Comparative assessment of two agriculturally-influenced estuaries: Similar pressure, different response.
This study compared the spatio-temporal dynamics in two agriculturally-influenced South African estuaries - Gamtoos and Sundays - to investigate how contrasting hydrological alterations influence physical, chemical and biological responses. With the Gamtoos Estuary experiencing regular high flow conditions, a key difference between the two systems is the propensity for natural flushing events to occur; a mechanism largely eliminated from the highly-regulated Sundays Catchment. Phytoplankton blooms (>20Chl-aμgl-1) were persistent and seasonal in the Sundays, inducing summer bottom-water hypoxia (<2mgl-1), whilst those in the Gamtoos were episodic and flow-dependent. Of concern in the Sundays Estuary, was the magnitude (>550μgl-1) and recurrent nature of two harmful algal bloom (HAB) species. This study provides the first account of HAB persistence and seasonal hypoxia in a South African estuary, demonstrating the possible consequences of shifting an ecosystem into a new stable state.
Botany Department, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, PO Box 77000, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa. Electronic address: lemleydaniel7@gmail.com.
Daniel A
DA
Lemley
Botany Department, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, PO Box 77000, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa.
Janine B
JB
Adams
Botany Department, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, PO Box 77000, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa; Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, PO Box 320, Stellenbosch 7599, South Africa.
Susan
S
Taljaard
D000383:Agriculture; D017753:Ecosystem; D063366:Estuaries; D057097:Harmful Algal Bloom; D010839:Phytoplankton; D012621:Seasons; D013019:South Africa
Ecohydrodynamics; Eutrophication; Heterocapsa rotundata; Heterosigma akashiwo; Hypoxia; Phytoplankton