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The Contribution of Benthic Nutrient Regeneration to Primary Production in a Shallow Eutrophic Estuary, Weeks Bay, Alabama

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Abstract

Benthic oxygen, dinitrogen, and nutrient fluxes (NH +4 , NO −3 , and PO 3−4 ) were measured monthly during a 1-year period at two locations in Weeks Bay, a shallow (1.4 m) and eutrophic estuary in Alabama. Gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (R), and net ecosystem metabolism were determined from high-frequency dissolved oxygen measurements. Peak water column NO −3 (55 μM) and chlorophyll a (138 μg/l) concentrations were measured during spring and fall, respectively. Sediments were a net source of NH +4 (102 μmol m−2 h−1) and PO 3−4 (0.9 μmol m−2 h−1) but a sink for NO −3 (−30 μmol m−2 h−1). Benthic N2 fluxes indicated net N fixation (12 μmol N m−2 h−1). Sediment oxygen demand (0.55 g O2 m−2 day−1) accounted for <10% of R (7.3 g O2 m−2 day−1). Despite high GPP rates (4.7 g O2 m−2 day−1), the estuary was net heterotrophic. Benthic regeneration supplied, on average, 7.5% and 4% of primary productivity N and P demands, respectively. These results contrast with the conventional view that benthic regeneration accounts for a large fraction of phytoplankton nutrient demand in shallow estuaries.

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Acknowledgments

Partial funding for this research was provided by the Mississippi–Alabama Sea Grant Consortium: Project Number: R/CEH-30-PD and the University of Alabama RGC fund. A. Riggs was supported by a University of Alabama Aquatic Biology and Systematics Enhancement Graduate Research and Graduate Teaching Assistantships. We would like to thank DISL Technical Support staff for their assistance, especially M. Dardeau for SCUBA diving and K. Beebe and A. Vedral for field and laboratory assistance. Finally, this manuscript was greatly improved by critical reviews by R. Findlay, R. Kiene, and C. Martin. We would like to thank C. Wood and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments, which significantly improved this manuscript.

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  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35401, USA

    Behzad Mortazavi, Ashley A. Riggs & Hélène Genet

  2. Dauphin Island Sea Lab, 101 Bienville Boulevard, Dauphin Island, AL, 36528, USA

    Behzad Mortazavi & Ashley A. Riggs

  3. Center for Environmental Diagnostics and Bioremediation, University of West Florida, 11000 University Parkway, Pensacola, FL, 32514, USA

    Jane M. Caffrey

  4. Weeks Bay Reserve, 11300 U.S. Highway 98, Fairhope, AL, 36532, USA

    Scott W. Phipps

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Mortazavi, B., Riggs, A.A., Caffrey, J.M. et al. The Contribution of Benthic Nutrient Regeneration to Primary Production in a Shallow Eutrophic Estuary, Weeks Bay, Alabama. Estuaries and Coasts 35, 862–877 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-012-9478-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-012-9478-y

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