| one publication added to basket [75914] | Microbial production of an estuarine mudflat
Joint, I.R. (1978). Microbial production of an estuarine mudflat. Estuar. Coast. Mar. Sci. 7: 185-195
In: Estuarine and Coastal Marine Science. Academic Press: London. ISSN 0302-3254; e-ISSN 1878-3023, more
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| Keywords |
Aquatic communities > Plankton > Phytoplankton
Biological production > Primary production
Cycles > Chemical cycles > Geochemical cycle > Biogeochemical cycle > Nutrient cycles > Carbon cycle
Cycles > Chemical cycles > Geochemical cycle > Biogeochemical cycle > Nutrient cycles > Nitrogen cycle
Microorganisms
Organisms > Saprophytes > Parasites > Microorganisms > Heterotrophic microorganisms
Sedimentary structures > Mud flats
Sediments > Clastics > Mud
Temporal variations > Periodic variations > Seasonal variations
Topographic features > Landforms > Coastal landforms > Tidal flats
Water > Brackish water
Water bodies > Coastal waters > Coastal landforms > Coastal inlets > Estuaries
Brackish water |
| Abstract |
The components of microbial production of an intertidal mud flat in the R. Lynher, SW England, were studied from Jan 1974 to Dec 1974. Measurements were made of primary production on the sediment surface and in the water column, and the seasonal changes in numbers of aerobic heterotrophs and carbon and nitrogen content of the surface sediment were measured. The annual primary production was 143 g C m-2 for the sedment and 81 . 7 g C m-2 for the water column. Primary production on the sediment surface ceased when the mudflat was tidally flooded. Successive peaks of chlorophyll a in the water column were associated with phytoplankton of different cells sizes. Functional chlorophyll a was found at depths of >10 cm in the sediment. Attempts to measure the heterotrophic potential of the microbial populations were equivocal but suggested that heterotrophic microbes were not very important in the turn-over of carbon on this mudflat. The source of carbon is assumed to be autochthonous and the capacity for the measured primary production to support the macrofauna production is discussed. |
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