Abstract
ABSTRACT Zapperi, G.; Pratolongo, P.; Piovan, M.J., and Marcovecchio, J.E., 2016. Benthic-pelagic coupling in an intertidal mudflat in the Bahia Blanca estuary (SW Atlantic). Benthic-pelagic coupling was evaluated in a shallow, turbid, and nutrient-enriched estuary in the SW Atlantic. We analyzed the annual trends in turbidity, nutrients, and chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration in the water column and related those changes to benthic fluxes of dissolved inorganic nutrients, estimated through microcosm incubation experiments, as well as seasonal variations in the abundance and composition of macrobenthic communities. The intertidal mudflats of the estuary are characterized by the presence of two subsystems defined by their macroecological features: crab beds, steep areas dominated by the burrowing crab, and Laeonereis flats, plain areas with low crab burrow density. Peak Chl a concentration in the water column occurred in July after turbidity reached its minimum value in June. Dissolved nutrients decreased...
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