RT journal article
T1 Microbenthic Net Metabolism Along Intertidal Gradients (Cadiz Bay, SW Spain): Spatio-Temporal Patterns and Environmental Factors
A1 Haro Páez, Sara
A1 Lara Rallo, Francisco Miguel
A1 Laiz Alonso, Irene María
A1 González, Carlos José
A1 Bohórquez Ferrando, Julio
A1 García Robledo, Emilio Guillermo
A1 Corzo, Alfonso
A1 Papaspyrou, Sokratis
A2 Biología
A2 Física Aplicada
K1 microphytobenthos
K1 primary production
K1 metabolism
K1 intertidal sediment
K1 oxygen microelectrodes
K1 chlorophyll
AB Microphytobenthos (MPB), the photosynthetic primary producing component ofmicrobenthos, shows variable patterns in its biomass distribution along the intertidalgradient as a result of the interactions of factors such as light, tides, temperature,and grazing pressure. These patterns have been studied more extensively in northernEuropean estuaries than southern European coastal systems. Even less information isavailable regarding temporal changes in MPB primary production rates in these systems.For this reason, we followed the seasonal changes in net production in light and darkrespiration rates (determined by oxygen microelectrodes) and MPB biomass (estimatedby sediment chlorophyll a) along the intertidal gradient of the inner Cadiz Bay duringa year. Sediment cores were collected along two transects (five sampling stations pertransect) with distinct sediment granulometry: one muddy [Puerto Real (PR)] and onemuddy-sandy transect [San Fernando (SF)]. Our results show that MPB biomass andnet production increased seawards reaching their maxima in winter. In contrast to whatis observed in northern European systems, the higher solar irradiance and temperaturesoccurring in summer in southern Spain likely inhibit MPB production. In Cadiz Bay,spatial patterns of MPB biomass and net production depended on season and locationdue to the environmental heterogeneity observed. Environmental variables, analyzedby principal component analysis (PCA), were used to explain the variability of MPBmetabolism by multiple regression. Selected principal component (PC) axes explained60% of the net production in light and 41% of the dark respiration rates variabilityin PR, while they only accounted for 25% of the same rates in SF. The differencesobserved between transects and the variability in the environmental variables explainingthem highlight the importance of considering the spatial heterogeneity of our system toestimate the contribution of MPB to the inner Cadiz Bay productivity. In our case, thiscontribution is significant accounting for up to 49% of the total benthic production of theinner Cadiz Bay intertidal sediments, confirming previous global estimates.
PB FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
SN 2296-7745
YR 2020
FD 2020-02
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/22509
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/22509
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 06-nov-2026