Estuaries and Coasts

, Volume 36, Issue 2, pp 347–364 | Cite as

Spectral Irradiance, Phytoplankton Community Composition and Primary Productivity in a Salt Marsh Estuary, North Inlet, South Carolina, USA

  • Evelyn Lawrenz
  • Erik M. Smith
  • Tammi L. Richardson
Article
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Abstract

We investigated spatial and temporal changes in spectral irradiance, phytoplankton community composition, and primary productivity in North Inlet Estuary, South Carolina, USA. High concentrations of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) were responsible for up to 84 % of the attenuation of photosynthetically available radiation (PAR). Green-yellow wavelengths were the predominant colors of light available at the two sampling sites: Clam Bank Creek and Oyster Landing. Vertical attenuation coefficients of PAR were 0.7–2.1 m−1 with corresponding euphotic zone depths of 1.5–6.7 m. Phytoplankton biomass (as chlorophyll a [chl a]) varied seasonally with a summer maximum of 16 μg chl a l−1 and a winter minimum of 1.4 μg chl a l−1. The phytoplankton community consisted mainly of diatoms, prasinophytes, cryptophytes and haptophytes, with diatoms and prasinophytes accounting for up to 67 % of total chl a. Changes in phytoplankton community composition showed strongest correlations with temperature. Light-saturated chl a-specific rates of photosynthesis and daily primary productivity varied with season and ranged from 1.6 to 14 mg C (mg chl a) −1 h−1 (32–803 mg C m−3 day−1). Calculated daily rates added up to an annual carbon fixation rate of 84 g C m−3 year−1. Overall, changes in phytoplankton community composition and primary productivity in North Inlet showed a strong dependence on temperature, with PAR and spectral irradiance playing a relatively minor role due to short residence times, strong tidal forcing and vertical mixing.

Keywords

Carbon fixation Community structure Photoacclimation CDOM Attenuation coefficient Light absorption 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

We thank Katherine Sandel, Ben Lakish, Bridget Bachman, Emily Goldman, Tracy Buck and Amy Willman for their help with field measurements and sample collection. We also thank Hugh MacIntyre for valuable guidance and Jay Pinckney for statistical advice and access to the HPLC facility of the Estuarine Ecology Laboratory at USC. The support staff at the Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Science in Georgetown, South Carolina and the NIWB-NERR provided the meteorological, water quality and nutrient data. Two anonymous reviewers and Associate Editor Dr. Charles Gallegos provided insightful and valuable comments on the manuscript, for which we are grateful. This research was supported by a NOAA-NERR Graduate Research Fellowship (Award no. NA09NOS4200051) and the Slocum-Lunz Foundation, both to E. Lawrenz.

Supplementary material

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ESM 1 (DOC 595 kb)

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Copyright information

© Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation 2012

Authors and Affiliations

  • Evelyn Lawrenz
    • 1
    • 2
  • Erik M. Smith
    • 3
  • Tammi L. Richardson
    • 1
    • 4
  1. 1.Marine Science ProgramUniversity of South CarolinaColumbiaUSA
  2. 2.School of Biological SciencesUniversity of EssexColchesterUK
  3. 3.Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal SciencesUniversity of South CarolinaGeorgetownUSA
  4. 4.Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of South CarolinaColumbiaUSA

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