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Phytoplankton and environmental variability in a dam regulated temperate estuary

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Abstract

Phytoplankton composition and production are highly unpredictable within an estuary, due to the high variability of forcing factors, such as freshwater flow, salinity, nutrients and light. The Guadiana estuary has shown sharp inter-annual differences in freshwater flow, related to variable precipitation, which is expected to affect nutrient loadings, light availability and phytoplankton succession. Water retention due to dam construction will further enhance changes in river flow and ecosystem dynamics. The main goal of the present study was to describe and relate phytoplankton succession and environmental conditions, namely nutrients and light, in the Guadiana upper estuary (south-western Iberian Peninsula), a dam regulated temperate estuary. From March 2004 to October 2005, water samples were collected in three stations along a longitudinal transect covering the upper estuary. Several water variables were determined and phytoplankton composition was studied through inverted and epifluorescence microscopy. A typical freshwater phytoplankton succession was observed, from a diatom spring bloom to cyanobacteria dominance in the summer, and a second diatom bloom in the autumn. Neither nutrients nor light availability seemed to be related to the observed succession, especially the seasonal variation of diatom abundance. During summer, nutrient concentrations (especially Si) were high and non-limiting, whilst light was available in the mixing layer. However, diatoms were present in low numbers. Grazing pressure was probably responsible for the regulation of diatom seasonal succession in the Guadiana upper estuary, which should be addressed in future studies.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank P. Oliveira, C. Luís and J. Janeiro for technical assistance and P. Morais for critical reading of the manuscript. P. Morais and Dr. M. A. Chícharo are greatly acknowledged for their help with the multivariate analysis. This work was financially supported by Associação Terras do Baixo Guadiana through project Leader + (Risk evaluation of toxic blooms in the Lower Guadiana). RBD was the recipient of a M.Sc. grant (SFRH/BM/13402/2003) from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The comments of two anonymous reviewers helped to improve the original manuscript.

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  1. CIMA – Centre for Marine and Environmental Research, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139, Faro, Portugal

    Rita B. Domingues & Helena Galvão

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  1. Rita B. Domingues
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  2. Helena Galvão
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Domingues, R.B., Galvão, H. Phytoplankton and environmental variability in a dam regulated temperate estuary. Hydrobiologia 586, 117–134 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-006-0567-4

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