Ana María Gayoso (20 August 1948 – 28 December 2004) was an Argentine marine biologist, a specialist in study of marine phytoplankton,[1] best known for being the first scientist to describe phytoplankton in the Bahía Blanca Estuary,[2][3][4] and to initiate the sustained long-term oceanographic dataset in this ecosystem. She made significant contributions to the understanding of harmful algal blooms caused by toxic dinoflagellate species in the Patagonian gulfs,[5] and was the first scientist to describe high abundances of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi in the Argentine Sea,[6] a key component in the primary productivity along the Patagonian Shelf Break front in the SW South Atlantic. She started the most extensive (1978-present) long-term database of phytoplankton and physico-chemical variables in South America,[7] in a fixed monitoring site in the Bahía Blanca Estuary.[8][9][10] She died on 28 December 2004 in Puerto Madryn.

Ana María Gayoso
Born20 August 1948
Died28 December 2004
Puerto Madryn, Argentina
NationalityArgentinian
Alma materNational University of La Plata
OccupationMarine biologist

Education edit

Gayoso graduated in botany and obtained a PhD[11] in Natural Sciences at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Museum of the National University of La Plata.[12]

Scientific career edit

In 1977, she became a researcher in the National Scientific and Technical Research Council, CONICET, Argentina. From 1978 to 1995 she worked at the Argentine Institute of Oceanography (IADO[13]) in Bahía Blanca, where she led the Plankton Laboratory. Her scientific career focused on the study of marine phytoplankton[1] in the South Western South Atlantic.

In 1989 she participated in an oceanographic cruise along the Argentine Sea and characterized the phytoplankton of the Brazil–Malvinas Confluence. In particular, she specialized on the taxonomy and ecology of diatoms and toxic dinoflagellates.

She made significant contributions to the understanding of harmful algal blooms caused by toxic dinoflagellate species in the Patagonian gulfs,[5] and was the first scientist to describe high abundances of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi in the Argentine Sea,[6] a key component in the primary productivity along the Patagonian Shelf Break front in the SW South Atlantic. She started the most extensive (1978-present) long-term database of phytoplankton and physico-chemical variables in South America,[7] in a fixed monitoring site in the Bahía Blanca Estuary.[8][9][10]

She applied electron microscopy techniques in the identification of marine diatom species in the Argentine Sea, such as the first morphological description of Thalassiosira hibernalis A.M. Gayoso, 1989,[14][15] and the ecophysiology of the key blooming species Thalassiosira curviseriata[16] isolated from the Bahía Blanca Estuary.[17] During her work at IADO, she contributed to technical reports assessing the water quality of large reservoirs which supply cities in the area, contributing to the detection and description of nuisance cyanobacteria blooms,[18] potentially toxic for human health.

Since 1995, she worked at the National Patagonian Center (CENPAT-CONICET) in Puerto Madryn and was co-director of the institute during 1998-2000, where she made important contributions to the understanding of harmful algal blooms (HABs) or "red tides" prevalent in the Patagonian gulfs since the first HABs event registered in 1981,[19] with particular interest in the toxic dinoflagellates Alexandrium spp.[20][21]

She worked with Theodore Smayda[22] at the University of Rhode Island on diatoms[23] and harmful algae.[24]

Long-term database in Bahía Blanca Estuary edit

Her contribution to the understanding of the occurrence of the winter-early spring diatom bloom in Bahía Blanca temperate estuary over the years 1978-1994[25][26] represented the beginning of an invaluable long-term database of phytoplankton and in situ environmental variables. This dataset is one the most extensive (1978-present) in South America, which together with its high sampling frequency has allowed the detection of compositional and phenological shifts in the annual cycle of phytoplankton biomass and other components of the plankton.[8][9][10]

First report of E. huxleyi in Argentine Sea edit

In 1989, she participated in an oceanographic expedition in which she reported and described for the first time, the presence of high densities of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi.[27]

The Gayoso expedition edit

In austral summer 2021, a joint expedition took place along the Patagonian Shelf between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia to target the large Emiliania huxleyi annual bloom. The expedition was named after Gayoso to honor her scientific legacy.

  • In November 2021, the Houssay schooner sailed from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires[28]
  • In December 2021, the Tara Expedition schooner sailed in the opposite direction, from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia.

References edit

  1. ^ a b Gayoso, Ana Maria (1996). "Surface hydrography and phytoplankton of the Brazil-Malvinas currents confluence". Journal of Plankton Research. 18 (6): 941-951. doi:10.1093/plankt/18.6.941.
  2. ^ Gayoso, Ana Maria (1999). "Seasonal Succession Patterns of Phytoplankton in the Bahía Blanca Estuary (Argentina)". Botanica Marina. 42 (4): 367-375. doi:10.1515/BOT.1999.042. S2CID 85904295.
  3. ^ Gayoso, Ana Maria (1998). "Long-term phytoplankton studies in the Bahía Blanca estuary, Argentina". ICES Journal of Marine Science. 55 (4): 665-660. doi:10.1006/jmsc.1998.0375.
  4. ^ Ana Maria, Gayoso (1989). "Species of the Diatom Genus Thalassiosira from a Coastal Zone of the South Atlantic (Argentina)". Botanica Marina. 32 (4): 331-337. doi:10.1515/botm.1989.32.4.331. S2CID 85321083.
  5. ^ a b Gayoso, Ana Maria (2006). "Occurrence patterns of Alexandrium tamarense (Lebour) Balech populations in the Golfo Nuevo (Patagonia, Argentina), with observations on ventral pore occurrence in natural and cultured cells". Harmful Algae. 5 (3): 233-241. doi:10.1016/j.hal.2004.12.010.
  6. ^ a b Gayoso, Ana Maria (1995). "Bloom of Emiliania huxleyi (Prymnesiophyceae) in the western South Atlantic Ocean". Journal of Plankton Research. 17 (8): 1717-1722. doi:10.1093/plankt/17.8.1717.
  7. ^ a b Antares. "Antares Website". Antares.
  8. ^ a b c Abbate-Lopez, C; Marcovecchio, J (2017). "Time-varying environmental control of phytoplankton in a changing estuarine system". Science of the Total Environment. 609: 1390–1400. Bibcode:2017ScTEn.609.1390L. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.08.002. PMID 28797145.
  9. ^ a b c Guinder, VA (2012). "Dominance of the planktonic diatom Thalassiosira minima in recent summers in the Bahía Blanca Estuary, Argentina". Journal of Plankton Research. 34 (11): 995-1000. doi:10.1093/plankt/fbs060.
  10. ^ a b c Guinder, V A (2010). "Long-term changes in phytoplankton phenology and community structure in the Bahía Blanca Estuary, Argentina". Marine Biology. 157 (12): 2703-16. doi:10.1007/s00227-010-1530-5. S2CID 21484704.
  11. ^ Gayoso, Ana Maria (1981). Tesis de doctorado. SEDICI (Tesis). Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Museo de la Plata".
  13. ^ "IADO-CONICET Website".
  14. ^ Ana Maria, Gayoso (1989). "Species of the Diatom Genus Thalassiosira from a Coastal Zone of the South Atlantic (Argentina)". Botanica Marina. 32 (4): 331-337. doi:10.1515/botm.1989.32.4.331. S2CID 85321083.
  15. ^ "Thalassiosira hibernalis A.M.Gayoso 1989". AlgaeBase. Algaease Website.
  16. ^ Gayoso, Ana Maria (1999). "Effect of irradiance and temperature on the growth rate of Thalassiosira curviseriata Takano (Bacillariophyceae), a bloom diatom in Bahia Blanca estuary (Argentina)". Journal of Plankton Research. 21 (6): 1101-1110. doi:10.1093/plankt/21.6.1101.
  17. ^ "WHSRN Website". WHSRN.
  18. ^ "Harmful Algae News". No. 5. Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. Harmful Algal Bloom Programme. 1993.
  19. ^ Carreto, José (1981). "Los fenómenos de marea roja y toxicidad de moluscos bivalvos en el Mar Argentino". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  20. ^ Gayoso, Ana Maria (2001). "Observations on Alexandrium tamarense (Lebour) Balech and Other Dinoflagellate Populations in Golfo Nuevo, Patagonia (Argentina)". Journal of Plankton Research. 23 (5): 463-468. doi:10.1093/plankt/23.5.463.
  21. ^ Gayoso, Ana Maria (2006). "Occurrence patterns of Alexandrium tamarense (Lebour) Balech populations in the Golfo Nuevo (Patagonia, Argentina), with observations on ventral pore occurrence in natural and cultured cells". Harmful Algae. 5 (3): 233-241. doi:10.1016/j.hal.2004.12.010.
  22. ^ "Memorandum of Theodore Smayda".
  23. ^ "AlgaeBase Website". AlgaeBase.
  24. ^ Gayoso, Ana Maria (2001). "Observations on Alexandrium tamarense (Lebour) Balech and Other Dinoflagellate Populations in Golfo Nuevo, Patagonia (Argentina)". Journal of Plankton Research. 23 (5): 463-468. doi:10.1093/plankt/23.5.463.
  25. ^ Gayoso, AM (1999). "Seasonal Succession Patterns of Phytoplankton in the Bahía Blanca Estuary (Argentina)". Botanica Marina. 42 (4): 367-75. doi:10.1515/BOT.1999.042. S2CID 85904295.
  26. ^ Gayoso, AM (1998). "Long-term phytoplankton studies in the Bahía Blanca estuary, Argentina". ICES Journal of Marine Science. 55 (4): 665-60. doi:10.1006/jmsc.1998.0375.
  27. ^ Gayoso, AM (1995). "Bloom of Emiliania huxleyi (Prymnesiophyceae) in the western South Atlantic Ocean". Journal of Plankton Research. 17 (8): 1717-22. doi:10.1093/plankt/17.8.1717.
  28. ^ "Un equipo del CONICET lidera la Campaña Oceanográfica Ana María Gayoso para estudiar el microbioma oceánico". Retrieved 2021-11-17.