Logo image
Relationship of carbon availability in estuarine phytoplankton to isotopic composition
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Relationship of carbon availability in estuarine phytoplankton to isotopic composition

Marilyn L. Fogel, Luis A. Cifuentes, David J. Velinsky and Jonathan H. Sharp
Marine ecology. Progress series (Halstenbek), v 82(3)
1992
url
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps082291View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Carbon Carbon isotopes Chemical composition Estuaries Fractionation Particulate matter Phytoplankton Productivity RESEARCH ARTICLES Salinity Seasons
The carbon isotope ratio of particulate carbon in an estuary can vary by at least 10‰ throughout the year. In this study, 2 periods of high primary productivity are compared from data collected in both spring and summer of 1987 and 1988 from the Delaware Estuary (USA). In spring, particulate carbon isotopic compositions (δ 13 C) were the positive (up to −17 ‰ ), whereas in CO2 concentrations within algal cells were used to show that growth of phytoplankton, especially in spring, may be limited summer the values were the most negative (to −32 ‰ ). Equations calculating the CO2 by the availability of dissolved carbon dioxide, CO2(d). An alternative hypothesis for the enrichment of 13C in diatoms from spring blooms includes the possibility that a mechanism for active bicarbonate accumulation is induced during high primary productivity. Similarly, a model is developed for phytoplankton growth during summer with CO2(d), rather than bicarbonate, being the species of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) transported across the membrane. The influence of respired CO2 on the isotopic composition of total DIC in summer is also calculated to explain the differences in isotopic compositions of particulate carbon. The demand for CO2(d) during periods of high primary productivity limits its availability to phytoplankton. This demand could easily be met by the induction of an active transport system for concentrating DIC, which could explain some of the variability in δ13C of particulate carbon in estuaries and oceans.

Metrics

10 Record Views
138 citations in Scopus

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#14 Life Below Water

InCites Highlights

Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Ecology
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Oceanography
Logo image