Temporal variability of phytoplankton biomass and net community production in a macrotidal temperate estuary
Temporal variability of phytoplankton biomass and net community production in a macrotidal temperate estuary
Coastal zones play a significant role in Earth's biogeochemical processes. Within these regions, estuaries are particularly important due to their complex ecological interactions and spatial and temporal variability. The aim of this study was to apply a year long high-frequency (15 min) environmental data time series to identify both the timing and factors influencing phytoplankton blooms in the Southampton Water estuary. Dissolved oxygen measurements from an in situ deployed optode were applied to the open diel oxygen method to estimate daily integrated rates of gross primary production (GPP), ecosystem respiration (ER) and net community production (NCP). Additional water quality data including temperature, salinity, chlorophyll concentration and turbidity allowed the relationship between physical and biological processes occurring over different time scales to be investigated. The occurrence of major phytoplankton blooms during the spring-summer period were associated with critical values of estuarine water temperature and mean water column irradiance. In addition, neap tides were found to promote the initiation of phytoplankton blooms in late spring and summer months. Annual daily average NCP for the estuarine ecosystem presented an estimated net heterotrophic state (−0.8 mmol O2 m−2 d−1), although seasonal productivity events shifted this state for several days and sometimes weeks to net autotrophic conditions. The results of this study have demonstrated how high frequency in situ dissolved oxygen measurements from an optode can make a valuable contribution to understanding the key factors influencing bloom events in a temperate macrotidal estuary. This approach if applied more widely to other coastal sites could therefore contribute to consolidating global annual primary production budgets for coastal regions.
Estuarine ecosystems High-frequency data Dissolved oxygen Net community production Phytoplankton blooms
Gomez Castillo, Africa Paulina
6daaf9de-5bb3-4680-9ed7-44a99cf58acd
Panton, Anouska
9fff77ed-1abb-4322-abb3-ffb0d17c9601
Purdie, Duncan
18820b32-185a-467a-8019-01f245191cd8
13 December 2022
Gomez Castillo, Africa Paulina
6daaf9de-5bb3-4680-9ed7-44a99cf58acd
Panton, Anouska
9fff77ed-1abb-4322-abb3-ffb0d17c9601
Purdie, Duncan
18820b32-185a-467a-8019-01f245191cd8
Gomez Castillo, Africa Paulina, Panton, Anouska and Purdie, Duncan
(2022)
Temporal variability of phytoplankton biomass and net community production in a macrotidal temperate estuary.
Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 280.
Abstract
Coastal zones play a significant role in Earth's biogeochemical processes. Within these regions, estuaries are particularly important due to their complex ecological interactions and spatial and temporal variability. The aim of this study was to apply a year long high-frequency (15 min) environmental data time series to identify both the timing and factors influencing phytoplankton blooms in the Southampton Water estuary. Dissolved oxygen measurements from an in situ deployed optode were applied to the open diel oxygen method to estimate daily integrated rates of gross primary production (GPP), ecosystem respiration (ER) and net community production (NCP). Additional water quality data including temperature, salinity, chlorophyll concentration and turbidity allowed the relationship between physical and biological processes occurring over different time scales to be investigated. The occurrence of major phytoplankton blooms during the spring-summer period were associated with critical values of estuarine water temperature and mean water column irradiance. In addition, neap tides were found to promote the initiation of phytoplankton blooms in late spring and summer months. Annual daily average NCP for the estuarine ecosystem presented an estimated net heterotrophic state (−0.8 mmol O2 m−2 d−1), although seasonal productivity events shifted this state for several days and sometimes weeks to net autotrophic conditions. The results of this study have demonstrated how high frequency in situ dissolved oxygen measurements from an optode can make a valuable contribution to understanding the key factors influencing bloom events in a temperate macrotidal estuary. This approach if applied more widely to other coastal sites could therefore contribute to consolidating global annual primary production budgets for coastal regions.
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Accepted/In Press date: 5 December 2022
e-pub ahead of print date: 9 December 2022
Published date: 13 December 2022
Keywords:
Estuarine ecosystems High-frequency data Dissolved oxygen Net community production Phytoplankton blooms
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 473458
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/473458
ISSN: 0272-7714
PURE UUID: ff5e7414-ed41-4423-bc0b-44805b0daa7b
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Date deposited: 19 Jan 2023 17:32
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 02:32
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Author:
Africa Paulina Gomez Castillo
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