Fouling of the Sandy Beaches of Nahant Bay (Massachusetts, USA) by an Abnormal Free-Living Form of the Macroalga Pilayella Littoralis (Phaeophyta). I. Habitat Characteristics

Quinlan, Alician V.; Lewis, Timothy; Hoyt, Joshua K.

doi:10.1007/978-94-017-2938-3_20

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…The presence of this algal population and the decomposition of cast algae in beach sediments have led to the popular suggestion that Nahant Bay has become eutrophied, perhaps through nutrient inputs from a sewage treatment plant outfall in the bay. Initial work on this question concluded that the outfall did not contribute sufficiently high amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus to be blamed a s a point source of nutrients that could cause the buildup of biomass of the nuisance population of algae , Quinlan et al 1983. Furthermore, suggested that nitrogen availability limits the productivity of free-living P. littoralis in Nahant Bay, after consideration of N:P ratios for the algae and for inorganic and total dissolved nutrients.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flux of ammonium from surf-zone and nearshore sediments in Nahant Bay, Massachusetts, USA, in relation to free-living Pilayella littoralis

Pregnall¹,

Miller²

1988

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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The availab~lity of inorganic nitrogen in the surf-zone of Nahant Bay, Massachusetts, USA, was studied in relation to the distribution and decomposition of a free-living population of the filamentous brown alga Pilayella littoralis. Slight ammonium enrichment was evident in the surf zone of one beach location and in the immediate vicinity of a sewage treatment plant outfall. Profiles of sediment ammonium were determined over an annual cycle at 4 mid-intertidal beach sites. Most sites contained sediment ammonium from 0.05 to 0.1 pm01 cm-l, while one site with chronic algal deposition and burial showed greatly elevated sediment ammonium levels (5 6 pm01 cm-3). Efflux of ammonium from deep and shallow subtidal sediments and from intertidal surf-zone sediments was typically 5 1 0 0~m o l m-' h-', except at the site with chronic algal burial and decomposition, where flux of ammonium ranged from 200 to 2000 pm01 m-' h ' Sed~ment concentrations and benthic flux of ammonium from sandy subtidal and surf-zone sediments are generally low in Nahant Bay; however, beaches with chronic deposition and burial of free-living P. littoralis have very high ammonium content and flux owing to the decomposition of algae that have effectively concentrated nitrogen from a much larger area of the bay.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%