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1.
Understanding whether nutrient availability and grazing by consumers can control macroalgal growth is important to mitigate blooms. To assess the effect of long-term nitrogen loading on macroalgae, we ran a field experiment in which we measured growth of green and red macroalgae in estuaries where loads and eutrophication status differed. The relative abundances of consumers differed among estuaries with more grazers in non-eutrophied estuaries, an important interaction of bottom-up and top-down controls. In the estuary with the lowest nitrogen load, grazers controlled green macroalgal growth, but in higher nitrogen-loaded estuaries, where grazing was lower, growth of green macroalgae overwhelmed potential grazer control. The red macroalga was not controlled by grazers, even in the estuary where grazing pressure was highest. In the low-loaded estuary, invertebrate predators exerted top-down control over grazers, but predation effects did not cascade to macroalgae. Bottom-up mechanisms dominated control of macroalgae through an interaction of direct stimulation of growth and indirect alteration of consumer abundances, and thus, long-term nutrient regimes are likely determining potential for bloom formation in Waquoit Bay.  相似文献   

2.
Land-based eutrophication is often associated with blooms of green macroalgae, resulting in negative impacts on seagrasses. The generality of this interaction has not been studied in upwelling-influenced estuaries where oceanic nutrients dominate seasonally. We conducted an observational and experimental study with Zostera marina L. and ulvoid macroalgae across an estuarine gradient in Coos Bay, Oregon. We found a gradient in mean summer macroalgal biomass from 56.1 g dw 0.25 m−2 at the marine site to 0.3 g dw 0.25 m−2 at the riverine site. Despite large macroalgal blooms at the marine site, eelgrass biomass exhibited no seasonal or interannual declines. Through experimental manipulations, we found that pulsed additions of macroalgae biomass (+4,000 mL) did not affect eelgrass in marine areas, but it had negative effects in riverine areas. In upwelling-influenced estuaries, the negative effects of macroalgal blooms are context dependent, affecting the management of seagrass habitats subject to nutrient inputs from both land and sea.  相似文献   

3.
Anthropogenic inputs of nutrients to coastal waters have rapidly restructured coastal ecosystems. To examine the response of macrophyte communities to land-derived nitrogen loading, we measured macrophyte biomass monthly for 6 years in three estuaries subject to different nitrogen loads owing to different land uses on the watersheds. The set of estuaries sampled had nitrogen loads over the broad range of 12 to 601 kg N ha−1 year−1. Macrophyte biomass increased as nitrogen loads increased, but the response of individual taxa varied. Specifically, biomass of Cladophora vagabunda and Gracilaria tikvahiae increased significantly as nitrogen loads increased. The biomass of other macroalgal taxa tended to decrease with increasing load, and the relative proportion of these taxa to total macrophyte biomass also decreased. The seagrass, Zostera marina, disappeared from the higher loaded estuaries but remained abundant in the estuary with the lowest load. Seasonal changes in macroalgal standing stock were also affected by nitrogen load, with larger fluctuations in biomass across the year and higher minimum biomass of macroalgae in the higher loaded estuaries. There were no significant changes in macrophyte biomass over the 6 years of this study, but there was a slight trend of increasing macroalgal biomass in the latter years. Macroalgal biomass was not related to irradiance or temperature, but Z. marina biomass was highest during the summer months when light and temperatures peak. Irradiance might, however, be a secondary limiting factor controlling macroalgal biomass in the higher loaded estuaries by restricting the depth of the macroalgal canopy. The relationship between the bloom-forming macroalgal species, C. vagabunda and G. tikvahiae, and nitrogen loads suggested a strong connection between development on watersheds and macroalgal blooms and loss of seagrasses. The influence of watershed land uses largely overwhelmed seasonal and inter-annual differences in standing stock of macrophytes in these temperate estuaries.  相似文献   

4.
We examined the spatial and temporal variability in drift macroalgal abundance in two seagrass dominated estuarine systems on the Texas coast: Redfish Bay (in the Copano-Aransas Estuary) and Lower Laguna Madre. Measurements of benthic macroalgal variability were made in conjunction with a suite of biotic (seagrass biomass, percent cover, blade width and length, shoot density, epiphyte biomass, seagrass blade C:N ratios, and drift macroalgal abundance and composition) and abiotic (inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations, chlorophylla, total suspended solids, light attenuation, salinity, temperature, total organic carbon and porewater NH4 +) indicators. All parameters were measured at 30 sites within each estuary semiannually from July 2002 to February 2004. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to examine relationships between drift macroalgal abundance and biotic and abiotic parameters. In both Redfish Bay and Lower Laguna Madre, drift macroalgal distribution was widespread, and during three of four sampling periods, abundance was equal to abovegro und biomass ofThalassia testudinum, the dominant seagrass. Drift macro algal abundance was highly variable within sites, between sites, and between seasons in both estuaries. No significant differences in drift macroalgal abundance were found between Redfish Bay and Lower Laguna Madre. In Redfish Bay, drift macroalgae (90.1±10.2 gm−2) tended to accumulate in bare patches within seagrass beds. In Lower Laguna Madre, drift macroalgae (72.7±10.7 gm−2) tended to accumulate in areas of dense seagrass cover rather than in bare areas. We found no relationship between drift macroalgal abundance and low (<2μM) water column nutrient concentrations, and although several of our measured parameters were related to drift macroalgal abundance, none alone sufficiently explained the variability in abundance noted between the two estuarine systems. The contrasting patterns of macroalgal accumulation between Redrish Bay and Lower Laguna Madre likely reflect differences in water circulation characteristics between the two regions as dictated by local physiography, in cluding the shape and orientation of the lagoons, with seasonal variations in macroalgal abundance related to changes in freshwater inflow and nutrient loading.  相似文献   

5.
Resource subsidy regimes, which range from presses to pulses, are common structuring forces in communities, yet research contrasting their effects is lacking. Many coastal marine ecosystems, including estuaries and coral reefs, have experienced increased nutrient subsidies while concurrently shifting to macroalgal dominance; however, the role of subsidy regime in transitions remains unknown. We created concentration–frequency distributions of nutrients in Cook’s Bay, Moorea, French Polynesia, and Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve, CA, USA. Both showed relatively high pulses interspersed by press concentrations. We grew dominant macroalgae alone and together in microcosms approximating these subsidy regimes to quantify individual performance and competitive outcomes. Subsidy regime changed growth and competitive abilities of macroalgae from both ecosystems but with divergent effects. In nutrient-limited reefs, different species were favoured under each enrichment regime, suggesting a fluctuating nutrient environment enhances diversity. In contrast, in eutrophic estuaries, enrichment of both regimes facilitated a single competitive dominant, suppressing diversity. Functional form groups did not predict responses to subsidy regime, likely because classifications ignore temporal variability in resource supplies. Because climate change will alter rainfall patterns globally, further accelerating nutrient subsidies from land to sea, understanding species’ responses to nutrient subsidy regimes is key to predicting the fate of coastal communities.  相似文献   

6.
We conducted monthly bioassay experiments to characterize light and nutrient use efficiency of phytoplankton communities from the chlorophyll-a maximum located in the tidal freshwater region of the James River Estuary. Bioassay results were interpreted in the context of seasonal and inter-annual variation in nutrient delivery and biomass yield using recent and long-term data. Bioassay experiments suggest that nutrient limitation of phytoplankton production has increased over the past 20 years coinciding with reductions in point source inputs and estuarine dissolved nutrient concentrations. Despite increasing nutrient stress, chlorophyll concentrations have not declined due to more efficient nutrient usage. Greater CHLa yield (per unit of N and P) may be due to feedback mechanisms by which the presence of toxin-producing cyanobacteria inhibits grazing by benthic and pelagic filter-feeders. Seasonal patterns in nutrient limitation indicate that phytoplankton in the James respond to variations in inflow concentrations of dissolved nutrients. This association gives rise to an atypical pattern whereby the severity of nutrient limitation diminishes with low discharge in late summer due to minimal dilution of local point sources inputs by riverine discharge. We suggest that this may be a common feature of estuaries located in proximity to urbanized areas.  相似文献   

7.
Rivers draining coastal-plain soils with a low phosphorus-binding capacity load nutrients into the estuarine system in winter. Phosphorus is largely trapped by diatom blooms and recycled via the sediments to support growth, during the warmer months, of blue-green algae in Harvey Estuary or macroalgae in Peel Inlet. The magnitude of blue-green algae (Nodularia) blooms is related to the amount of river water entering in winter; blooms collapse as salinities rise toward that of the ocean. For macroalgae the relationship between light and nutrient availability is of critical importance. Control measures are concerned with reducing phosphorus loads from catchments and increasing water exchange with the ocean through the proposed construction of a new channel.  相似文献   

8.
Hydrologic conditions, especially changes in freshwater input, play an important, and at times dominant, role in determining the structure and function of phytoplankton communities and resultant water quality of estuaries. This is particularly true for microtidal, shallow water, lagoonal estuaries, where water flushing and residence times show large variations in response to changes in freshwater inputs. In coastal North Carolina, there has been an increase in frequency and intensity of extreme climatic (hydrologic) events over the past 15 years, including eight hurricanes, six tropical storms, and several record droughts; these events are forecast to continue in the foreseeable future. Each of the past storms exhibited unique hydrologic and nutrient loading scenarios for two representative and proximate coastal plain lagoonal estuaries, the Neuse and New River estuaries. In this synthesis, we used a 13-year (1998–2011) data set from the Neuse River Estuary, and more recent 4-year (2007–2011) data set from the nearby New River Estuary to examine the effects of these hydrologic events on phytoplankton community biomass and composition. We focused on the ability of specific taxonomic groups to optimize growth under hydrologically variable conditions, including seasonal wet/dry periods, episodic storms, and droughts. Changes in phytoplankton community composition and biomass were strongly modulated by the amounts, duration, and seasonality of freshwater discharge. In both estuaries, phytoplankton total and specific taxonomic group biomass exhibited a distinctive unimodal response to varying flushing rates resulting from both event-scale (i.e., major storms, hurricanes) and more chronic seasonal changes in freshwater input. However, unlike the net negative growth seen at long flushing times for nano-/microphytoplankton, the pigments specific to picophytoplankton (zeaxanthin) still showed positive net growth due to their competitive advantage under nutrient-limited conditions. Along with considerations of seasonality (temperature regimes), these relationships can be used to predict relative changes in phytoplankton community composition in response to hydrologic events and changes therein. Freshwater inputs and droughts, while not manageable in the short term, must be incorporated in water quality management strategies for these and other estuarine and coastal ecosystems faced with increasing frequencies and intensities of tropical cyclones, flooding, and droughts.  相似文献   

9.
In light of widespread coastal eutrophication, identifying which nutrients limit vegetation and the community consequences when limitation is relaxed is critical to maintaining the health of estuarine marshes. Studies in temperate salt marshes have generally identified nitrogen (N) as the primary limiting nutrient for marsh vegetation, but the limiting nutrient in low salinity tidal marshes is unknown. I use a 3-yr nutrient addition experiment in mid elevation,Spartina patens dominated marshes that vary in salinity along two estuaries in southern Maine to examine variation in nutrient effects. Nutrient limitation shifted across estuarine salinity gradients; salt and brackish marsh vegetation was N limited, while oligohaline marsh vegetation was co-limited by N and phosphorus (P). Plant tissue analysis ofS. patens showed plants in the highest salinity marshes had the greatest percent N, despite N limitation, suggesting that N limitation in salt marshes is partially driven by a high demand for N to aid in salinity tolerance. Fertilization had little effect on species composition in monospecificS. patents stands of salt and brackish marshes, but N+P treatments in species-rich oligohaline marshes significantly altered community composition, favoring dominance by high aboveground producing plants. Eutrophication by both N and P has the potential to greatly reduce the characteristic high diversity of oligohaline marshes. Inputs of both nutrients in coastal watersheds must be managed to protect the diversity and functioning of the full range of estuarine marshes.  相似文献   

10.
Characteristics of Danish estuaries   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  
We review various aspects of the structure and functioning of Danish estuaries from data collected by the National Monitoring Program and from information in published sources. We present data on the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of estuaries in Denmark, we evaluate the functioning of these systems as filters and transformers of nutrients and we evaluate the outlook for Danish estuaries in the future. Danish estuarine systems are for the most part shallow (<3 m deep), have short residence times, and tend to be heavily loaded with nutrients primarily from agricultural sources. Total average loads from land per unit watershed area are 112 kg P km?2 yr?1 and 2,400 kg N km?2 yr?1 during the period 1989–1995. The total phosphorus (TP) load in estuaries has been significantly reduced over the last decade, following implementation of the 1987 Action Plan for the Aquatic Environment (Vandmiljøplan in Danish) that prescribed that nitrogen loads to the total aquatic environment should be reduced by 50% and phosphorus loads by 80%. Reductions in the total nitrogen (TN) load have been more modest. Nutrient loading is one of the primary determinants of estuarine nutrient concentration with 70% of the annual variation in TN concentration and 55% of the annual variation in TP concentration explained by variation in the load. Many Danish estuaries have rich communities of macrophytes and benthic filter feeders, such asMytlis edulis andCiona intestinalis, that can control water column chlorophyll concentrations by their filter feeding activities. Many of the estuaries experience hypoxia and anoxia, especially during warm and calm summer months. Further reductions in nutrient loading are expected following implementation of the Action Plan for the Aquatic Environment II, with predicted improvements in oxygen concentrations and in the functioning of these shallow, dynamic estuarine systems.  相似文献   

11.
Hydrologists have long been concerned with the interface of groundwater flow into estuaries, but not until the end of the last century did other disciplines realize the major role played by groundwater transport of nutrients to estuaries. Mass balance and stable isotopic data suggest that land-derived NO3, NH4, and dissolved organic N do enter estuaries in amounts likely to affect the function of the receiving ecosystem. Because of increasing human occupancy of the coastal zone, the nutrient loads borne by groundwater have increased in recent decades, in spite of substantial interception of nutrients within the land and aquifer components of watersheds. Groundwater-borne nutrient loads have increased the N content of receiving estuaries, increased phytoplankton and macroalgal production and biomass, decreased the area of seagrasses, and created a cascade of associated ecological changes. This linkage between land use and eutrophication of estuaries occurs in spite of mechanisms, including uptake of land-derived N by riparian vegetation and fringing wetlands, “unloading” by rapid water removal, and direct N inputs to estuaries, that tend to uncouple the effects of land use on receiving estuaries. It can be expected that as human activity on coastal watersheds continues to increase, the role of groundwater-borne nutrients to the receiving estuary will also increase.  相似文献   

12.
Twenty-nine taxa of macroalgae were collected from the Grays Harbor Estuary, Washington, from 17 April 1980 to 4 June 1981. Outer (oceanic) sites contained higher numbers of species than sites located in the inner portion of the estuary. Macroalgae were found in several habitats including attached to boulders, logs, tree roots, other algae, and angiosperms, as mats in sand, and drift.Fucus distichus ssp.edentatus andEnteromorpha intestinalis occurred at the greatest number of sites and were found throughout the year. The standing stock of the perennialFucus remained relatively consant, while that of anE. intestinalis andBlidingia minima var.subsalsa complex showed a significant peak between late spring and early summer as well as a winter minimum. The occurrence of most other taxa was highly seasonal. Net productivity rates for the most abundant macroalgal taxa were moderate to high relative to rates published for algae in other North American estuaries. It is concluded that, although inconspicuous, macroalgae may represent an important contributor of organic carbon to the Grays Harbor estuarine system.  相似文献   

13.
Expanding human activities along the freshwater to marine continuum of coastal watersheds increasingly impact nutrient inputs, nutrient limitation of primary production, and efforts to reduce nutrient over-enrichment and eutrophication. Historically, phosphorus (P) has been the priority nutrient controlling upstream freshwater productivity, whereas nitrogen (N) limitation has characterized coastal waters. However, changing anthropogenic activities have caused imbalances in N and P loading, making it difficult to control eutrophication by reducing only one nutrient. Furthermore, upstream nutrient reduction controls can impact downstream nutrient limitation characteristics. Recently, it was suggested that only reducing P will effectively control eutrophication in both freshwater and coastal ecosystems. However, controls on production and nutrient cycling in estuarine and coastal systems are physically and chemically distinct from those in freshwater counterparts, and upstream nutrient management actions (exclusive P controls) have exacerbated N-limited downstream eutrophication. Controls on both nutrients are needed for long-term management of eutrophication along the continuum.  相似文献   

14.
Nitrogen (N) loading to estuaries has become a major concern for coastal planners. As urban development on coastal watershed continues, estuaries and bays are becoming more eutrophic, and cascading effects are being felt at every trophic level. Managers and stakeholders need to have a suite of effective management tools that can be applied to coastal watersheds to minimize the effects of eutrophication. We applied an N loading model and an estuarine loading model to examine the effectiveness of a suite of potential management options that could be implemented in Waquoit Bay, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. This estuarine system is a case study in which we can explore the relative potential effectiveness of decreasing inputs from wastewater and fertilizer-derived N, diverting nitrogenous runoff from impervious surfaces, altering zoning ordinances, preserving forested tracts of land as well as freshwater and saltwater wetlands, harvesting macroalgae, dredging estuary channels, and exterminating waterfowl. From a combination of simulation results, assessment of the magnitude of loads from different sources, and through different land covers, and the additional consideration of feasibility we identified management options with high, intermediate, and low potential effectiveness. Improvement of septic system performance, use of zoning regulations, preservation of forested tracts and freshwater bodies, and conservation of salt marshes emerged as the most promising avenues to manage N loads in our system. Installation of wastewater treatment plants, controlling fertilizer use, and harvesting macroalgae would potentially have intermediate success. Diversion of runoff from impervious surfaces, dredging, and extermination of waterfowl show little promise at reducing N loads. These conclusions potentially set priorities for decision-makers charged with the management of Waquoit Bay. The same procedures applied to another watershed-estuary system with different land covers and different estuarine features may differ. Evaluation studies like this need to be done for any particular site, since the watershed-estuary coupling and the loads delivered to the receiving estuary could differ. The Waquoit Bay case study provides an example of a protocol that leads to identification of the most promising management options.  相似文献   

15.
Confidence in the use of macroalgae as an indicator of estuarine eutrophication is limited by the lack of quantitative data on the thresholds of its adverse effects on benthic habitat quality. In the present study, we utilized sediment profile imagery (SPI) to identify thresholds of adverse effects of macroalgal biomass, sediment organic carbon (% OC) and sediment nitrogen (% N) concentrations on the apparent Redox Potential Discontinuity (aRPD), the depth that marks the boundary between oxic near-surface sediment and the underlying suboxic or anoxic sediment. At 16 sites in eight California estuaries, SPI, macroalgal biomass, sediment percent fines, % OC, and % N were analyzed at 20 locations along an intertidal transect. Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis was used to identify step thresholds associated with a transition from "reference" or natural background levels of macroalgae, defined as that range in which no effect on aRPD was detected. Ranges of 3–15 g dw macroalgae m?2, 0.4–0.7 % OC and 0.05–0.07 % N were identified as transition zones from reference conditions across these estuaries. Piecewise regression analysis was used to identify exhaustion thresholds, defined as a region along the stress–response curve where severe adverse effects occur; levels of 175 g dw macroalgae m?2, 1.1 % OC and 0.1 % N were identified as thresholds associated with a shallowing of aRPD to near zero depths. As an indicator of ecosystem condition, shallow aRPD has been related to reduced volume and quality for benthic infauna and alteration in community structure. These effects have been linked to reduced availability of forage for fish, birds and other invertebrates, as well as to undesirable changes in biogeochemical cycling.  相似文献   

16.
Coastal watersheds support more than one half of the world’s human population and are experiencing unprecedented urban, agricultural, and industrial expansion. The freshwater–marine continua draining these watersheds are impacted increasingly by nutrient inputs and resultant eutrophication, including symptomatic harmful algal blooms, hypoxia, finfish and shellfish kills, and loss of higher plant and animal habitat. In addressing nutrient input reductions to stem and reverse eutrophication, phosphorus (P) has received priority traditionally in upstream freshwater regions, while controlling nitrogen (N) inputs has been the focus of management strategies in estuarine and coastal waters. However, freshwater, brackish, and full-salinity components of this continuum are connected structurally and functionally. Intensification of human activities has caused imbalances in N and P loading, altering nutrient limitation characteristics and complicating successful eutrophication control along the continuum. Several recent examples indicate the need for dual N and P input constraints as the only nutrient management option effective for long-term eutrophication control. Climatic changes increase variability in freshwater discharge with more severe storms and intense droughts and interact closely with nutrient inputs to modulate the magnitude and relative proportions of N and P loading. The effects of these interactions on phytoplankton production and composition were examined in two neighboring North Carolina lagoonal estuaries, the New River and Neuse River Estuaries, which are experiencing concurrent eutrophication and climatically driven hydrologic variability. Efforts aimed at stemming estuarine and coastal eutrophication in these and other similarly impacted estuarine systems should focus on establishing N and P input thresholds that take into account effects of hydrologic variability, so that eutrophication and harmful algal blooms can be controlled over a range of current and predicted climate change scenarios.  相似文献   

17.
Using high-resolution measures of aquatic ecosystem metabolism and water quality, we investigated the importance of hydrological inputs of phosphorus (P) on ecosystem dynamics in the oligotrophic, P-limited coastal Everglades. Due to low nutrient status and relatively large inputs of terrestrial organic matter, we hypothesized that the ponds in this region would be strongly net heterotrophic and that pond gross primary production (GPP) and respiration (R) would be the greatest during the “dry,” euhaline estuarine season that coincides with increased P availability. Results indicated that metabolism rates were consistently associated with elevated upstream total phosphorus and salinity concentrations. Pulses in aquatic metabolism rates were coupled to the timing of P supply from groundwater upwelling as well as a potential suite of hydrobiogeochemical interactions. We provide evidence that freshwater discharge has observable impacts on aquatic ecosystem function in the oligotrophic estuaries of the Florida Everglades by controlling the availability of P to the ecosystem. Future water management decisions in South Florida must include the impact of changes in water delivery on downstream estuaries.  相似文献   

18.
Macroalgal biomass and competitive interactions among primary producers in coastal ecosystems may be controlled by bottom-up processes such as nutrient supply and top-down processes such as grazing, as well as other environmental factors. To determine the relative importance of bottom-up and top-down processes under different nutrient loading conditions, we estimated potential amphipod and isopod grazer impact on a dominant macroalgal species in three estuaries in Waquoit Bay, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, that are subject to different nitrogen loading rates. We calculated growth increases and grazing losses in each estuary based on monthly benthic survey data of macrophyte biomass and herbivore abundance, field grazing rates of amphipods (Microdeutopus gryllotalpa andCymadusa compta) and an isopod (Idotea baltica) on the preferred and most abundant macroalga (Cladophora vagabunda) and laboratory grazing rates for the remaining species, and in situ macroalgal growth rates. As nitrogen loading rates increased, macroalgal biomass increased (3×), eelgrass (Zostera marina) was lost, and herbivore abundance decreased (1/4×). Grazing rates increased with relative size of grazer (I. baltica > C. compta > M. gryllotalpa) and, for two of the three species investigated, were faster on algae from the high-nitrogen estuary in comparison to the low-nitrogen estuary, paralleting the increased macroalgal tissue percent nitrogen with nitrogen load. Macroalgal growth rates increased (2×) with increasing nitrogen loading rate. The comparison between estimated growth increases versus losses ofC. vagabunda biomass to grazing suggested first, that grazers could lower macroalgal biomass in midsummer, but only in estuaries subject to lower nitrogen loads. Second, the impact of grazing decreased as nitrogen loading rate increased as a result of the increased macroalgal growth rates and biomass, plus the diminished abundance of grazers. This study suggests the relative impact of top-down and bottom-up controls on primary producers varies depending on rate of nitrogen loading, and specifically, that the impact of herbivory on macroalgal biomass decreases with increasing nitrogen load to estuaries.  相似文献   

19.
Estuaries are complex sedimentary and ecological systems, where controlling factors are variable largely depending on wave vs. tidal dominance and fluvial processes. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of their ancient counterparts in the form of coastal valley deposits in the subsurface or outcrop requires a multidisciplinary approach. Microfossils can play an integral part in identifying estuarine subenvironments. Foraminifera can be abundant in modern estuaries and resemble characteristics of brackish ichnofaunal communities in featuring low species diversity, but high abundances of opportunistic species, different feeding strategies and common infaunal species. Whereas sediment distribution is highly controlled by energy regimes, foraminifera seem to respond to salinities and tidal exposure. Whereas individual taxa can widely range bathymetrically, the combination of certain taxa becomes diagnostic for estuarine environments. Fossil marginal marine assemblages are dominated by agglutinated species due to taphonomic loss of the calcareous component that is often dominant in modern estuaries. When comparisons between fossil and modern assemblages are undertaken it is advisable to compare with Recent subsurface or remnant assemblages for a more accurate basis of paleoenvironmental interpretation. More integrated research with detailed taphonomic observations is needed on ancient coastal valley deposits to find the paleoecological requirements of extinct taxa and their link to sedimentary facies and ichnofacies.  相似文献   

20.
Two estuaries with very different inflow characteristics were compared to test the hypothesis that benthic standing crops are enhanced by freshwater inflow. Assuming predation pressure is similar in both estuaries, this would imply that freshwater inflow enhances secondary production. The Guadalupe Estuary had 79 times more freshwater inflow than the Nueces Estuary, and a third of the salinity. The Guadalupe had higher macrofaunal densities and biomass than the Nueces, and both parameters increased with decreasing salinity within the Guadalupe Estuary. Macrofauna density increased with increasing salinity in the Nueces Estuary, due to invasion by marine species. However, meiofauna population size responds differently than macrofauna. Meiofaunal densities were higher in the low-inflow Nueces Estuary, and increased with increasing salinity in both estuaries. Macrofauna diversity increased with salinity, both within and between estuaries. The macrofauna response supports the hypothesis that increased freshwater inflow stimulates secondary production. A review of past benthic studies in these estuaries and the historical climatic patterns indicate that wet years with high inflow result in increased macrofaunal productivity. Since, macrofaunal diversity decreased with lower salinity both within and between the estuaries, the enhanced productivity is due to increases by freshwater and estuarine species that can tolerate low salinities. Increased macrofaunal densities are associated with decreasing meiofaunal densities. The latter result could be due to either increased macrofaunal competition with or predation on meiofauna, or a lack of low-salinity tolerance by meiofauna.  相似文献   

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