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Sources of Fatty Acids in Sediments of the York River Estuary: Relationships with Physical and Biological Processes

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Abstract

Fatty acid (FA) composition (neutral FA and phospholipid-linked FA) was examined in surface sediments at two sites of the York River estuary (VA, Chesapeake Bay) with contrasting benthic dynamics, Clay Bank (CB) and Gloucester Point (GP), in order to study organic carbon sources and their relationship to biological and physical processes. Our results suggest that FA composition in surface sediments was driven by biological and physical events, occurring mostly during the period of high river discharge, including: (1) the spring phytoplankton bloom, likely responsible for high concentrations of FA of algal origin at CB in March 2007, (2) the fall phytoplankton bloom, causing a secondary peak of algal FA and an increase in viable microbial biomass at CB in October 2007, and (3) a physical event in May 2007, resulting in high concentrations of terrestrial and bacterial FA at GP. FA concentrations tended to be higher but more variable during periods of high freshwater discharge, with trends more pronounced at the upstream site, suggesting connectivity between biological and physical processes.

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Acknowledgments

This study was performed within the project MUDBED, funded by the National Science Foundation grants OCE-0536572 and OCE-0536466 to C. Friedrichs. E. Canuel was supported by DEB-0542645 during the study period. We thank our collaborators Carl Friedrichs, Linda Schaffner, Robert Diaz, and Patrick Dickhudt, for their assistance in sample collection and for their contributions to interpreting the data. We thank Elizabeth Lerberg, Michele Cochran, Amanda Spivak, and Amber Hardison for their help and support in the lab. We also thank Alice Brylawski and Payal Dharia for their help in the field. Laura Palomo’s work was supported by the Fulbright Program and the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science. Additional support for this research was provided by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. This article is contribution 3069 of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, The College of William and Mary.

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  1. Laura Palomo

    Present address: Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

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  1. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, The College of William and Mary, P.O. Box 1346, Gloucester Point, VA, 23062, USA

    Laura Palomo & Elizabeth A. Canuel

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Correspondence to Elizabeth A. Canuel.

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Palomo, L., Canuel, E.A. Sources of Fatty Acids in Sediments of the York River Estuary: Relationships with Physical and Biological Processes. Estuaries and Coasts 33, 585–599 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-010-9268-3

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