Abstract
Abstract. As the primary energy and carbon source in aquatic food webs, phytoplankton generally display spatial heterogeneity due to complicated biotic
and abiotic controls; however our understanding of the causes of this spatial heterogeneity is challenging, as it involves multiple regulatory mechanisms. We applied a combination of
field observation, numerical modeling, and remote sensing to display and interpret the spatial gradient of phytoplankton biomass in a Dutch tidal
bay (the Eastern Scheldt) on the east coast of the North Sea. The 19 years (1995–2013) of monitoring data reveal a seaward increasing trend in
chlorophyll-a (chl a) concentrations during the spring bloom. Using a calibrated and validated three-dimensional hydrodynamic–biogeochemical model, two
idealized model scenarios were run: switching off the suspension feeders and halving the open-boundary nutrient and phytoplankton loading. Results
reveal that bivalve grazing exerts a dominant control on phytoplankton in the bay and that the tidal import mainly influences algal biomass near the
mouth. Satellite data captured a post-bloom snapshot that indicated the temporally variable phytoplankton distribution. Based on a literature review,
we found five common spatial phytoplankton patterns in global estuarine–coastal ecosystems for comparison with the Eastern Scheldt case: seaward
increasing, seaward decreasing, concave with a chlorophyll maximum, weak spatial gradients, and irregular patterns. We highlight the temporal
variability of these spatial patterns and the importance of anthropogenic and environmental influences.
Funder
European Commission
Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province
Subject
Earth-Surface Processes,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Cited by
10 articles.
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