Bacterial carbon production ranged from 2% of primary production in surface brash to 45-221% of primary production in surface ponds and porewater. Bacterial growth and microalgal photosynthetic metabolism in pack ice appear to be coupled in a fashion similar to that described for fast ice. The presence of substantial numbers of active, feeding protozoans and metazoans in pack ice suggests, albeit indirectly, that bacterial production supports microheterotrophs of the microbial loop, which in turn may support organisms at higher trophic levels. Bacterial growth in pack ice may be important to the potential for primary production. Thus ice bacteria may provide remineralized inorganic nutrients necessary for continued microalgal growth in localized microhabitats within the ice or they may compete with algae for nutrients. Upon release from melting ice, actively growing bacteria also contribute to microbial biomass in seawater. From these seasonal studies, we conclude that bacterial production in pack ice contributes substantially to the trophodynamics of marginal ice edge zones during all seasons. © 1990.