Water column stratification governs picophytoplankton community structure in the oligotrophic eastern Indian ocean

Under the background of global warming, the area extent of the oligotrophic tropical oceans has growing due to increased water-column stratification over the past decades. Picophytoplankton is usually the most dominant phytoplankton group in oligotrophic tropical oceans and substantially contribute to carbon biomass and primary production three. Understanding how vertical stratification governs the community structure of picophytoplankton communities in oligotrophic tropical oceans is important for comprehensively understanding the plankton ecology and biogeochemical cycle in these areas. In this study, the distribution of the picophytoplankton communities in the eastern Indian Ocean (EIO) was investigated during a period of thermal stratification in the spring of 2021. Prochlorococcus contributed most (54.9%) to picophytoplankton carbon biomass, followed by picoeukaryotes (38.5%) and Synechococcus (6.6%). Vertically, the three picophytoplankton groups showed quite different distribution pattern: the abundance of Synechococcus was highest in the surface layer, while Prochlorococcus and picoeukaryotes were usually located between 50 m and 100 m. The relationship between the abundance of picophytoplankton and environmental factors was analyzed, and the results revealed that picophytoplankton distribution was strongly correlated with the degree of vertical stratification of the water column. The density of Synechococcus was higher in strongly stratified waters, while Prochlorococcus was more abundant in regions of weaker stratification. This is mainly attributed to variation of physicochemical parameters such as nutrient structures and temperature resulted from water column stratification. Understanding the distribution patterns of these organisms and their relationship with stratification in the oligotrophic EIO is essential for comprehensive understanding on oligotrophic tropical ecosystem with increasing stratification in future.