Silicate as the limiting nutrient for phytoplankton in a subtropical eutrophic estuary of Taiwan
Resource
Estuarine, Coastal & Shelf Science 58 (2003),155–162
Journal
Estuarine
Date Issued
2003-02-24
Date
2003-02-24
Author(s)
Wu, Jiunn-Tzong
Chou, Tsan-Lin
DOI
246246/2006111501265204
Abstract
The estuary of Tamsui River, located in the northern subtropical area of Taiwan, is eutrophic as a result of municipal sewage
discharges from the Taipei metropolitan area. The primary productivity is rather low in this estuary, compared with other estuaries.
The objective here was to determine whether nutrient limitation might explain the decreasing productivity that has occurred in the
last two decades. Comparison of phytoplankton biomass between four sampling sites revealed a trend of decreasing growth,
associated with increasing dominance of diatoms, along a gradient moving towards the mouth of the estuary. This trend
corresponded with a spatial gradient in nutrient concentrations among the study sites, which resulted from a mixture of heavily
polluted river water with less polluted marine water. An in vitro nutrient enrichment bioassay was done with additions of nitrogen,
phosphorus, and silicate to estuarine water containing the natural phytoplankton communities. The results indicated that
enrichment with silicate gave rise to a greater enhancement in phytoplankton biomass, mainly of diatoms, than did enrichment with
nitrogen or phosphorus. Chemical analysis of estuarine water indicated that non-biogenic fraction of silicate might be depleted at
flow tide, giving rise to imbalanced nutrient supply and thus a lowering of primary productivity. In this estuary, the imbalance of
nutrient supply resulted from increasing water pollution is possibly the cause of the decrease in productivity over last several
decades.
Subjects
kinematic analysis
sensitivity analysis
3-PRS spindle platform
serial-parallel machine tool
eutrophic estuary
nutrient enrichment
phytoplankton
silicate limitation
Tamsui estuary
water pollution
Other Subjects
eutrophic environment; limiting factor; phytoplankton; primary production; sewage outfall; silicate; water pollution; Taiwan; Tamsui Estuary; Bacillariophyta
Publisher
Taipei:National Taiwan University Dept Mech Engn
Type
journal article
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