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Pigment composition and size distribution of phytoplankton in a confined Mediterranean salt marsh ecosystem

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Abstract

Pigment composition and size distribution of phytoplankton were analysed in a group of Mediterranean salt marshes, where hydrology is dominated by sudden inputs during sea storms, followed by long periods of confinement. These marshes are characterized by a low inorganic–organic nutrient ratio, and inorganic nitrogen is especially scarce due to denitrification. Nutrients were the main factor affecting phytoplankton biomass, while zooplankton grazing did not control either phytoplankton community composition, or their size distribution. The relative abundance of the different phytoplankton groups was analysed by correspondence analysis using the pigment composition measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and analysed with the CHEMTAX programme. In this analysis, phytoplankton pigment composition was correlated with two nutrient gradients. The first gradient was the ratio of nitrate–total nitrogen (TN), since the different phytoplankton groups were distributed according to their eco–physiological differences in nitrogen uptake. The second gradient was correlated with total nutrient loading. Biomass size distributions frequently showed a lack of intermediate sized nanophytoplankton (2.5–4 μm in diameter), and the importance of this lack of intermediate sizes correlated with dinoflagellate biomass. These results suggested that in confined environments, where nutrients are mainly in an organic form, dinoflagellates take advantage of their mixotrophy, by competing and grazing on smaller phytoplankters simultaneously.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant from the Comisión de Investigación Científica y Técnica (CICYT), Programa de Recursos Naturales (ref. CGL2004-05433 / BOS) and by a BR grant of the University of Girona. Anonymous reviewers are thanked for their comments that led to the final manuscript.

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  1. Institute of Aquatic Ecology and Department of Environmental Sciences, Facultat de Ciències, University of Girona, Campus de Montilivi, 17071, Girona, Spain

    Rocío López-Flores, Dani Boix, Anna Badosa, Sandra Brucet & Xavier D. Quintana

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  1. Rocío López-Flores
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  2. Dani Boix
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  3. Anna Badosa
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  4. Sandra Brucet
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Correspondence to Rocío López-Flores.

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Communicated by S.A. Poulet, Roscoff

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López-Flores, R., Boix, D., Badosa, A. et al. Pigment composition and size distribution of phytoplankton in a confined Mediterranean salt marsh ecosystem. Mar Biol 149, 1313–1324 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-006-0273-9

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