The Use of Pigment Signatures to Assess Phytoplankton Assemblage Structure in Estuarine Waters

Ansotegui, A.; Trigueros, Juan María; Orive, Emma

doi:10.1006/ecss.2001.0785

Cited by 49 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…As microscopic counts showed that the most numerous phytoplankton were microplanktonic diatoms, it seems likely that fucoxanthin in the Zrmanja Estuary originated mainly from diatoms, consistently as in earlier studies in the eutrophic coastal and estuarine waters (Ahel et al 1996;Ahel and Terzić 1998;Ansotegui et al 2001;Seoane et al 2005).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Phytoplankton abundance and pigment biomarkers in the oligotrophic, eastern Adriatic estuary

Viličić

Terzić

Ahel

et al. 2007

Environ Monit Assess

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Phytoplankton distribution and environmental characteristics were determined in a shallow, highly stratified and oligotrophic estuary (Zrmanja, eastern Adriatic). Samples were collected in two contrasting seasons; winter (February 2000), when river discharge was high, and in summer (July 2003), a period of drought. Phytoplankton distribution was closely related to salinity gradients, nutrient levels, and water residence time. Microscopic analysis revealed that phytoplankton was composed mainly of marine diatoms, dinoflagellates, cryptophytes, green flagellates, and coccolithophorids. The dominant biomarker pigments were fucoxanthin, alloxanthin and 19'-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin, while lower, but indicative contributions of peridinin and chlorophyll b were also noted. Maximum abundance and biomass were found in the middle estuary in winter and in the upper estuary in summer. The estuary is mostly P-limited. Development of chain-forming marine diatoms was evident in winter. Due to the reduced nutrient input in summer, the biomass accumulated in the upper estuary (1,000 ng chlorophyll a l(-1)) was composed mostly of nanoplanktonic unicellular diatoms, nanoplanktonic marine dinoflagellates, cryptophytes, and chlorophytes. The concentrations of about 200 ng l(-1) hex-fuco, suggested that the contribution of prymnesiophytes to total biomass was comparable to that of diatoms and dinoflagellates. In the middle estuary and coastal sea, PO(4) and TIN were 3.5 times lower, resulting in a fivefold decrease in biomass (<100 ng chlorophyll a l(-1)). The oligotrophic Zrmanja and other karstic rivers discharging in the eastern Adriatic Sea, provide insufficient source of nutrients and low productivity of the eastern Adriatic Sea.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Phytoplankton abundance and pigment biomarkers in the oligotrophic, eastern Adriatic estuary

Viličić

Terzić

Ahel

et al. 2007

Environ Monit Assess

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“…These attributes modulate the responses of estuaries to nutrients well before there are substantial increases in phytoplankton biomass, production of excessive organic matter, and/or oxygen depletion (10). We reasoned that analysis of HPLC pigment profiles might provide a valuable tool for monitoring the effects of nutrient loading on estuarine function because changes in pigment concentrations and composition can reflect the responses of phytoplankton communities to environmental conditions (2,26,37,51,52,55,57,71,72).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For principal-component and cluster analyses, pigment concentrations were normalized to ambient chlorophyll a concentrations, while pigment data used for spatial-temporal pigment analyses were not. We normalized the data in this manner for two reasons: (i) to minimize biases due to extremely high or low chlorophyll a levels (i.e., extreme values for chlorophyll a would cause biases in the numerical analysis) and (ii) to compare our findings with those of other studies in which the authors used normalized data to calculate the best-fit pigment ratio (2,26,37,51,52,55,57,71,72). The best-fit ratio has been used by the matrix-factorization program CHEM-TAX for estimating algal class abundance from HPLC pigments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Contrasting Patterns of Phytoplankton Community Pigment Composition in Two Salt Marsh Estuaries in Southeastern United States

Noble

Tymowski²,

Fletcher

et al. 2003

Appl Environ Microbiol

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Phytoplankton community pigment composition and water quality were measured seasonally along salinity gradients in two minimally urbanized salt marsh estuaries in South Carolina in order to examine their spatial and temporal distributions. The North Inlet estuary has a relatively small watershed with minimal fresh water input, while the Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto (ACE) Basin is characterized by a relatively greater influence of riverine drainage. Sampling stations were located in regions of the estuaries experiencing frequent diurnal tidal mixing and had similar salinity and temperature regimens. Phytoplankton community pigment composition was assessed by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and multivariate statistical analyses. Shannon diversity index, principal-component, and cluster analyses revealed that phytoplankton community pigments in both estuaries were seasonally variable, with similar diversities but different compositions. The temporal pigment patterns indicated that there was a relatively weak correlation between the pigments in ACE Basin and the relative persistence of photopigment groups in North Inlet. The differences were presumably a consequence of the unpredictability and relatively greater influence of river discharge in the ACE Basin, in contrast to the greater environmental predictability of the more tidally influenced North Inlet. Furthermore, the timing, magnitude, and pigment composition of the annual phytoplankton bloom were different in the two estuaries. The bloom properties in North Inlet reflected the predominance of autochthonous ecological control (e.g., regenerated nutrients, grazing), and those in ACE Basin suggested that there was greater influence of allochthonous environmental factors (e.g., nutrient loading, changes in turbidity). These interestuarine differences in phytoplankton community structure and control provide insight into the organization of phytoplankton in estuaries.Processes and mechanisms that determine the spatial and temporal patterns of phytoplankton have been a central focus of marine research for decades. This research has led to the identification of biotic and abiotic factors that regulate primary productivity and the development of models that describe phytoplankton growth dynamics under specific environmental conditions (4). Phytoplankton communities are multispecies communities which are highly complex in terms of their diversity and dynamics. Successional shifts in phytoplankton community structure are primarily due to changes in environmental variables (e.g., degree or type of nutrient limitation) and/or shifts in higher trophic levels (e.g., micro-versus mesozooplankton) (23,35,40,54,56). How phytoplankton community composition changes with environmental variables and/or preferential grazing by herbivores is not well understood, particularly in estuarine ecosystems. Identifying the ecological variables that regulate phytoplankton community structure is essential for facilitating the development of broad hypotheses underlying our...

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“…Although unambiguous interpretation is difficult using only pigment data, in conjunction with microscopic identifications, it is possible to use zeaxanthin as an indicator of cyanobacteria, fucoxanthin as an indicator of diatoms and some chrysophytes, and peridinin as an indicator of photosynthetic dinoflagellates (e.g. Jeffrey & Wright 1994, Jeffrey & Vesk 1997, Ansotegui et al 2001. Concentrations of the accessory pigment zeaxanthin were highest at Stn 3, indicating that the chl a maximum was dominated by cyanobacteria (Fig.…”

Section: Nutrient and Biomass Characteristics (Aliquot 1)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for dissolved organic nitrogen and phosphorus uptake during a cyanobacterial bloom in Florida Bay

Glibert¹,

Heil²,

Hollander³

et al. 2004

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

169

121

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Florida Bay, a shallow, seagrass-dominated bay in southern Florida, USA, receives significant nutrient inputs and has experienced seagrass losses and microalgal blooms within the last several decades. Inorganic nutrient inputs have been well characterized, but the role of organic nutrients, specifically of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and organic phosphorus (DOP), in supporting microbial processes in the bay is unknown. In this study various techniques were used to assess the importance of these nutrients along a transect in Florida Bay when a cyanobacterial bloom occurred in the central region in November 2002. These techniques included measurements of ambient particulate and dissolved nutrients, enzyme (urease and alkaline phosphatase) activities, and experiments to determine rates of 15 N uptake (nitrate, ammonium, urea, and amino acids over a period of 0.5 h) and long-term (48 h) changes in microbial biomass and 15 N natural abundance in enrichment bioassays. The cyanobacterial bloom in central Florida Bay was associated with the highest concentrations of DON and DOP, whereas the microflagellate-and diatom-dominated eastern bay region was associated with the highest concentrations of inorganic nutrients. The zeaxanthin:chlorophyll a ratio (an indicator of the relative contribution of cyanobacteria to phytoplankton biomass) was positively correlated with the rate of uptake of urea, and negatively correlated with the rate of uptake of inorganic nitrogen. The opposite pattern was observed for the fucoxanthin:chlorophyll a ratio (indicative of relative diatom biomass) and the peridinin:chlorophyll a ratio (indicative of relative photosynthetic dinoflagellate biomass), suggesting that different algal groups were using different N substrates. Biomass responses in the bioassay experiments showed that phytoplankton (as chlorophyll a) responded to DON additions in the western region and to DOP additions in the eastern region, but heterotrophic bacteria, in contrast, responded to DOP additions in the west and DON additions in the east. These findings thus demonstrate the potential for different sources of N, including DON, to stimulate different components of the algal community, and for the phytoplankton and bacteria to respond differently to N and P.KEY WORDS: Florida Bay · Cyanobacteria · Organic N · Organic P · Nutrient limitation · Urease · Alkaline phosphatase · Bioassay · Nutrient uptake rates Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 280: [73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83] 2004 changes. Since the onset of industrialization in the 1880s, the health of the Florida Bay ecosystem has been negatively impacted on both decadal (e.g. increasing eutrophication) and centurial (e.g. changes in land use and water management practices within southern Florida) time-scales (Fourqurean & Robblee 1999). These anthropogenic changes have led to a significant alteration in freshwater flow patterns within the Everglades, causing declines in seagrass d...

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The Use of Pigment Signatures to Assess Phytoplankton Assemblage Structure in Estuarine Waters

Cited by 49 publications

References 51 publications

Phytoplankton abundance and pigment biomarkers in the oligotrophic, eastern Adriatic estuary

Phytoplankton abundance and pigment biomarkers in the oligotrophic, eastern Adriatic estuary

Contrasting Patterns of Phytoplankton Community Pigment Composition in Two Salt Marsh Estuaries in Southeastern United States

Evidence for dissolved organic nitrogen and phosphorus uptake during a cyanobacterial bloom in Florida Bay

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