Abstract
We have designed a flow-through benthic chamber that has the desirable characteristics of: simulation of tidal currents, continuous operation, ability to measure photosynthesis, respiration and nutrient exchanges, and maintenance of near-ambient oxygen conditions in a highly metabolic environment. The apparatus is based on a 1.3 m long Plexiglas tunnel, closed at bith ends, with both constant circulation and periodic flushing. The results of a 9-month study at one location in Flax Pond, a Long Island, New York, tidal pond, show large seasonal variations, influences of both sunlight intensity and seasonality, and a P/R ratio of less than one.
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Research carried out at Brookhaven National Laboratory under the auspices of the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, with supplementary support from National Science Foundation Grant No. A6-375.
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Hall, C.A.S., Tempel, N. & Peterson, B.J. A benthic chamber for intensely metabolic lotic systems. Estuaries 2, 178–183 (1979). https://doi.org/10.2307/1351732
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1351732