A note on calcareous nannoplankton from the Kieler Förde (Baltic Sea).

Abstract

One of the first records of coccolithophore distribution in plankton samples comes from the Kieler Förde and dates back to the work of Hans Lohmann from the early 20th century. Lohmann reported Emiliania huxleyi as the only coccolithophore species from the Kieler Förde. We studied the modern coccolithophore community in surface water samples taken in the years 2009 to 2013 directly from one of the piers in the inner part of the Kieler Förde and from a short cruise into the outer Kieler Förde. Apart from the dominant species E. huxleyi, we document Algirosphaera robusta, Acanthoica quattrospina (both heteroand holococcolith phase), Syracosphaera borealis, Alisphaera extenta, and Hymenomonas sp. Additionally, we describe Pileolosphaera longistirpes gen et sp. nov., a new calcareous nannoplankton species of unknown taxonomic affinity with a neritic distribution.