Nutrient Cycling and a Stoichiometric Model in Epidavros, a Deep Basin in the Aegean Sea

Abstract

Abstract. The nutrient cycling of Epidavros, a deep basin in the Saronikos Gulf, was studied in relation to various environmental factors during 1973–1976 at a station characterized by stagnant conditions. The regeneration of nutrients was related to the consumption of oxygen, and a seasonal nutrient cycle occurred with low nutrient concentrations in the spring and summer, followed by high nutrient levels in autumn and winter. In addition high values of nitrate and silicate were observed in the deeper waters, which tended to be anoxic, although the water masses were renewed during spring 1974. The distribution pattern of nutrients together with nutrient ratios were compared with previous studies of the same and neighbouring areas as well as of other isolated basins. A stoichiometric model indicates that plankton organisms in the Epidavros basin have approximate atomic ratios for C: N: P of 150: 14:1, while the ratio of change for nitrogen and phosphorus in the water is only 8.8:1 by atoms. This is probably because of the slow rate of regeneration of nitrogenous material and/or assimilation and regeneration in organic forms. The water/plankton relation in the Epidavros basin appears to be very similar to that in the Baltic Sea.