Comparisons of assemblages of phytoplankton between open water and seagrass habitats in a shallow coastal lagoon
S. P. Cummins A B E , D. E. Roberts A C , P. Ajani D and A. J. Underwood BA Wyong Shire Council, PO Box 20, Wyong, NSW 2250, Australia.
B Present address: Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities, Marine Ecology Laboratories, A11, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
C Present address: Bio-analysis, Marine, Estuarine and Freshwater Ecology, 7 Berrys Head Road, Narara, NSW 2250, Australia.
D Environmental Science Branch, Department of Environment and Conservation, PO Box A290, Sydney South, NSW 1232, Australia.
E Corresponding author. Email: scummins@bio.usyd.edu.au
Marine and Freshwater Research 55(5) 447-456 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF04017
Submitted: 20 January 2004 Accepted: 30 March 2004 Published: 5 August 2004
Abstract
Patterns of phytoplankton in areas with seagrass (Zostera capricorni, Halophila ovalis, and Ruppia megacarpa) and areas without seagrass were quantified in an estuary near Sydney, NSW, Australia. Replicate samples (separated by metres) were collected on 20 randomly chosen occasions over almost 3 years, from two sites (separated by tens of metres) nested in both habitats, at four locations (separated by kilometres). Areas with seagrass often supported a significantly different assemblage of phytoplankton compared with areas without seagrass. Dissimilarities were due to small differences in the relative abundance of taxa, particularly the diatom Pseudonitzschia cf. pseudodelicatissima, rather than the presence or absence of specific taxa. In both habitats, abundances of phytoplankton were patchy at all of the spatial scales sampled, although most of the variation was among replicate samples. These findings emphasise the need to incorporate a hierarchy of scales in programs designed to understand processes that cause spatial and temporal patterns of phytoplankton or to detect changes in response to human activities.
Extra keywords: bloom, estuary, patchiness, spatial scale, variance.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by funds from Wyong Shire Council (WSC) and the Australian Research Centre through the Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities in the University of Sydney. K. Yates, D. Cathers and G. Walkerden (WSC) are thanked for management support. For their assistance, we thank J. Crass, S. Fawcett, M. Holloway, E. Lazzarotto, J. Macphearson, S. R. Murray, D. Musgrove, S. Witkowski, and N. Wright. A. Williams, G. M. Hallegraeff and S. Brett are acknowledged for confirmation of identifications. M. A. and C. M. Cummins are thanked for their support and encouragement. We thank M. G. Chapman for helpful discussion on aspects of this work and J. J. Cruz-Motta and T. M. Glasby for their comments on the manuscript.
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