Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Phytoplankton production and nutrient distributions in a subtropical estuary: Importance of freshwater flow

  • Published:
Estuaries and Coasts Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The relationships between phytoplankton productivity, nutrient distributions, and freshwater flow were examined in a seasonal study conducted in Escambia Bay, Florida, USA, located in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Five sites oriented along the salinity gradient were sampled 24 times over the 28-mo period from 1999 to 2001. Water column profiles of temperature and salinity were measured along with surface chlorophyll and surface inorganic nutrient concentrations. Primary productivity was measured at 2 sites on 11 dates, and estimated for the remaining dates and sites using an empirical regression model relating phytoplankton net production to the product of chlorophyll, euphotic zone depth, and daily solar insolation. Freshwater flow into the system varied markedly over the study period with record low flow during 2000, a flood event in March 2001, and subsequent resumption of normal flow. Flushing times ranged from 1 d during the flood to 20 d during the drought. Freshwater input strongly affected surface salinity distributions, nutrient flux, chlorophyll, and primary productivity. The flood caused high turbidity and rapid flushing, severely reducing phytoplankton production and biomass accumulation. Following the flood, phytoplankton biomass and productivity sharply increased. Analysis of nutrient distributions suggested Escambia Bay phytoplankton alternated between phosphorus limitation during normal flow and nitrogen limitation during low flow periods. This study found that Escambia Bay is a moderately productive estuary, with an average annual integrated phytoplankton production rate of 290 g C m−2 yr−1.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

Literature Cited

  • Alexander, R. B., A. s. Ludtke, K. K. Fitzgerald, and T. L. Schertz. 1996. Data from selected US Geological Survey national stream water-quality monitoring networks (WQN). United States Geological Survey, Open File Report 96-337, Washington, D.C.

  • American Public Health Association (APHA). 1989. Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wasterwater. 17th edition. American Public Health Association, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bianchi, T. S., J. R. Pennock, andR. R. Twilley (eds.). 1999, Biogeochemistry of Gulf of Mexico Estuaries, 1st edition. John Wiley and Sons, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boynton, W. R., W. M. Kemp, andC. W. Keefe. 1982. A comparative analysis of nutrients and other factors influencing estuarine phytoplankton production, p. 69–90.In V. S. Kennedy (ed.), Estuarine Comparisons. Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bricker, S. B., C. G. Clement, D. E. Pirhalla, S. P. Orlando, andD. R. G. Farrow. 1999. national estuarine eutrophication assessment: Effects of nutrient enrichment in the nation’s estuaries. NOAA, National Ocean Service, Special Projects Office and the National Centers for Coastal Science, Silver Spring, Maryland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brodie, J. E. andA. W. Mitchell. 2005. Nutrients in Australian tropical rivers: Changes with agricultural development and implications for receiving environments.Marine and Freshwater Research 56:279–302.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Caffrey, J. M., T. P. Chapin, H. W. Jannasch, andJ. C. Haskins. 2007. High nutrient pulses, nutrient mixing and biological response in a small California estuary: Variability in nutrient concentrations from decadal to hourly time scales.Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 71:368–380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cloern, J. E. 1996. Phytoplankton bloom dynamics in coastal ecosystems: A review with some general lessons from sustained investigation of San Francisco Bay, California.Reviews of Geophysics 34:127–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cloern, J. E. 1999. The relative importance of light and nutrient limitation of phytoplankton growth: A simple index of coast ecosystem sensitivity to nutrient enrichment.Aquatic Ecology 33:3–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cloern, J. E. 2001. Our evolving conceptual model of the coastal eutrophication problem.Marine Ecology Progress Series 210:223–253.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cole, B. E. andJ. E. Cloern. 1987. An empirical model for estimating phytoplankton productivity in estuaries.Marine Ecology Progress Series 36:299–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conley, D. J., H. Kaas, F. Mohlenberg, B. Rasmussen, andJ. Windolf. 2000. Characteristics of Danish estuaries.Estuaries 23:820–837.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Culliton, T., M. A. Warren, T. R. Goodspeed, D. G. Remer, C. M. Blackwell, andJ. J. McDonough, III. 1990. 50 years of population change along the nation’s coasts, 1960–2010. NOAA, Office of Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment (ORCA), Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Division. Rockville, Maryland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dai, M., X. Guo, W. Zhai, Y. Yuan, B. Wang, L. Wang, P. Cai, T. Tang, andW.-J. Cai. 2006. Oxygen depletion in the upper reach of the Pearl River estuary during a winter drought.Marine Chemistry 102:159–169.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dyer, K. R. 1973. Estuaries: A Physical Introduction. John Wiley and Sons, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eyre, B. D. 1997. Water quality changes in an episodically flushed sub-tropical australian estuary: A 50 year perspective.Marine Chemistry 59:177–187.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eyre, B. D. 1998. Transport, retention and transformation of material in Australian estuaries.Estuaries 21:540–551.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eyre, B. D. 2000. Regional evaluation of nutrient transformation and phytoplankton growth in nine river-dominated sub-tropical east Australian estuaries.Marine Ecology Progress Series 205:61–83.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eyre, B. D. andA. J. P. Ferguson. 2006. Impact of a flood event on benthic and pelagic coupling in a sub-tropical east australian estuary (Brunswick).Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 66:111–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eyre, B. D. andC. Twigg. 1997. Nutrient behaviour during post-flood recovery of the Richmond River Estuary northern NSW, Australia.Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 44:311–326.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, A., B. D. Eyre, andJ. Gay. 2004. Nutrient cycling in the sub-tropical Brunswick estuary, Australia.Estuaries 27:1–17.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, T. R., A. B. Gustafson, K. Sellner, R. Lacouture, L. Haas, R. L. Wetzei, R. Magnien, D. Everitt, B. Michaels, andR. Karrh. 1999. Spatial and temporal variation of resource limitation in chesapeake Bay.Marine Biology 133:763–778.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, T. R., J. M. Melack, J. U. Grobbelaar, andR. W. Howarth. 1995. Nutrient limitation of phytoplankton and cutrophication of inland, estuarine, and marine waters, p. 301–322.In H. Tiessen (ed.), Phosphorus in the Global Environment: Transfers, Cycles and Management. John Wiley and Sons Ltd., Chichester, England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, T. R., E. R. Peele, J. W. Ammerman, andL. W. Harding Jr. 1992. Nutrient limitation of phytoplankton in Chesapeake Bay.Marine Ecology Progress Series 82:51–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hagy, J. D. and M. C. Murrell. In press. Susceptibility of a Gulf of Mexico estuary to hypoxia: An analysis using box models.Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science.

  • Harding, Jr.,L. W. 1994. Long-term trends in the distribution of phytoplankton in Chesapeake Bay: Roles of light, nutrients and streamflow.Marine Ecology Progress Series 104:267–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Granéli, E., K. Waliström, U. Larsson, W. Granéli, andR. Elmgren. 1990. Nutrient limitation of primary production in the Baltic Sea.Ambio 19:142–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howarth, R. W. 1988. Nutrient limitation of net primary production in marine ecosystems.Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 19:89–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hubertz, E. D. andL. B. Cahoon. 1999. Short-term variability of water quality parameters in two shallow estuaries of North Carolina.Estuaries 22:814–823.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jeffrey, S. W., R. F. C. Mantoura, andS. W. Wright (eds.). 1997, Phytoplankton pigments in oceanography: guidelines to modern methods. UNESCO Publishing, Paris, France.

    Google Scholar 

  • Juhl, A. R. andM. C. Murrell. 2005. Interactions between nutrients, phytoplankton growth, and microzooplankton grazing in a Gulf of Mexico estuary.Aquatic Microbial Ecology 38:147–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kemp, W. M., W. R. Boynton, J. E. Adolf, D. F. Boesch, W. C. Boicourt, G. Brush, J. C. Cornwell, T. R. Fisher, P. A. Glibert, J. D. Hagy, L. W. harding, Jr., E. D. Houde, D. G. Kimmel, W. D. Miller, R. I. E. Newell, M. R. Roman, E. M. Smith, and J. C. Stevenson. 2005. Eutrophication of Chesapeake Bay: Historical trends and ecological interactions.Marine Ecology Progress Series 303:1–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loder, T. C. andR. P. Reichard. 1981. The dynamics of conservative mixing in estuaries.Estuaries 4:64–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lores, E. M., M. A. Lewis, andZ. A. Malaeb. 2002. Spatial and temporal variability in zooplankton community dynamics in three urbanized bayous of the Pensacola Bay System, Florida, USA.Gulf and Caribbean Research 14:1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macauley, J., L. M. Smith, andB. F. Ruth. 2005. The ecological condition of the Pensacola Bay system, northwest Florida. EPA/620/R-05/002. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Ecological Effects Research Laboratory, Gulf Ecology Division, Gulf Breeze, Florida.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mallin, M. A., L. B. Cahoon, M. R. McIver, D. C. Parsons, andG. C. Shank. 1999. Alternation of factors limiting phytoplankton production in the Cape Fear estuary.Estuaries 22:825–836.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • May, E. B. 1973. Extensive oxygen depletion in Mobile Bay, Alabama.Limnology and Oceanography 18:353–366.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Murrell, M. C. 2003. Bacterioplankton dynamics in a subtropical estuary: Evidence for substrate limitation.Aquatic Microbial Ecology 32:239–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murrell, M. C. andE. M. Lores. 2004. Phytoplankton and zooplankton seasonal dynamics in a subtropical estuary: Importance of cyanobacteria.Journal of Plankton Research 26:371–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murrell, M. C., R. S. Stanley, E. M. Lores, G. T. DiDonato, andD. A. Flemer. 2002a. Linkage between microzooplankton grazing and phytoplankton growth in a Gulf of Mexico estuary.Estuaries 25:19–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murrell, M. C., R. S. Stanley, E. M. Lores, G. T. DiDonato, L. M. Smith, andD. A. Flemer. 2002b. Evidence that phosphorus limits phytoplankton growth in a Gulf of Mexico estuary: Pensacola Bay, FL, USA.Bulletin of Marine Science 70:155–167.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council (NRC). 2000. Clean Costal Waters: Understanding the Effects of Nutrient Pollution. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nixon, S. W. 1995. Coastal marine eutrophication: A definition, social causes, and future concerns.Ophelia 41:199–219.

    Google Scholar 

  • Officer, C. B. andD. R. Lynch. 1981. Dynamics of mixing in estuaries.Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 12:525–533.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, T. R., Y. Maita, andC. M. Lalli. 1984. A Manual of chemical and Biological Methods for Seawater Analysis. Pergamon Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pennock, J. R., J. N. Boyer, J. A. Herrera-Silveira, R. L. Iverson, T. E. Whitledge, B. Mortazavi, andF. A. Comin. 1999. Nutrient behavior and phytoplankton production in Gulf of Mexico estuaries, p. 109–162.In T. S. Bianchi, J. R. Pennock, and R. R. Twilley (eds.), Biogeochemistry of Gulf of Mexico Estuaries. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pennock, J. R. andJ. H. Sharp. 1986. Phytoplankton production in the Delaware Estuary: Temporal and spatial variability.Marine Ecology Progress Series 34:143–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pennock, J. R. andJ. H. Sharp. 1994. Temporal alternation between light- and nutrient-limitation of phytoplankton production in a coastal plain estuary.Marine Ecology Progress Series 111:275–288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Platt, T. andA. D. Jassby. 1976. The relationship between photosynthesis and light for natural assemblages of coastal marine phytoplankton.Journal of Phycology 12:421–430.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rabalais, N. N., M. J. Dagg, andD. F. Boesch. 1985. A Gulf of Mexico review of oxygen depletion and eutrophication in estuarine and coastal waters. NOAA, National Ocean Service, Office of Oceanography and Marine Assessment, Ocean Assessments Division, Rockville, Maryland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rabalais, N. N., R. E. Turner, andW. J. Wiseman, Jr. 2002. Gulf of Mexico hypoxia, a.k.a. “the dead zone”.Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 33:235–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roy, P. S., R. J. Williams, A. R. Jones, I. Yassini, P. J. Gibbs, B. Coates, R. J. West, P. R. Scanes, J. P. Hudson, andS. Nichol. 2001. Structure and function of south-east Australian estuaries.Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 53:351–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sin, Y., R. L. Wetzel, andI. C. Anderson. 1999. Spatial and temporal characteristics of nutrient and phytoplankton dynamics in the York River Estuary, Virginia: Analyses of long-term data.Estuaries 22:260–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, S. M. andG. L. Hitchcock. 1994. Nutrient enrichments and phytoplankton growth in the surface waters of the Louisiana Bight.Estuaries 17:740–753.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, R. E. 2001. Of manatees, mangroves, and the Mississippi River: Is there an estuarine signature for the Gulf of Mexico?Estuaries 24:139–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, R. E. andN. N. Rabalais. 2003. Linking landscape and water quality in the Mississippi River basin for 200 years.Bioscience 53:563–572.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). 2001. Nutrient criteria technical guidance manual. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, EPA-822/B-01/003. Washington, D.C.

  • Yin, K., P.-Y. Qian, M. C. S. Wu, J. C. Chen, L. Huang, X. Song, andW. Jian. 2001. Shift from P to N limitation of phytoplankton growth across the Pearl River estuarine plume during summer.Marine Ecology Progress Series 221:17–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, J., J. Yan, andZ. F. Zhang. 1995. Nation-wide water chemistry trends in China—examples from Changjiang and Huanghe.Ambio 24:275–279.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Sources of Unpublished Materials

  • Juhl, A. R. unpublished data. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964.

  • Lewis, M. A. unpublished data. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Gulf Ecology Division, 1 Sabine Island Drive, Gulf Breeze, Florida 32561.

  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service, Center for Oceanographic Products and Services, http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Gulf Ecology Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1 Sabine Island Drive, 32561, Gulf Breeze, Florida

    Michael C. Murrell, James D. Hagy, Emile M. Lores & Richard M. Greene

Authors
  1. Michael C. Murrell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. James D. Hagy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Emile M. Lores
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Richard M. Greene
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael C. Murrell.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Murrell, M.C., Hagy, J.D., Lores, E.M. et al. Phytoplankton production and nutrient distributions in a subtropical estuary: Importance of freshwater flow. Estuaries and Coasts: J ERF 30, 390–402 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02819386

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02819386

Keywords

Search

Navigation