Journal article
Ecosystem metabolism of benthic and pelagic zones of a shallow productive estuary: spatio-temporal variability
Long-term deterioration of water quality is known to reduce the importance of benthic ecosystem metabolism in shallow coastal ecosystems, but drivers of spatial and short-term variability in ecosystem metabolism are poorly understood. We addressed this knowledge gap through detailed seasonal measurements of ecosystem metabolism across depth gradients from shallow (2 to 3 m) eelgrass-dominated to deeper (4 to 5 m) muddy regions of a shallow, productive estuary.
Combined measurements of gross primary production (GPP), respiration (R) and, by difference, net ecosystem production (NEP) by the open-water diel oxygen technique and in situ chamber incubations showed high importance of shallow eelgrass habitats for metabolism at the system scale. Seasonal variations in GPP, R and NEP increased with light availability and temperature with highest NEP in all habitats during the warm and sunny mid-summer.
The shallow eelgrass-dominated and neighboring habitats were seasonally net autotrophic (NEP = 0.54 and 0.31 mg O2 m-2 d-1, respectively), compared to net heterotrophy (NEP = -0.26 mg O2 m-2 d-1) at the deeper muddy site. Detailed studies along depth gradients further confirmed the role of eelgrass as a key driver of spatial differences in ecosystem metabolism across the estuary.
Strong northerly winds (>8 m s-1) caused short-term (<24 h) periods of similar oxygen dynamics and similar apparent productivity in shallow and deeper waters, indicative of efficient lateral mixing, while calm periods (<4 m s-1) enabled formation of ‘pockets’, i.e. water masses with limited connectivity, which exacerbated the metabolic differences between shallow and deep sites.
Language: | English |
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Publisher: | Inter-Research |
Year: | 2018 |
Pages: | 15-32 |
ISSN: | 16161599 and 01718630 |
Types: | Journal article |
DOI: | 10.3354/meps12697 |
ORCIDs: | 0000-0002-1580-4875 , 0000-0003-0016-6118 and 0000-0001-9792-256X |