Sewage-derived nitrogen dispersal and N-fixation in Port Phillip Bay in south-eastern Australia

Gregory D. Parry; Kerry P. Black

doi:10.1071/MF23123

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Previous Next Contents Vol 74(16)

Sewage-derived nitrogen dispersal and N-fixation in Port Phillip Bay in south-eastern Australia

Gregory D. Parry

^A ^* and Kerry P. Black ^B

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Marine Ecological Solutions, 60 Mercer Street, Queenscliff, Vic. 3225, Australia.

^B Sanctuary Beach Pte Ltd, Singapore.

^* Correspondence to: greg.parry@marecol.net.au

Handling Editor: Fiona Dyer

Marine and Freshwater Research 74(16) 1370-1387 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF23123

Submitted: 26 June 2023 Accepted: 27 September 2023 Published: 18 October 2023

© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Context

Extreme values of nitrogen isotope ratios (δ¹⁵N) in biota identify areas influenced by sewage discharges and nitrogen fixation.

Aims

To measure the ecological footprint of the Western (sewage) Treatment Plant (WTP) by using δ¹⁵N measurements and an NPZ model, and to identify regions where nitrogen is fixed in Port Phillip Bay, in south-eastern Australia.

Methods

δ¹⁵N was measured in situ for four intertidal species at 27 sites around the perimeter of the bay and simultaneously in an alga and a mussel deployed at 42 sites throughout the bay. The intertidal species were also transplanted from an area of low ¹⁵N to areas of high ¹⁵N.

Key results

δ¹⁵N was elevated for all species adjacent to the WTP and along the north-western shoreline of Port Phillip Bay and for ~10–15 km offshore. Transplanted algae adopted the δ¹⁵N of their new environment in 6–12 weeks, whereas the half-life of tissue turnover of ¹⁵N in intertidal filter-feeders was 90–234 days. Nitrogen fixation contributed to N available in two geographically isolated seagrass-dominated bays.

Conclusions

Spatial patterns of δ¹⁵N of deployed alga and phytoplankton-consuming mussels were similar to the modelled distribution of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and the modelled distribution of flagellates, respectively.

Implications

Preferred species for on-going N monitoring are identified.

Keywords: algae, δ¹⁵N, eutrophication, invertebrates, modelling, nutrient dynamics, N-fixation, seagrass, stable isotopes.

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