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Benthic microalgae in coral reef sediments of the southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia

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Abstract

The abundance and productivity of benthic microalgae in coral reef sediments are poorly known compared with other, more conspicuous (e.g. coral zooxanthellae, macroalgae) primary producers of coral reef habitats. A survey of the distribution, biomass, and productivity of benthic microalgae on a platform reef flat and in a cross-shelf transect in the southern Great Barrier Reef indicated that benthic microalgae are ubiquitous, abundant (up to 995.0 mg chlorophyll (chl) a m−2), and productive (up to 110 mg O2 m−2 h−1) components of the reef ecosystem. Concentrations of benthic microalgae, expressed as chlorophyll a per surface area, were approximately 100-fold greater than the integrated water column concentrations of microalgae throughout the region. Benthic microalgal biomass was greater on the shallow water platform reef than in the deeper waters of the cross-shelf transect. In both areas the benthic microalgal communities had a similar composition, dominated by pennate diatoms, dinoflagellates, and cyanobacteria. Benthic microalgal populations were potentially nutrient-limited, based on responses to nitrogen and phosphorus enrichments in short-term (7-day) microcosm experiments. Benthic microalgal productivity, measured by O2 evolution, indicated productive communities responsive to light and nutrient availability. The benthic microalgal concentrations observed (92–995 mg chl a m−2) were high relative to other reports, particularly compared with temperate regions. This abundance of productive plants in both reef and shelf sediments in the southern Great Barrier Reef suggests that benthic microalgae are key components of coral reef ecosystems.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support for the transect research was provided by a Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Grant to W.C. Dennison. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Mark Waugh with the Fitzroy-Heron transect sampling and the University of Queensland Interdisciplinary Geology/Botany and Terrestrial and Marine Botany field classes with sample collections at Heron Island.

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  1. C. A. Heil

    Present address: College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, 140 7th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA

  2. A. Jones

    Present address: Center for Environmental Science, University of Maryland, PO Box 775, Cambridge, MD 21613, USA

  3. B. Longstaff

    Present address: Waterways Scientific Services, Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, 80 Meiers Rd., 4068, Indooroopilly, Queensland, Australia

  4. S. Costanzo

    Present address: National Research Center for Environmental Toxicology, 39 Kessels Rd, 4108, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, University of Queensland, 4072, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    C. A. Heil, K. Chaston, A. Jones, P. Bird, B. Longstaff, S. Costanzo & W. C. Dennison

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Correspondence to C. A. Heil.

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Communicated by Environmental Editor, B.C. Hatcher

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Heil, C.A., Chaston, K., Jones, A. et al. Benthic microalgae in coral reef sediments of the southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Coral Reefs 23, 336–343 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-004-0390-1

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