Benthic nutrient fluxes in an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) baySanggou Bay, China -were measured in June and September 2012. The benthic nutrient fluxes and total organic carbon (TOC) of sediment in this IMTA system were significantly lower than in monoculture bays. This was due to the efficient recycling of organic matter in the IMTA system, as revealed by historical data of annual production, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentration in seawater and TOC in sediment. Benthic nutrient fluxes in the IMTA system were mainly controlled by seawater temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO) and nutrient concentrations, which were strongly related to aquaculture activities. In June, the early growth phase of cultured finfish and bivalves contributed little to biodeposition, and benthic nutrient fluxes tended to be from the sediment to the seawater and contributed to algal growth. In September, the active growth of finfish and bivalves resulted in high concentrations of nutrients in the seawater and TOC in the sediment; 64% of the nitrogen and 25% of the phosphorus metabolized by bivalves were transferred from the seawater to the sediment.
Water samples were collected to measure dissolved and particulate phosphorus species in order to examine the dynamics of phosphorus in the water column across the river–sea interface from the lower Dafengjiang River to the open Beibu Gulf. Dissolved inorganic phosphorus concentrations were as high as 0.90 ± 0.42 μM in river water but decreased dramatically to as low as 0.02 ± 0.01 μM in open coastal waters. Total dissolved phosphorus was largely measured in the form of dissolved inorganic phosphorus in river waters (58% ± 18%), whereas dissolved organic phosphorus became the predominant species (>90% on average) in open coastal waters. Total dissolved phosphorus was the dominant species, comprising 76% ± 16% of the total phosphorus, while total particulate phosphorus only comprised 24% ± 16% of the total phosphorus pool. Riverine inputs, physical and biological processes, and particulate phosphorus regeneration were the dominant factors responsible for the dynamic variations of phosphorus species in the study area. Based on a two-end-member mixing model, the biological uptake resulted in a dissolved inorganic phosphorus depletion of 0.12 ± 0.08 μM in the coastal surface water, whereas the replenishment of dissolved inorganic phosphorus in the lower river from particle P regeneration and release resulted in an increase (0.19 ± 0.22 μM) of dissolved inorganic phosphorus in the estuarine mixing region. The molar ratios of dissolved inorganic nitrogen to dissolved inorganic phosphorus and dissolved silicate to dissolved inorganic phosphorus in the open surface waters were >22, suggesting that, although the lower Dafengjiang River contained elevated concentrations of dissolved inorganic phosphorus, the northern Beibu Gulf was an overall P-limited coastal ecosystem.
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