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The increase in emerging harmful algal blooms in the last decades has led to an extensive concern in understanding the mechanisms behind these events. In this paper, we assessed the growth of two blooming dinoflagellates (Alexandrium minutum and Heterocapsa triquetra) and their susceptibility to infection by the generalist parasitoid Parvilucifera rostrata under a temperature gradient. The growth of the two dinoflagellates differed across a range of temperatures representative of the Penzé Estuary (13 to 22 °C) in early summer. A. minutum growth increased across this range and was the highest at 19 and 22 °C, whereas H. triquetra growth was maximal at intermediate temperatures (15–18 °C). Interestingly, the effect of temperature on the parasitoid infectivity changed depending on which host dinoflagellate was infected with the dinoflagellate responses to temperature following a positive trend in A. minutum (higher infections at 20–22 °C) and a unimodal trend in H. triquetra (higher infections at 18 °C). Low temperatures negatively affected parasitoid infections in both hosts (i.e., “thermal refuge”). These results demonstrate how temperature shifts may not only affect bloom development in microalgal species but also their control by parasitoids. 

Phytoplankton primary production in the Arctic Ocean has been increasing over the last two decades. In 2019, a record spring bloom occurred in Fram Strait, characterized by a peak in chlorophyll that was reached weeks earlier than in other years and was larger than any previously recorded May bloom. Here, we consider the conditions that led to this event and examine drivers of spring phytoplankton blooms in Fram Strait using in situ, remote sensing, and data assimilation methods. From samples collected during the May 2019 bloom, we observe a direct relationship between sea ice meltwater in the upper water column and chlorophyllapigment concentrations. We place the 2019 spring dynamics in context of the past 20 years, a period marked by rapid change in climatic conditions. Our findings suggest that increased advection of sea ice into the region and warmer surface temperatures led to a rise in meltwater input and stronger near‐surface stratification. Over this time period, we identify large‐scale spatial correlations in Fram Strait between increased chlorophyllaconcentrations and increased freshwater flux from sea ice melt.