RESUMEN
Mesozooplankton was sampled seasonally in a large microtidal estuary (Peel-Harvey) suffering from massive macroalgal growths and cyanobacterial blooms. Comparisons with other estuaries indicate that eutrophication led to copepod abundance declining and macroalgal-associated species increasing. Mesozooplankton species are almost exclusively autochthonous, i.e. spend entire life cycle within the estuary. Meroplanktonic species are virtually absent because main benthic macroinvertebrate species undergo direct benthic rather than planktotrophic development. There are also few abundant holoplanktonic species. Most species are tychoplanktonic, i.e. benthic and transported into plankton through physical disturbance of sediment. Species number, concentration and Simpson's Index are greater during night than day. Annual cyclical changes in species composition are related closely to changes in salinity. At the most degraded site, nematode concentrations were high and the species number and concentration changed markedly during extreme eutrophication, when oxygen concentrations were low, disrupting annual cyclical changes in species composition.
Asunto(s)
Copépodos/fisiología , Estuarios , Eutrofización , Zooplancton/fisiología , Animales , Australia , Cianobacterias/fisiología , Monitoreo del Ambiente , Densidad de Población , Salinidad , Estaciones del AñoRESUMEN
Suspended marine benthic microalgae in the water column reflect the close relationship between the benthic and pelagic components of coastal ecosystems. In this study, a 12-year phytoplankton time-series was used to investigate the contribution of benthic microalgae to the pelagic system at a site along the French-Atlantic coast. Furthermore, all taxa identified were allocated into different growth forms in order to study their seasonal patterns. The highest contribution of benthic microalgae was observed during the winter period, reaching up to 60% of the carbon biomass in the water column. The haptobenthic growth form showed the highest contribution in terms of biomass, dominant in the fall-winter period when the turbidity and the river flow were high. The epipelic growth form did not follow any seasonal pattern. The epiphytic diatom Licmophora was most commonly found during summer. As benthic microalgae were found in the water column throughout the year, the temporal variation detected in the structure of pelagic assemblages in a macrotidal ecosystem was partly derived from the differentiated contribution of several benthic growth forms.