Measurements of phytoplankton distribution and production, and zooplankton abundance and biomass were made during the summer of 1979 along several shelf-slope transects in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. At the shelf-break, macrozooplankton (>200 μm) grazing was estimated to be sufficient to remove a substantial proportion of daily phytoplankton production. In contrast, on the shelf and in slope waters, where ciliates were abundant, estimates of macrozooplankton grazing indicated a consumption rate less than 15% of the daily primary production. Ciliate grazing, even at non-maximum rates, potentially could have consumed the entire daily primary production in all areas sampled. The findings indicate that the nature of the heterotrophic community is spatially variable in offshore waters even during summer conditions and could influence not only trophodynamic pathways but perhaps nutrient regeneration and recycling. This would be an important consideration in evaluating the fate of particle-bound chemcial species in the water column since fecal pellet producing zooplankton would affect rates of removal and sedimentation in a different manner than ciliates which produce non-compacted digestive debris. 相似文献
A field test and analysis method has been developed to estimate the vertical distribution of hydraulic conductivity in shallow unconsolidated aquifers. The field method uses fluid injection ports and pressure transducers in a hollow auger that measure the hydraulic head outside the auger at several distances from the injection point. A constant injection rate is maintained for a duration time sufficient for the system to become steady state. Exploiting the analogy between electrical resistivity in geophysics and hydraulic flow two methods are used to estimate conductivity with depth: a half-space model based on spherical flow from a point injection at each measurement site, and a one-dimensional inversion of an entire dataset.
The injection methodology, conducted in three separate drilling operations, was investigated for repeatability, reproducibility, linearity, and for different injection sources. Repeatability tests, conducted at 10 levels, demonstrated standard deviations of generally less than 10%. Reproducibility tests conducted in three, closely spaced drilling operations generally showed a standard deviation of less than 20%, which is probably due to lateral variations in hydraulic conductivity. Linearity tests, made to determine dependency on flow rates, showed no indication of a flow rate bias. In order to obtain estimates of the hydraulic conductivity by an independent means, a series of measurements were made by injecting water through screens installed at two separate depths in a monitoring pipe near the measurement site. These estimates differed from the corresponding estimates obtained by injection in the hollow auger by a factor of less than 3.5, which can be attributed to variations in geology and the inaccurate estimates of the distance between the measurement and the injection sites at depth. 相似文献
Macrobenthic assemblages in Calcasieu Lake estuary (Louisiana) were sampled at 11 sites from October 1983 through November 1985. The sites were numerically dominated by subsurface-deposit feeders, consisting mostly of polychaetes. Greater densities of macrofauna were collected at the northern (upper) stations of the lake than were collected in West Cove or the southern stations. Abundances of polychaetes, oligochaetes, and amphipods at the upper lake stations accounted for most of the differences among stations. The numerical dominance by detritivores (97% of the fauna) and lack of strong sediment or salinity gradients across the estuary, resulted in an absence of temporal pattern in trophic structure of the macrofauna. 相似文献
An ichthyoplankton survey (18 stations in seven sampling sectors) was conducted in Narragansett Bay in 1990 to provide information on abundance, distribution, and seasonal occurrence of eggs and larvae of estuarine fishes, including seasonal migrants. An additional goal was to examine changes in species composition, abundance, and distribution occurring since the last baywide survey in 1972–73. The taxonomic composition of eggs and larvae in 1990 (41 species in 25 families from 684 plankton samples) and in 1972–73 (43 species in 28 families from 6900 samples) was similar. Maximum abundance of fish eggs occurred in June and larvae in July, minimum abundance in September to February. Species diversity was greatest in May–July and lowest during January in both surveys. However, egg and larval densities in 1990 were considerably lower than in 1972–73. Bay anchovy, tautog, and cunner accounted for 86% of the eggs and 87% of the larvae in the bay in 1990. These three species accounted for only 55% of the eggs and 51% of the larvae in 1972–73, with menhaden accounting for another 18% of the eggs and 34% of the larvae. Searobins, scup, and butterfish eggs were common in 1973 (19%) but rare in 1990 (2%). Ichthyoplankton abundance for several of the most abundant species was significantly lower (p<0.05) in the Providence River, upper bay, and Greenwich Bay in 1990 than in 1972–73. Density of fish eggs and larvae in the lower portions of the bay was lower in 1990 for some species but not others. Distribution data suggested a general down-bay shift in density in 1990. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** A01BY085 00015 相似文献
We used a sequential extraction technique and 210Pb dating to determine the chemical form and amount of particulate phosphorus (PP) that is retained during burial in 1-m-long
sediment cores collected along a salinity gradient from tidal freshwater to the mesohaline waters of the Patuxent River, a
subestuary of the Chesapeake Bay. PP buried in the study sites with salinity values ≤3 was similar in concentration and form
to PP entering the Patuxent from the watershed, suggesting efficient sequestration by the sediments at these low-salinity
sites. PP extracted with citrate–dithionite–bicarbonate was the dominant form of PP at all salinities and all depths, and
organic-P was the second most abundant fraction. We estimated that 81% of PP entering from the watershed is trapped in the
sediments of the upper Patuxent subestuary and that the subtidal sediments retain three times as much PP as the marshes adjacent
to the study sites. 相似文献