Interpretation of the seasonal variations of nutrients in a mediterranean lagoon: étang de Thau

Abstract

A network of 63 stations was used on four occasions (June 1986, October 1986, February 1987, and May 1987) to study the spatio-temporal distribution of inorganic nutrients in Thau Lagoon (‘l'étang de Thau’), which covers 7500 hectares on the French Mediterranean coast. Three environmental factors, revealed by multiple regression models, govern the distributions observed. Allochthonous inputs from the watershed enrich the environment with nitrogen and phosphorus compounds in the winter and autumn. Internal sources are essentially localized in the shellfish breeding zone of the lagoon. In the summer, shellfish excretions and the rapid remineralization of organic deposits produce ammonium ions. Uptake by phytoplankton has a much larger impact on the seasonal variation of inorganic nitrogen than on that of phosphorus; the latter is present in excess in the lagoon waters. Thus, nitrogen appears to be the primary limiting nutrient for the development of the chorophyllous biomass.