Author : Samuel Dorado
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (85 download)
Book Synopsis Coastal and Marine Nitrogen Sources Shift Isotopic Baselines in Pelagic Food Webs of the Gulf of Mexico by : Samuel Dorado
Download or read book Coastal and Marine Nitrogen Sources Shift Isotopic Baselines in Pelagic Food Webs of the Gulf of Mexico written by Samuel Dorado and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Upwelling, atmospheric nitrogen (N2) fixation by cyanobacteria, and freshwater inputs from the Mississippi River system have been shown to stimulate new production by alleviating nitrogen (N) limitation in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Stable carbon (delta13C) and nitrogen (delta15N) isotopes were used to investigate whether these sources are utilized differentially by coastal and marine pelagic food webs. Particulate organic matter (POM), Trichodesmium, and zooplankton were collected from the Mississippi River plume and Loop Current (LC) which were detected using remote sensing data. Stable isotope values were used to separate coastal and marine water masses and environmental data (salinity, nutrient and pigment concentrations) allowed me to relate variability to the degree of freshwater influence. Published food web data from these two environments were then assessed to establish whether isotopic baseline shifts observed in our data occur at an ecosystem level. Isotope values of the POM and zooplankton were found to be significantly different between coastal and marine water masses. This was not the case for Trichodesmium whose isotope values were not significantly different between the two water masses. We found that marine water masses (sal> 35) exhibited silicate concentrations, cyanobacterial pigments and DIN: P that suggest an increased abundance of diazotrophs. In contrast, coastal water masses (sal