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JPR Advance Access originally published online on February 6, 2004
Journal of Plankton Research 2004 26(3):325-339; doi:10.1093/plankt/fbh035
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Journal of Plankton Research Vol. 26 No. 3 © Oxford University Press 2004; all rights reserved

Phytoplankton community growth-rate response to nutrient pulses in a shallow turbid estuary, Galveston Bay, Texas

Erla Björk Örnólfsdóttir1,*, S. Elizabeth Lumsden and James L. Pinckney*

Estuarine Ecology Laboratory, 3146 Tamu, Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843–3146, USA 1 Present address: Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research, National Ocean Service, NOAA, 101 Pivers Island Road, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA

* Corresponding Author: Erla.Ornolfsdottir{at}noaa.gov

Phytoplankton growth is a physiological process often limited by temperature, nutrients or light, while biomass accumulation is a function of growth rates, grazing and deposition. Although primary productivity measurements are usually used to assess responses to limiting factors, the rates are proportional to biomass and inversely related to grazing pressure during experimental incubations. Alternatively, carbon-specific growth-rate determinations provide insights into physiological responses without the confounding effects of biomass and grazing. The objective of this study was to quantify the growth-rate responses of phytoplankton to enhanced nutrient availability (nitrate and phosphate) over a range of in situ irradiances. Growth rates were determined based on chlorophyll a-specific 14C-uptake rates by phytoplankton. Phytoplankton demonstrated high (24 h) growth rates when exposed to increased concentrations of limiting nutrients, independent of the surface irradiances (12–41%). Growth-rate responses were also compared with the biomass (chlorophyll a) responses and community composition. Observed and estimated phytoplankton biomass changes during the incubations differed, emphasizing the structural role of grazers on the phytoplankton community. The phytoplankton community in Galveston Bay has the potential to instantaneously respond to nutrient pulses, facilitating diatom biomass accumulations in spring and summer and small, flagellated species and cyanobacteria during periods of low nutrient inputs. Thus, Galveston Bay phytoplankton biomass and community composition reflect a dynamic balance between the frequency of nutrient pulsing and grazing intensity.


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