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A Lagrangian study of plankton trophodynamics over a diel cycle in a eutrophic estuary under upwelling influence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2017

Suzana G. Leles ,
Gleyci A. O. Moser ,
Jean L. Valentin  and
Gisela M. Figueiredo
Suzana G. Leles*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biologia Marinha, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Prof. Rodolpho Rocco 211, 21941-902 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
Gleyci A. O. Moser
Affiliation:
Departamento de Oceanografia Biológica, Faculdade de Oceanografia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, 20550-900 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
Jean L. Valentin
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biologia Marinha, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Prof. Rodolpho Rocco 211, 21941-902 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
Gisela M. Figueiredo
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biologia Marinha, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Prof. Rodolpho Rocco 211, 21941-902 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: S.G. Leles, Departamento de Biologia Marinha, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Prof. Rodolpho Rocco 211, 21941-902 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil email: 842283@swansea.ac.uk
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Abstract

A Lagrangian study was conducted in a eutrophic estuary (Guanabara Bay, Brazil) to investigate in situ plankton trophodynamics under the influence of the cold, nutrient-rich South Atlantic Coastal Water in a short-term temporal variability (scale of hours). We tested the hypothesis that the base of the plankton food web is composed of small cells and that microzooplankton is the main consumer of this assemblage. Samples of pico-, nano- and microplankton, as well as copepods, were collected during spring, when the entry of upwelling water in the Bay is commonly observed, and near the surface every 3 h during the 1-day sampling period. Potential predation of dinoflagellates, ciliates, copepod nauplii, copepodites and adult copepods was estimated based on predator-prey size relationships. The main trophic links in the Guanabara Bay food web for the period analysed were nanophytoplankton-copepods, nanophytoplankton-ciliates, and autotrophic dinoflagellates-heterotrophic dinoflagellates. According to microphytoplankton availability, adult copepods could not satisfy their food requirement, and nanophytoplankton represented an important supplementary food source. In fact, diel variations of nano- and microplankton biomass were opposite to that of copepods suggesting predation control by the latter on the former. The trophodynamics of Guanabara Bay, under the influence of upwelling water, resulted in marked differences from other eutrophic estuaries around the world.

Keywords

plankton food webLagrangian samplingpredationsizeeutrophic estuaryupwelling
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 98 , Issue 7 , November 2018 , pp. 1547 - 1558
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2017 

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Footnotes

*

Current address: Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK

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