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Seasonal coupling of a tropical mangrove forest and an estuarine water column: enhancement of aquatic primary productivity

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Abstract

Seasonal and spatial patterns of aquatic primary production were compared in a tidal creek (Estero Pargo) bordered by mangroves and open waters of Terminos Lagoon, Mexico. Comparisions were made during a 17-month period in 1990–91 that spanned dry, rainy, and storm or 'Norte' seasons. Annual net primary productivity was 478 g C m-2 yr-1 in the lagoon and 285 g C m-2 yr-1 in the tidal creek. In some months, there were significant differences in primary production between the two sites. In both areas, the highest productivity occurred in summer at the start of the rainy season (June 1991), and the lowest production occurred during the dry season from February to May. Aquatic primary production was lower during the dry season of 1991 in comparison to 1990, possibly related to unusually low precipitation during 1991. Seasonal changes in water column productivity were correlated to variations in light and precipitation. The effect of runoff from mangrove forests was assessed by serial additions of surface water from a fringe forest to bottle incubations of lagoon water. Small additions of mangrove water stimulated primary production in lagoon waters during all seasons. The net productivity was extremely sensitive to aliquot volume; small amounts (0.3 and 1.7% of total volume) were stimulatory, increasing rates by > 50% in 7 of 12 experiments. The greatest effect occurred in September, 1990, when productivity tripled after an amendment with 1 ml (0.3% by volume) of mangrove water. Additions greater than 3% of total volume generally led to reduction in net productivity probably due to the inhibitory effect of humic substances. In many tropical systems, tidal exchange of estuarine waters with mangrove forests is likely to be important to enhancing water column productivity by exporting organic nutrients and other growth-enhancing substances to the estuary.

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Authors
  1. Victor H. Rivera-Monroy
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  2. Christopher J. Madden
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  3. John W. Day Jr.
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  4. Robert R. Twilley
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  5. Francisco Vera-Herrera
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  6. Hernán Alvarez-Guillén
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Rivera-Monroy, V.H., Madden, C.J., Day, J.W. et al. Seasonal coupling of a tropical mangrove forest and an estuarine water column: enhancement of aquatic primary productivity. Hydrobiologia 379, 41–53 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003281311134

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