Abstract
The Drini and ManfredoniaGulfswere investigated in May 2008 and April 2009, respectively. The gulfs are located in the South Eastern (GulfofDrini) and South Western (GulfofManfredonia)Adriatic Sea. The areas are partially influenced by two main Adriatic surface currents: the Eastern Adriatic Current-EAC that flows north-westward along the eastern side, and the Western Adriatic Current—WAC that flows south-eastward along the western side of the basin. The spatial variations of temperature, salinity, fluorescence, dissolved oxygen concentration, Coloured Dissolved Organic Matter—CDOM, nutrients, chlorophyll a and phytoplankton composition parameters in the two areas were observed and compared. CDOM regulates the penetration of UV light into the sea and plays an important role in many hydrological and biogeochemical processes on the sea surface layer including primary productivity. The phytoplankton specific diversity of the Gulf of Manfredonia showed a spring community with dinoflagellates (21 taxa) as the main important fraction, coccolithophorales (6 taxa) and diatoms with 10 identified taxa. The phytoplankton distribution along the eastern coast showed a different biodiversity: a prevalence of dinoflagellates (58 taxa) included harmful microalgae such as Alexandrium, Dinophysis and Lingulodinium genus. Diatoms were less abundant, among them Pseudo-nitzschia was also reported which could include some potentially toxic species. Nanoplankton are ever abundant in offshore waters and an exceptional bloom of cyanobacteria was registered in Buna-Boyana estuary due to strong industrial impact. The gulfs showed similar physical and biochemical characteristics despite the WAC carried out along the westernAdriatic Seathe water rich in nutrients from the major northern Italian rivers. No correlations were found between CDOM and chlorophyll a in the two areas and this implied that, probably, the primary source of CDOM might come from terrestrial input rather than the biological production from phytoplankton. The Gulf of Drini is impacted by the runoff of the Buna-Bojana River that makes this gulf an eutrophic area despite the mostly eastern side of the Adriatic being an oligotrophic basin.
Highlights
The Southern Adriatic Sea extends approximately from the Pelagosa sill to the Otranto Strait [1]
No correlations were found between Coulored Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) and chlorophyll a in the two areas and this implied that, probably, the primary source of CDOM might come from terrestrial input rather than the biological production from phytoplankton
The main goal of this study is to characterise two opposite marine coastal areas located in the South Western (Gulf of Manfredonia) and in the South Eastern (Gulf of Drini) Adriatic Sea by using hydrological, biochemical, biological and CDOM data
Summary
The Southern Adriatic Sea extends approximately from the Pelagosa sill to the Otranto Strait [1] It is characterized by a wide depression more than 1200 m deep and exchanges water with the Mediterranean Sea through the Otranto Strait where the sill depth is about 800 m. The current along the western side transports relatively fresh water along the western boundary from the North Adriatic (WAC— Western Adriatic Current), one of the most productive areas of the Mediterranean [4,5]. The current along the eastern coast (SEAd—South Eastern Adriatic Current and EAC—East Adriatic Current) comes from the central Mediterranean Sea (Ionian Sea), one of most oligotrophic areas in the world [6], and it transports the Ionian Surface OJMS
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