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Environmental Forcing of Phytoplankton in a Mediterranean Estuary (Guadiana Estuary, South-western Iberia): A Decadal Study of Anthropogenic and Climatic Influences

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Abstract

Phytoplankton seasonal and interannual variability in the Guadiana upper estuary was analyzed during 1996–2005, a period that encompassed a climatic controlled reduction in river flow that was superimposed on the construction of a dam. Phytoplankton seasonal patterns revealed an alternation between a persistent light limitation and episodic nutrient limitation. Phytoplankton succession, with early spring diatom blooms and summer–early fall cyanobacterial blooms, was apparently driven by changes in nutrients, water temperature, and turbulence, clearly demonstrating the role of river flow and climate variability. Light intensity in the mixed layer was a prevalent driver of phytoplankton interannual variability, and the increased turbidity caused by the Alqueva dam construction was linked to pronounced decreases in chlorophyll a concentration, particularly at the start and end of the phytoplankton growing period. Decreases in annual maximum and average abundances of diatoms, green algae, and cyanobacteria were also detected. Furthermore, chlorophyll a decreases after dam filling and a decrease in turbidity may point to a shift from light limitation towards a more nutrient-limited mode in the near future.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by projects: Study of cyanobacterial blooms in response to discharge variability in the Guadiana (INTERREG-II, 16/REGII/6/96), Risk evaluation of toxic blooms in the Lower Guadiana (Leader+, project no. 45), and Dynamics of Cyanobacteria and Cyanotoxins in the Guadiana Estuary (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, FCT, PTDC/AMB/64747/2006). RBD was funded by FCT through a Ph.D. grant (SFRH/BD/27536/2006). We greatly acknowledge and thank Rita Baptista, Sandra Caetano, Raquel Coimbra, João Janeiro, Cátia Luís, Pedro Mendes, Sandra Mesquita, Cláudia Miguel, Rute Miguel, Pedro Morais, Pedro Oliveira, Cristina Sobrino, and Susana Vidal for technical support during field sampling and laboratory analysis, and the two anonymous reviewers and the Guest Editor, Dr. Paul Harrison, for their valuable comments and suggestions.

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  1. Centre for Marine and Environmental Research (CIMA), University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Building nº 7, 8005-139, Faro, Portugal

    Ana B. Barbosa, Rita B. Domingues & Helena M. Galvão

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  1. Ana B. Barbosa
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  2. Rita B. Domingues
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  3. Helena M. Galvão
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Correspondence to Ana B. Barbosa.

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Barbosa, A.B., Domingues, R.B. & Galvão, H.M. Environmental Forcing of Phytoplankton in a Mediterranean Estuary (Guadiana Estuary, South-western Iberia): A Decadal Study of Anthropogenic and Climatic Influences. Estuaries and Coasts 33, 324–341 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-009-9200-x

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