Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Semidiurnal Dynamics of Phytoplankton Size Structure and Taxonomic Composition in a Macrotidal Temperate Estuary

  • Published:
Estuaries and Coasts Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The semidiurnal dynamics of phytoplankton in a temperate macrotidal estuary were explored by monitoring phytoplankton size structure and taxonomic composition at a fixed station on a seasonal basis. Phytoplankton chlorophyll a (chl a, a proxy for biomass) varied out of phase with the tidal height in February, May, and November, but varied in phase with the tidal height in July. The in-phase pattern in July was observed because the horizontal gradient of chl a differed from other seasons. The horizontal chl a gradient was affected by salinity decrease resulting from the regulated freshwater discharge that occurred 1 day before the diel monitoring in July. This suggests that phytoplankton chl a varies with the rapid change in salinity resulting from anthropogenic freshwater inputs from sea dikes, in addition to varying with tidal currents in the estuary. This season-dependent pattern of response to tidal forcing has not been observed in other temperate estuaries. The relationship with tidal height was enhanced as cell size increased from pico- to micro-size, as the horizontal chl a gradients of larger cells were more evident than those of pico-sized cells. The abundance of diatoms, a dominant group throughout all seasons, fluctuated with tidal height, as did the large cells, whereas the dominant diatom species shifted quickly, and tidal effects on phytoplankton species were not evident. The intra-tidal variations in the phytoplankton community were substantial, but were explained mainly by tidal currents (except at the species level) and as the effect of regulated freshwater input, even when freshwater was no longer being discharged. This suggests that tidal phase and salinity are important parameters to consider in determining long-term trends and seasonal variations in the phytoplankton communities of macrotidal estuaries altered by engineered structures such as sea dikes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aizdaicher, N.A., and Z.V. Markina. 2010. The effect of decrease in salinity on the dynamics of abundance and the cell size of Corethron Hystrix (Bacillariophyta) in laboratory culture. Ocean Science Journal 45: 1–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aksnes, D.L., and U. Lie. 1990. A coupled physical-biological pelagic model of a shallow sill fjord. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 31: 459–486.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alvarez-Gongora, C., and J.A. Herrera-Silveira. 2006. Variations of phytoplankton community structure related to water quality trends in a tropical karstic coastal zone. Marine Pollution Bulletin 52: 48–60.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Arndt, S., J.P. Vanderborght, and P. Regnier. 2007. Diatom growth response to physical forcing in a macrotidal estuary: coupling hydrodynamics, sediment transport, and biogeochemistry. Journal of Geophysical Research 112.

  • Bidigare, R.R., T.J. Frank, C. Zastrow, and J.M. Brooks. 1986. The distribution of algal chlorophylls and their degradation products in the Southern Ocean. Deep-Sea Research 33: 923–937.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brunet, C., and F. Lizon. 2003. Tidal and diel periodicities of size-fractionated phytoplankton pigment signatures at an offshore station in the southeastern English Channel. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 56: 833–843.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Byun, D.S., X.H. Wang, and P.E. Holloway. 2004. Tidal characteristic adjustment due to dyke and seawall construction in the Mokpo Coastal Zone, Korea. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 59: 185–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter, E., and J. Lively. 1980. Review of estimates of algal growth using 14C tracer techniques. In Primary Productivity in the Sea, ed. P. Falkowski, 161–178. New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Chan, T.U., D.P. Hamilton, B.J. Robson, B.R. Hodges, and C. Dallimore. 2002. Impacts of hydrological changes on phytoplankton succession in the Swan River, Western Australia. Estuaries 25: 1406–1415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cloern, J.E. 1991. Tidal stirring and phytoplankton bloom dynamics in an estuary. Journal of Marine Research 49: 203–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cloern, J.E., T.M. Powell, and L.M. Huzzey. 1989. Spatial and temporal variability in south San Francisco Bay (USA). 2. Temporal changes in salinity, suspended sediments, and phytoplankton biomass and productivity over tidal time scales. Estuarine. Coastal and Shelf Science 28: 599–613.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Daley, R.J., and S.R. Brown. 1973. Experimental characterization of lacustrine chlorophyll diagenesis. 1. Physiological and environmental effects. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 72: 277–304.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Jonge, V.N. 1995. Wind driven tidal and annual gross transports of mud and microphytobenthos in the Ems estuary, and its importance for the ecosystem. In Changes in fluxes in estuaries, ed. K.R. Dyer and C.F. D'Elia, 29–40. Denmark: Olsen & Olsen.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Jonge, V.N., and J.E.E. van Beusekom. 1995. Wind- and tide-induced resuspension of sediment and microphytobenthos from tidal flats in the Ems Estuary. Limnology and Oceanography 40: 766–778.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Desmit, X., J.P. Vanderborght, P. Regnier, and R. Wollast. 2005. Control of phytoplankton production by physical forcing in a strongly tidal, well-mixed estuary. Biogeosciences 2: 205–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Domingues, R.B., T.P. Anselmo, A.B. Barbosa, U. Sommer, and H.M. Galvão. 2010. Tidal variability of phytoplankton and environmental drivers in the freshwater reaches of the Guadiana Estuary (SW Iberia). International Review of Hydrobiology 95: 352–369.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Froneman, P.W., E.A. Pakhomov, and M.G. Balarin. 2004. Size-fractionated phytoplankton biomass, production and biogenic carbon flux in the eastern Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean in late austral summer 1997–1998. Deep-Sea Research (Part II, Topical Studies in Oceanography) 51: 2715–2729.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gobler, C.J., N.J. Buck, M.E. Sieracki, and S.A. Sanudo-Wilhelmy. 2006. Nitrogen and silicon limitation of phytoplankton communities across an urban estuary: the East River-Long Island Sound system. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 68: 127–138.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hein, M., M.F. Pedersen, and K. Sand-Jensen. 1995. Size-dependent nitrogen uptake in micro- and macroalgae. Marine Ecology Progress Series 118: 247–253.

  • Helbling, E.W., D.E. Perez, C.D. Medina, M.G. Lagunas, and V.E. Villafane. 2010. Phytoplankton distribution and photosynthesis dynamics in the Chubut River estuary (Patagonia, Argentina) throughout tidal cycles. Limnology and Oceanography 55: 55–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huzzey, L.M., and J.M. Brubaker. 1988. The formation of longitudinal fronts in a coastal plain estuary. Journal of Geophysical Research 93: 1329–1334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jeong, B., Y. Sin, S. Yang, and C. Pack. 2011. Monthly variation of phytoplankton community in Asan Bay, Korea. The Sea, Journal of the Korean Society of Oceanography 16: 238–245 (In Korean).

  • Jouenne, F., S. Lefebvre, B. Véron, and Y. Lagadeuc. 2005. Biological and physicochemical factors controlling short-term variability in phytoplankton primary production and photosynthetic parameters in a macrotidal ecosystem (Eastern English Channel). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 65: 421–439.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kang, J.W., S.-R. Moon, S.-J. Park, and K.-H. Lee. 2009. Analyzing sea level rise and tide characteristics change driven by coastal construction at Mokpo Coastal Zone in Korea. Ocean Engineering 36: 415–425.

  • Koh, C.-H., J.S. Khim, H. Araki, H. Yamanishi, H. Mogi, and K. Koga. 2006. Tidal resuspension of microphytobenthic chlorophyll a in a Nanaura mudflat, Saga, Ariake Sea, Japan: flood-ebb and spring-neap variations. Marine Ecology Progress Series 312: 85–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lassen, M.F., M.E. Bramm, K. Richardson, F. Yusoff, and M. Shariff. 2004. Phytoplankton community composition and size distribution in the Langat River Estuary, Malaysia. Estuaries 27: 716–727.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lauria, M.L., D.A. Purdie, and J. Sharples. 1999. Contrasting phytoplankton distributions controlled by tidal turbulence in an estuary. Journal of Marine Systems 21: 189–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Legendre, L., and S. Demers. 1984. Towards dynamic biological oceanography and limnology. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 41: 2–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Litaker, W., C.S. Duke, B.E. Kenney, and J. Ramus. 1993. Short-term environmental variability and phytoplankton abundance in a shallow tidal estuary II. Spring and fall. Marine Ecology Progress Series 94: 141–154.

  • Lucas, L.V., and J.E. Cloern. 2002. Effects of tidal shallowing and deepening on phytoplankton production dynamics: a modeling study. Estuaries 25: 497–507.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, L.V., J.R. Koseff, J.E. Cloern, S.G. Monismith, and J.K. Thompson. 1999. Processes governing phytoplankton blooms in estuaries. II: the role of horizontal transport. Marine Ecology Progress Series 187: 17–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malone, T.C., and M.B. Chervin. 1979. The production and fate of phytoplankton size fractions in the plume of the Hudson River, New York Bight. Limnology and Oceanography 24: 683–696.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Murrell, M.C., J.D. Hagy III, E.M. Lores, and R.M. Greene. 2007. Phytoplankton production and nutrient distributions in a sub-tropical estuary: importance of freshwater flow. Estuaries and Coasts 30: 390–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nayar, S., B.P.L. Goh, and L.M. Chou. 2005. Dynamics in the size structure of Skeletonema costatum (Greville) Cleve under conditions of reduced photosynthetically available radiation in a dredged tropical estuary. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 318: 163–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pereira-Filho, J., C.A.F. Schettini, L. Rörig, and E. Siegle. 2001. Intratidal variation and net transport of dissolved inorganic nutrients, POC and chlorophyll a in the Camboriú River Estuary, Brazil. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 53: 249–257.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ray, R.T., L.W. Haas, and M.E. Sieracki. 1989. Autrotropic picoplankton dynamics in a Chesapeake Bay sub-estuary. Marine Ecology Progress Series 52: 273–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rousseau, V., S. Becquevort, J.Y. Parent, S. Gasparini, M.H. Daro, M. Tackx, and C. Lancelot. 2000. Trophic efficiency of the planktonic food web in a coastal ecosystem dominated by Phaeocystis colonies. Journal of Sea Research 43: 357–372.

  • Semeneh, M., F. Dehairs, M. Elskens, M.E.M. Baumann, E.E. Kopczynska, C. Lancelot, and L. Goeyens. 1998. Nitrogen uptake regime and phytoplankton community structure in the Atlantic and Indian sectors of the Southern Ocean. Journal of Marine Systems 17: 159–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sin, Y., and R.L. Wetzel. 2002. Ecosystem modeling analysis of size-structured phytoplankton dynamics in the York River estuary, Virginia (USA). 2. Use of a plankton ecosystem model for investigating controlling factors on phytoplankton and nutrient dynamics. Marine Ecology Progress Series 228: 91–101.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sin, Y., R.L. Wetzel, and I.C. Anderson. 2000. Seasonal variations of size-fractionated phytoplankton along the salinity gradient in the York River estuary, Virginia (USA). Journal of Plankton Research 22: 1945–1960.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sin, Y., B. Hyun, Q.-D. Bach, S. Yang, and C. Park. 2012. Phytoplankton size and taxonomic composition in a temperate estuary influenced by monsoon. Estuaries and Coasts 35: 839–852.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sin, Y., B. Hyun, B. Jeong, and H. Soh. 2013. Impacts of eutrophic freshwater inputs on water quality and phytoplankton size structure in a temperate estuary altered by a sea dike. Marine Environmental Research 85: 54–63.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Totti, C., M. Cangini, C. Ferrari, R. Kraus, M. Pompei, A. Pugnetti, T. Romagnoli, S. Vanucci, and G. Socal. 2005. Phytoplankton size-distribution and community structure in relation to mucilage occurrence in the northern Adriatic Sea. Science of the Total Environment 353: 204–217.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vargas, C.A., and H.E. Gonzalez. 2004. Plankton community structure and carbon cycling in a coastal upwelling system. I. Bacteria, microprotozoans and phytoplankton in the diet of copepods and appendicularians. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 34: 151–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wetz, M.S., K.C. Hayes, A.J. Lewitus, J.L. Wolny, and D.L. White. 2006. Variability in phytoplankton pigment biomass and taxonomic composition over tidal cycles in a salt marsh estuary. Marine Ecology Progress Series 320: 109–120.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, K.-C. 1995. The hydrography at the mouth of Delaware Bay: Tidally averaged distribution and intratidal variability. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 41: 719–736.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoo, M., and J. Choi. 2005. Seasonal distribution and primary production of microphytobenthos on an intertidal mud flat of the Janghwa in Ganghwa Island, Korea. The Sea, Journal of the Korean Society of Oceanography 10: 8–18 (In Korean).

Download references

Acknowledgments

Data for primary productivity were collected and provided by Dr. S. Yang of Kwangju University. We thank Dr. J.L. Pinckney (Associate Editor) and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments, which helped us to improve the manuscript. We are also indebted to Dr. K. Park, who reviewed the discussion of tidal hydraulics in the manuscript. This work was supported by grant no. R012003-000-10080-0 of the Basic Research Program of the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation and by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2012R1A1A2044565).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering & Biotechnology, Mokpo National Maritime University, Mokpo, 530-729, South Korea

    Yongsik Sin & Byungkwan Jeong

  2. Department of Oceanography, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 305-764, South Korea

    Chul Park

Authors
  1. Yongsik Sin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Byungkwan Jeong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Chul Park
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yongsik Sin.

Additional information

Communicated by James L. Pinckney

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sin, Y., Jeong, B. & Park, C. Semidiurnal Dynamics of Phytoplankton Size Structure and Taxonomic Composition in a Macrotidal Temperate Estuary. Estuaries and Coasts 38, 546–557 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-014-9838-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-014-9838-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation