{"id":1502,"date":"2020-01-10T16:50:51","date_gmt":"2020-01-10T08:50:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oceanecol.com\/?p=1502"},"modified":"2020-01-11T16:04:42","modified_gmt":"2020-01-11T08:04:42","slug":"new-paper-on-island-mass-effects-around-moorea-james-et-al-front-mar-sci","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oceanecol.com\/?p=1502","title":{"rendered":"New paper on island mass effects around Moorea (James et. al., Front. Mar. Sci.)"},"content":{"rendered":"

An Island Mass Effect Resolved Near Moorea, French Polynesia<\/a><\/h1>\n

Anna K. James1<\/sup>, Libe Washburn1<\/sup>, Chris Gotschalk1<\/sup>, St\u00e9phane Maritorena2<\/sup>, Alice Alldredge1<\/sup>, Craig E. Nelson3<\/sup>, James L. Hench4<\/sup>, James J. Leichter5<\/sup>, Alex S. Wyatt<\/strong>6<\/sup> and Craig A. Carlson1<\/sup><\/p>\n

1<\/sup>Department of Ecology Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, United States<\/em>
\n2<\/sup>Earth Research Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, United States<\/em>
\n3<\/sup>Center for Microbial Oceanography, University of Hawaii at Manoa, United States<\/em>
\n4<\/sup>Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, United States<\/em>
\n5<\/sup>Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, United States<\/em>
\n6<\/sup>Department of Ocean Science and Hong Kong Branch of the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong<\/em><\/p>\n

We sought to resolve the extent, variability, and magnitude of productivity enrichment around a high tropical island consistent with the phenomenon of an Island Mass Effect (IME). Key biogeochemical constituents and physical oceanographic parameters were measured offshore over the upper 500 m from July 27 to August 7, 2014 around the Society Island of Mo\u2019orea in French Polynesia in association with the nearshore measurements of the Mo\u2019orea Coral Reef Long Term Ecological Research program. High-resolution synoptic sampling in a rectangular grid around the island revealed vertical and horizontal patterns in hydrographic conditions, inorganic nutrients, rates of productivity, and concentrations of organic matter that are characteristic of oligotrophic gyre ecosystems. Within the upper euphotic zone (0 \u2013 75 m), levels of net primary productivity (NPP), chlorophyll a (Chl), heterotrophic bacterioplankton productivity (BP), and particulate organic carbon (POC) exhibited concurrent enhancement at stations located within 5 to 15 km of shore, relative to stations farther offshore. These observations of enhanced productivity near an island are consistent with an IME. Particulate organic matter nitrogen isotopes (POM-\u03b415<\/sup>N) were significantly lower near the island than at stations farther offshore, further emphasizing spatial differences in water column biogeochemistry consistent with an IME. Vertical profiles suggest thermocline shoaling and mixing associated with the pycnocline impinging on the island\u2019s submerged flanks and coral reef slope may have contributed to the decreasing depth and increasing intensity of chlorophyll-a concentration in the DCM at nearshore stations relative to farther offshore. Shipboard measurements of an anticyclonic flow within the upper 75 m of the water column in the vicinity of Mo\u2019orea suggest that retention of inorganic nutrients and organic matter near Mo\u2019orea may also have contributed to the patterns in NPP, Chl, BP, POC and POM-\u03b415<\/sup>N, providing a potential mechanistic understanding of the processes driving an IME.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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