Abstract
Primary production by algal epiphytes of dead Spartina alterniflora shoots in a Georgia salt marsh was measured using the 14C technique. A 23 factorial design was used to quantify the effects of light intensity and inundation frequency (stem height) on carbon fixation at two sites along a salt marsh creek. Algae inundated daily fixed carbon more rapidly than those which had dried for several days, but this may have been the results of greater biomass on more frequently immersed stems. This result corroborates studies showing desiccation is not always a severe stress for intertidal algae. Similarity of epiphyte algal productivity to that of salt marsh benthic diatoms suggests that, given adequate substrate, the epiphytes may be an important source of primary production during some seasons of the year.
Literature Cited
American Public Health Association. 1971. Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. 13th edition American Public Health Association, New York, 874 p.
Box, G. E. P., W. G. Hunter, and J. S. Hunter. 1978. Statistics for experimenters. Wiley, New York, 653 p.
Dawes, C. J., R. E. Moon, and M. A. Davis. 1978. The photosynthetic and respiratory rates and tolerances of benthic algae from a mangrove and salt marsh estuary: a comparative study. Estuarine Coastal Mar. Sci. 6:175–185.
Gallagher, J. L., and F. C. Daiber. 1974. Primary production of edaphic algal communities in a Delaware salt marsh. Limnol. Oceanogr. 19:390–395.
Johnson, W. S., A. Gigon, S. L. Gulman, and H. A. Mooney. 1974. Comparative photosynthetic capacities of intertidal algae under exposed and submerged conditions. Ecology 55:450–453.
Pomeroy, L. R. 1959. Algal productivity in salt marshes of Georgia. Limnol. Oceanogr 4:367–386.
Schindler, D. W., R. V. Schmidt, and R. Reid. 1972. Acidification and bubbling as an alternative to filtration in determining phytoplankton production by the 14C method. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 29:1627–1631.
Teal, J. M. 1962. Energy flow in the salt marsh ecosystem of Georgia. Ecology 43:614–624.
Van Raalte, C. D., I. Valiela, and J. M. Teal. 1976. Production of epibenthic salt marsh algae: light and nutrient limitation. Limnol. Oceanogr. 21:862–872.
Vollenweider, R. A., ed. 1974. A manual on methods for measuring primary production in aquatic environments. 2nd edition. IBP Handbook No. 12, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford. 225 p.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Christian Jones, R. Productivity of algal epiphytes in a Georgia salt marsh: effect of inundation frequency and implications for total marsh productivity. Estuaries 3, 315–317 (1980). https://doi.org/10.2307/1352087
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1352087