Coastal upwelling, primary production and mussel growth in the Rías Baixas of Galicia

Figueiras, F. G.; Labarta, Uxío; Reiriz, María José Fernández

doi:10.1007/978-94-017-3190-4_11

Cited by 117 publications

(176 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…In short, this sedimentary heterogeneity provides a large variety of ecological niches across a small spatial scale, thus supporting a greater diversity of species than more homogenous sediments do (Pearson and Rosenberg, 1978). In addition, the high primary production related to upwelling events occurring in the rias usually twice a year (Figueiras et al, 2002) might grant a priori an important food supply for the benthic fauna which, in turn, might benefit the presence of richer faunas there than in other areas. On the contrary, previous work done in other Galician rias of similar or greater size (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Galician rias have a great economic and social importance due to the presence of fisheries, bivalve culture and shellfish resources (Nombela et al, 1995;Figueiras et al, 2002). A number of activities resulting from the growing human population concentrating on the shoreline of the rias, such as mollusc harvesting, construction of artificial structures and sewage disposal, are heavily impacting marine sedimentary environments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial distribution of benthic macrofauna in subtidal sediments of the Ría de Aldán (Galicia, northwest Spain)

2010

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SUMMARY: In the summer of 1997, 27 subtidal stations were quantitatively sampled in the Ría de Aldán. A total of 81770 individuals were collected, comprising 496 species. The distribution and composition of benthic assemblages was correlated to the sedimentary characteristics which, in turn, depend on the hydrodynamic features; those patterns are reflected in a sedimentary gradient present along the ria, which is characterized by an increasing grain size from the inner margins towards the mouth. Several faunal assemblages were determined through multivariate analyses and their composition is compared with that of several communities or facies previously described from similar sediments. The Venus fasciata community was present in clean coarse sediments of the outer ria, the Venus gallina and Tellina fabula-Tellina tenuis communities in the fine-sand bottoms at the centre and margins of the ria, a transition assemblage between the Venus fasciata and the Venus gallina communities in the medium-sand sediments, and a mix of species from the Syndosmya alba and the Amphiura communities in shallower and muddy sediments in the inner areas. In general, subtidal sediments of the Ría de Aldán showed a high benthic diversity which is related to the great sedimentary heterogeneity and the lack of significant anthropogenic alterations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial distribution of benthic macrofauna in subtidal sediments of the Ría de Aldán (Galicia, northwest Spain)

2010

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“…In the Galician rias, this situation might be related to the high primary production. In fact, upwelling events are known to occur in the rias usually twice a year, namely in spring and autumn, due to the particular hydroclimatic conditions and geographical features (Tenore et al 1995;Figueiras et al 2002). This grants a priori an important food supply until autumn which might favour to recruits from summer-autumn.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal dynamics of gastropod fauna on subtidal sandy sediments of the Ensenada de Baiona (NW Iberian Peninsula)

2010

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The temporal variation of the gastropod fauna inhabiting sandy sediments of the Ensenada de Baiona (Galicia, Spain) was studied at three subtidal sites from February 1996 to February 1997 by means of quantitative sampling. A total of 5,463 individuals representing 51 gastropod species and 22 families were found. The family Pyramidellidae was the most diverse in number of species (11 species), followed by Rissoidae and Trochidae (4 species each). The dogwhelk, Nassarius reticulatus, and the rissoid snail, Rissoa parva, were the numerically dominant species at the three studied sites; those and other abundant species showed their greatest densities by the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. In general, univariate measures of the assemblage (number of species, abundance, diversity and evenness) showed variations through time; greater values were recorded between summer and autumn depending on the site. Multivariate analyses done on abundance data showed certain seasonality in the evolution of the assemblage as expected for shallow subtidal sandy sediments at temperate latitudes; those seasonal changes were mostly related to variations in abundance of numerically dominant species. Although the measured sedimentary variables did not show significant correlations with faunal univariate parameters, sediment heterogeneity due to the presence of mats of Zostera marina L. and shells of dead bivalves might explain the differences in composition of the gastropod assemblage among sampling sites.

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“…Fertilisation by seasonal upwelling of Eastern North Atlantic Central Water (ENACW) is the reason behind the elevated net ecosystem production of the Rías Baixas, which supports the most intensive mussel culture industry of the World (Tenore et al, 1982;Figueiras et al 2002;Labarta et al, 2004). Due to the different orientation of the coast (Figure 1), the upwelling season in the Ría de Ares-Betanzos is about 50%…”

Section: Nutrient Fertilization and Net Utilization Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Net ecosystem metabolism of a coastal embayment fertilised by upwelling and continental runoff

Villegas‐Ríos

Álvarez‐Salgado

Piedracoba

et al. 2011

Continental Shelf Research

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O 2 , N, P and Si net ecosystem metabolism of the Ría de Ares-Betanzos (NW Iberian upwelling system) was estimated during two 3-wk periods of contrasting summer downwelling and autumn upwelling conditions by means of a transient 2-D kinematic box model. The subtidal circulation was positive in both situations, although it was depressed during downwelling and enhanced during upwelling. Concurrently, the ría was fertilised mainly by shelf bottom waters, which introduced from 69% (under downwelling) to almost 100% (under upwelling) of the limiting N nutrients. The ría was an efficient nutrient trap: about 70% of the N nutrients that entered the embayment were retained under downwelling conditions (average flushing time, 9 days) and about 50% under upwelling conditions (average flushing time 3 days). Although the trapping efficiency was lower, the net ecosystem production (NEP) was much higher under upwelling (from 1.0 ± 0.3 to 1.5 ± 0.4 g C m -2 d -1 ), than under downwelling favourable winds (from 0.2 ± 0.1 to 0.3 ± 0.1 g C m -2 ). The stoichiometry of NEP suggests that P and N compounds recycled faster than C compounds, specially in the inner segment of the ría. The net degree of silification was twice in the inner than in the outer segment of the ría.

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Coastal upwelling, primary production and mussel growth in the Rías Baixas of Galicia

Abstract: The Rias Baixas are four flooded tectonic valleys located on the northwest Iberian

Cited by 117 publications

References 26 publications

Spatial distribution of benthic macrofauna in subtidal sediments of the Ría de Aldán (Galicia, northwest Spain)

Spatial distribution of benthic macrofauna in subtidal sediments of the Ría de Aldán (Galicia, northwest Spain)

Temporal dynamics of gastropod fauna on subtidal sandy sediments of the Ensenada de Baiona (NW Iberian Peninsula)

Net ecosystem metabolism of a coastal embayment fertilised by upwelling and continental runoff

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