Phytoplankton and primary production in the lower Hudson River estuary

Abstract

A survey of the reaches of the Hudson River between New York Harbor and Poughkeepsie showed that the spatial distribution of phytoplankton occurred in longitudinal gradients along the estuary with maximum standing crops of phytoplankton found in the Tappan Zee and Haverstraw Bay. The patterns of distribution of gross primary productivity closely corresponded to the temporal and spatial distribution of phytoplankton standing crop. Estimated daily areal gross primary production in the Hudson River estuary appeared comparable to that in other east coast estuaries and estimated annual gross primary production in most of the estuary appeared to be in the range (100–200 g C m −2 year −1) characteristic of coastal environments near New York. In the shallow waters of the Tappan Zee and Haverstraw Bay annual primary production appeared greater and likely approximates maximum production found in other river mouth estuaries.