Nutrient Availability In Water Column Research Articles

Effects of light and water column nutrient availability on eelgrass (Zostera marina) productivity in Eeyou Istchee, eastern James Bay, Quebec

Effects of light and water column nutrient availability on eelgrass (Zostera marina) productivity in Eeyou Istchee, eastern James Bay, Quebec

Rhodolith holobionts are not sources of fixed nitrogen in a northeastern Gulf of Mexico patch reef

Rhodoliths provide numerous benefits to coastal ecosystems and help support high biodiversity. No study, however, has explored rhodoliths that occupy northeastern Gulf of Mexico patch reefs, and their contributions to local ecosystem function remain uncharacterized. Here, we employed the acetylene reduction assay to assess nitrogen fixation capability in rhodolith holobionts (Lithothamnion spp.; Rhodophyta), sediment, and surrounding seawater from a subtropical patch reef ecosystem in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. We found no evidence for nitrogenase activity in rhodolith holobionts or seawater from our study site, while nitrogenase activity in sediment underlying rhodoliths was approximately equivalent to a nitrogen fixation rate of 0.521 (SD 0.087) nmol N2g dry mass–1 hr– 1. Our results suggest that rhodoliths in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico rely on sources of nitrogen from sediment nitrogen fixation or water column nutrient availability rather than the activity of symbiotic diazotrophic microorganisms. Functional analyses recognizing rhodoliths as holobionts warrant further investigation to better understand the ecology of rhodoliths.

Invertebrate response to nutrient-driven epiphytic load increase in Posidonia oceanica meadows

Nutrient increases in coastal systems are becoming a world-wide concern since they promote strong structural and functional changes in shallow ecosystems. Increased nutrient availability in the water column may strongly enhance the leaf epiphytic communities of key habitat-forming species such as seagrasses through a bottom-up mechanism, competing for light and nutrients with the leaves. Epiphytes support an abundant and diverse community of resident invertebrates which fuel higher trophic levels in Posidonia oceanica food webs. We evaluated the response of seagrass, epiphytes and the invertebrate community to an experimental increase of water column nutrient availability. Nutrient increase was followed by a rise of epiphyte biomass. The increase in epiphytic biomass promoted invertebrate abundance, but appeared to have negative effects on P. oceanica shoot size. On the other hand, the increase in invertebrate abundance did not seem to control epiphytic biomass, which was not reversed to pre-nutrient enrichment levels. This work suggests that the abundance of invertebrate populations is limited by epiphyte biomass, through food or habitat provision, in P. oceanica systems and points to nutrients as the main driver of epiphyte biomass during summer. The results illustrate the control mechanisms at community level in P. oceanica meadows and the possible responses of a threatened ecosystem to human impact such as eutrophication.

Epiphyte response to in situ manipulation of nutrient availability and fish presence in a Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile meadow

Epiphytes are important components of the biomass and productivity of Posidonia oceanica meadows. Bottom-up mechanisms may promote epiphyte biomass through a bottom-up mechanism. At the same time, epiphytes represent an essential resource for higher trophic levels of seagrass food webs. Posidonia oceanica meadows host a diverse assemblage of fish that feed directly on the leaves, on the epiphytes, and on the mesograzers inhabiting the meadows. In this study, we experimentally evaluate the overall effect of fish community and increased water column nutrient availability on seagrass and the associated epiphytes. Our results show a large increase of epiphyte biomass in P. oceanica shoots after 2 months of nutrient addition. Increased nutrient concentrations also resulted in a reduction of shoot size. Fish exclusion did not affect epiphyte biomass under ambient or increased nutrient availability. Although herbivorous fish bites were present in 6% of the shoots, the percentage of shoots with fish bites did not respond to the higher leaf nutrient content found in the increased nutrient treatments. Consumption marks of gastropod herbivores in the leaves were present in 78% of the shoots; however, grazer activity did not modify the response of epiphytic biomass to nutrient addition. These results highlight the importance of nutrient impact in oligotrophic meadows, where bottom-up processes seem to be more relevant in the control of epiphyte and seagrass growth than top-down processes.

BENTHIC ALGAL PRODUCTION ACROSS LAKE SIZE GRADIENTS: INTERACTIONS AMONG MORPHOMETRY, NUTRIENTS, AND LIGHT

Attached algae play a minor role in conceptual and empirical models of lake ecosystem function but paradoxically form the energetic base of food webs that support a wide variety of fishes. To explore the apparent mismatch between perceived limits on contributions of periphyton to whole-lake primary production and its importance to consumers, we modeled the contribution of periphyton to whole-ecosystem primary production across lake size, shape, and nutrient gradients. The distribution of available benthic habitat for periphyton is influenced by the ratio of mean depth to maximum depth (DR = z/ z(max)). We modeled total phytoplankton production from water-column nutrient availability, z, and light. Periphyton production was a function of light-saturated photosynthesis (BPmax) and light availability at depth. The model demonstrated that depth ratio (DR) and light attenuation strongly determined the maximum possible contribution of benthic algae to lake production, and the benthic proportion of whole-lake primary production (BPf) declined with increasing nutrients. Shallow lakes (z < or =5 m) were insensitive to DR and were dominated by either benthic or pelagic primary productivity depending on trophic status. Moderately deep oligotrophic lakes had substantial contributions by benthic primary productivity at low depth ratios and when maximum benthic photosynthesis was moderate or high. Extremely large, deep lakes always had low fractional contributions of benthic primary production. An analysis of the world's largest lakes showed that the shapes of natural lakes shift increasingly toward lower depth ratios with increasing depth, maximizing the potential importance of littoral primary production in large-lake food webs. The repeatedly demonstrated importance of periphyton to lake food webs may reflect the combination of low depth ratios and high light penetration characteristic of large, oligotrophic lakes that in turn lead to substantial contributions of periphyton to autochthonous production.

Short-time response in root morphology of Vallisneria natans to sediment type and water-column nutrient

Rooted submerged macrophytes can absorb significant amounts of nutrients from both sediment and water. We investigated root morphology of Vallisneria natans in mesocosm plastic bins, in response to three types of sediment (sandy loam, clay, and a 50:50 (v/v) mixture of the two sediments) and two levels of water-column nutrient (well water and nutrient medium). Compared to the plants grown in the clay or mixed sediments, root diameter decreased (0.39–0.41 versus 0.36–0.37 mm) but total root length per plant increased (0.87–1.27 versus 1.14–1.62 m) when grown in sandy loam. Increase of nutrient availability in water column led to decreased specific root length (306–339 versus 258–281 m g −1). However, both sediment type and water-column nutrient had no impacts on root number (ranged from 19 to 24 number of roots per plant). Root weight ratio, root:leaf mass ratio and root:leaf length ratio generally decreased with enhanced nutrient availability in sediment or water. Plant growth was affected by sediment type alone ( P < 0.05), rather than water-column nutrient ( P > 0.05). However, plant N and P contents were significantly impacted by both sediment type ( P ≤ 0.001) and water-column nutrient ( P < 0.05). Increase of nutrient availability in sediment or water led to increased plant N (ranged from 2.47 to 4.77 mg g −1) and P concentrations (ranged from 42.8 to 62.0 mg g −1). These results indicate that considerable variation in root morphology of V. natans exists in response to the fertility of the sediment it is rooted in.

Nutrient limitation of the macroalgaEnteromorpha intestinalis collected along a resource gradient in a highly eutrophic estuary

We conducted a laboratory experiment to quantify nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) limitation of macroalgae collected along a gradient in water column nutrient availability in Upper Newport Bay estuary, a relatively nutrient-rich system in southern California, United States. We collectedEnteromorpha intestinalis and water for use in the experiment from five sites ranging from the lower end of the estuary to the head. Initial algal tissue N and P concentrations and molar N∶P ratios—as well as water column NO3 and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN)—increased along a spatial gradient from the lower end toward the head. Water column soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) varied among sites as well but did not follow a pattem of increasing from the seaward end toward the head. Algae from each site were assigned to one of four experimental treatments: control (C), nitrogen enrichment (+N), phosphorus enrichment (+P), and nitrogen and phosphorus enrichment (+N+P). Each week for 3 wk we replaced the water in each unit with the appropriate treatment water to mimic a poorly flushed estuary. After 3 wk, the degree of nutrient limitation ofE. intestinalis varied spatially with distance from the head of the estuary. Growth ofE. intestinalis collected from several sites increased with N enrichment alone and increased further when P was added in combination with N This indicated that N was limiting and that when N was sufficient, P became limiting. Sites from whichE. intestinalis exhibited nutrient limitation spanned the range of background water column NO3 (12.9±0.4 to 55.2±2.1 μM) and SRP (0.8±0.0 to 2.9±0.2 μM) concentrations. Algae that were N limited had initial tissue N levels ranging from 1.18±0.03 to 2.81±0.08% dry weight and molar N∶P ratios ranging from 16.75±0.39 to 26.40±1.98.

Tissue nutrient content of Gracilaria spp. (Rhodophyta) and water quality along an estuarine gradient

Tissue nutrient content of Gracilaria spp. (Rhodophyta) was tested as a bioindicator of water column nutrient availability in the Logan River and southern Moreton Bay, south-eastem Queensland. Macroalgae were incubated for one to two weeks within flow-through incubation chambers suspended in the water column. Tissue nutrient content of Gracilaria spp, and water column nutrients were measured at five sites over a five-month period. Tissue nitrogen content (%N) was correlated with dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) at a site 15 km upstream from the Logan River mouth (r² = 0.81), at the Logan River mouth (r² = 0.50), and at a Moreton Bay site 8 km from the Logan River mouth (r² = 0.71). Time-course analyses of water column nutrients and plant tissue content showed more significant correlations with nitrogen (N) than with phosphorus (P). Plant tissue nitrogen-to-phosphorus (N:P) molar ratios ranged between 19 and 23 whereas water column N:P ratios were between 2 and 6, suggesting low nitrogen availability relative to plant requirements and possible N limitation. In the laboratory, Gracilaria verrucosa was subjected to treatments of N, P or N + P nutrient additions. Deepening of the thallus colouration was observed after additions of N. Chlorophyll and phycoerythrin concentrations increased in treatments with N addition; however, owing to wide variability between phycoerythrin replicates, only chlorophyll increases were significant. The amino acid citrulline also increased with the addition of N and accounted for up to 16% of the total tissue N. Macroalgae may be more useful than traditional water quality sampling for integrating biologically available pulses of nutrients, especially for a limiting nutrient such as N in coastal marine ecosystems.

Productivity and biomass of Thalassia testudinum as related to water column nutrient availability and epiphyte levels: field observations and experimental studies

Productivity and biomass of Thalassia testudinum as related to water column nutrient availability and epiphyte levels: field observations and experimental studies