Severe droughts reduce estuarine primary productivity with cascading effects on higher trophic levels

Wetz, Michael S.; Hutchinson, Emily; Lunetta, Ross S.; Paerl, Hans W.; Taylor, James C.

doi:10.4319/lo.2011.56.2.0627

Cited by 70 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Trophic enhancement related to river inputs at least partly influences recruitment. Likewise, severe droughts can reduce primary productivity in estuaries, with cascading effects on higher trophic levels, food availability and juvenile survival for various fish species (Wetz et al 2010). Similarly, the density-dependent distribution of juvenile, from estuaries to open waters, was also verified for round fishes (Bacheler et al 2012).…”

Section: In Situ Estimation Population Scalementioning

confidence: 96%

The food limitation hypothesis for juvenile marine fish

2013

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Coastal zones are productive areas that serve as nursery grounds for a large number of marine species. However, the processes involved in survival success during the juvenile phase are not well‐known. Some authors suggest that the availability of prey is important to support the production of pre‐recruit fish whose fitness is enhanced through optimal feeding conditions. Accordingly, recruitment is limited by the carrying capacity of the nursery habitat. In contrast, other authors state that the carrying capacity of the nursery grounds is not fully exploited, suggesting that there is no effect of food limitation. This study combines an overview of the literature, focused on flatfish that are especially dependent on coastal and estuarine nursery grounds, an extension to other marine fishes and a modelling approach on growth and survival of juvenile fish to explore the controversy of food limitation in their nursery grounds. We demonstrate that the relative lack of growth limitation observed for young marine fishes at the individual scale is related to an observational bias: fish have been affected by size‐selective mortality linked to food limitation, but only surviving individuals are observed. As the population is skewed towards the faster‐growing juveniles, the growth of survivors remains close to optimal, even when food resources are limited. Food limitation is of major influence in determining the carrying capacity of the nursery habitat. To sustain marine fish populations and related fisheries, management action is needed to protect coastal and estuarine areas and maintain or restore nursery productivity.

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Section: In Situ Estimation Population Scalementioning

confidence: 96%

The food limitation hypothesis for juvenile marine fish

2013

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“…However, the processing and export of N during droughts within lotic ecosystems can restrict N availability downstream, especially during prolonged periods of low baseflow. In arid climates, estuaries respond to drought conditions with signs of N limitation such as decreased primary productivity (D'Elia et al ; Wetz et al ), increased internal recycling of

{NH}_{4}^{+}

, and increased rates of N fixation (Bruesewitz et al ). However, the fate of N is less understood as it travels from river to estuary during periods of prolonged drought.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Wastewater influences nitrogen dynamics in a coastal catchment during a prolonged drought

Bruesewitz¹,

Hoellein

Mooney³

et al. 2017

Limnology & Oceanography

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Ecosystem function measurements can enhance our understanding of nitrogen (N) delivery in coastal catchments across river and estuary ecosystems. Here, we contrast patterns of N cycling and export in two rivers, one heavily influenced by wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), in a coastal catchment of south Texas. We measured N export from both rivers to the estuary over 2 yr that encompass a severe drought, along with detailed mechanisms of N cycling in river, tidal river, and two estuary sites during prolonged drought. WWTP nutrient inputs stimulated uptake of N, but denitrification resulting in permanent N removal accounted for only a small proportion of total uptake. During drought periods, WWTP N was the primary source of exported N to the estuary, minimizing the influence of episodic storm‐derived nutrients from the WWTP‐influenced river to the estuary. In the site without WWTP influence, the river exported very little N during drought, so storm‐derived nutrient pulses were important for delivering N loads to the estuary. Overall, N is processed from river to estuary, but sustained WWTP‐N loads and periodic floods alter the timing of N delivery and N processing. Research that incorporates empirical measurements of N fluxes from river to estuary can inform management needs in the face of multiple anthropogenic stressors such as demand for freshwater and eutrophication.

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“…Riverine nutrient export data and concurrent measurements of nutrients and chlorophyll a in estuaries provide a structural framework for understanding the role of riverine inputs in estuarine ecosystem dynamics. Additional integrative measurements of ecosystem function provide a more comprehensive understanding of an ecosystem's response to changing climate patterns or other anthropogenic stressors (Russell et al 2006;Fulweiler et al 2007;Wetz et al 2011).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Estuarine ecosystem function response to flood and drought in a shallow, semiarid estuary: Nitrogen cycling and ecosystem metabolism

Bruesewitz¹,

Gardner²,

Mooney³

et al. 2013

Limnology & Oceanography

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We quantified sediment-water interface and water column nitrogen (N) transformation rates seasonally over the course of a year that incorporated a major storm event and a period of prolonged riverine base flow in Copano Bay, Texas, a shallow, productive estuary in the western Gulf of Mexico. We calculated daily rates of gross primary production (GPP), community respiration (CR), and net ecosystem production (NEP) in Copano Bay to examine carbon (C) cycling over the course of the year. These metrics of estuarine ecosystem function indicated that the estuary switched from a net sink for N during floods to a net source of N during droughts while sustaining high rates of primary production throughout the year. The estuary became a net sink for N as a result of increased denitrification rates following a storm event. Both GPP and CR increased immediately following a flood event, and the system was driven to net heterotrophy. Copano Bay became a net source of N during periods of prolonged base flow via increased N fixation rates. Internal N cycling became increasingly important during periods of base flow, including increased rates of dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium. This internal N cycling sustained production during periods of drought, when GPP < CR. Both CR and NEP were linked to nutrient export from the inflowing rivers. N and C cycles were tightly linked but became decoupled briefly as a result of inputs of nutrients and organic matter during the period after a major storm event.

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Severe droughts reduce estuarine primary productivity with cascading effects on higher trophic levels

Cited by 70 publications

References 42 publications

The food limitation hypothesis for juvenile marine fish

The food limitation hypothesis for juvenile marine fish

Wastewater influences nitrogen dynamics in a coastal catchment during a prolonged drought

Estuarine ecosystem function response to flood and drought in a shallow, semiarid estuary: Nitrogen cycling and ecosystem metabolism

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