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Tracking the Dynamic Ecological History of a Tropical Urban Estuary as it Responds to Human Pressures

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Abstract

Coastal cities in tropical areas are often low-lying and vulnerable to the effects of flooding and storms. San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a good example of this. It is built around a lagoon-channel complex called the San Juan Bay Estuary (SJBE). A critical channel in the estuary, the Caño Martín Peña, has filled in and now frequently floods the surrounding communities with sewage-enriched waters, causing a series of human health and ecological problems. Sediment core analyses indicate that portions of the SJBE now function as settling basins. High urban and sewage runoff to the Caño contributes nitrogen (N), but stable isotope and sediment nutrient analyses indicate that this runoff may also enhance conditions for coupled sulfate reduction-nitrogen fixation. The amount of ‘new’ bioavailable N created from inert atmospheric N2 gas may meet or exceed that from the runoff into the Caño Martín Peña. The ecological consequences of this appear to extend beyond the ponded channel, potentially contributing to the poor water quality of the SJBE, greater than contaminated runoff alone.

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Acknowledgements

A. Gray was supported in part by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch Program project number CA-R-ENS-5120-H. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Any mention of trade name and products does not imply an endorsement by the U.S. Government or the U.S. EPA. The EPA does not endorse any commercial products, services, or enterprises.

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Author notes

  1. AO, EH, AH, and CW conceived of the study. AO, ES, AH, AG, EH, RM, CW performed the research, and AO, AG, KM, and EW analyzed data. AG and KM contributed new methods, and AO wrote the paper.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Atlantic Ecology Division, US Environmental Protection Agency, 27 Tarzwell Drive, Narragansett, 02882, Rhode Island, USA

    A. Oczkowski, A. Hanson & C. Wigand

  2. College of Natural Resources and Sciences, Humboldt State University, 1 Harpst St., Arcata, California, 95521, USA

    E. Santos

  3. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California, 92521, USA

    A. Gray

  4. CSRA LLC, 6361 Walker Lane Suite 300, Alexandria, Virginia, 22310, USA

    K. Miller

  5. US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2 Caribbean Office, City View Plaza 2, Suite 7000, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, 00968, USA

    E. Huertas

  6. Dataquest, 548 Market Street, 73537, San Francisco, California, 94104, USA

    R. Martin

  7. The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19103, USA

    E. B. Watson

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  1. A. Oczkowski
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Correspondence to A. Oczkowski.

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Oczkowski, A., Santos, E., Gray, A. et al. Tracking the Dynamic Ecological History of a Tropical Urban Estuary as it Responds to Human Pressures. Ecosystems 23, 231–245 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-019-00399-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-019-00399-1

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