Fall-winter sea surface temperature anomalies affect subsequent spring-summer phytoplankton succession and bioluminescence patterns in the Black Sea coastal waters near Crimea.

Seasonal and interannual dynamics of bioluminescence intensity and succession of the major phytoplankton taxonomic groups were analyzed using the six-year monitoring of Crimean coastal waters (the northern Black Sea) in 2009-2014. Monitoring program included regular CTD and bioluminescence intensity casts in the upper 60 m layer by means of "Salpa-M" sonde accompanied with phytoplankton sampling from subsurface (∼0.2 m) and from the layer of maximal bioluminescence intensity.

Bioluminescent eddies of the World Ocean.

Mesoscale eddies of the ocean (with a characteristic diameter of about 100 km and a life time-span of about several weeks) are habitats of plankton organisms, many of which are bioluminescent. The spatial heterogeneity of bioluminescence of the upper mixed layer associated with the impact of mesoscale eddies is poorly studied. The 45-year historical data set was retrieved, in order to select the bathy-photometric surveys carried out in the form of station grids and transects across eddies.

Bioluminescence of the tropical Indian Ocean: a multiple-scale variation.

Large-scale surveys represented by 5800 bathymetric casts in the western Indian Ocean (0-22 N, 54-58 E), elucidated the 10-fold variation of the bioluminescent potential (BP) in the upper mixed layer, during the winter (north-east) monsoon season. The mesoscale survey in February 2017 consisted of 26 drift stations (4 N-3 S, 65-68 E) on which 5-10 bathymetric casts were deployed down to 60 m. The maximal BP was associated with the periphery of a cyclonic eddy.

Fading bioluminescence of the tropical Atlantic Ocean.

Bioluminescence intensity acts as the indicator of the functional state of a plankton community. Data on bioluminescence intensity, zooplankton biomass, and chlorophyll a from the expeditions to the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean were analyzed. The regression models implied a ~10-fold decline of bioluminescence intensity [bioluminescence potential (BP)] and zooplankton biomass for the 46 year time range from 1970 to 2016.