Patterns of phytoplankton primary productivity in the Neuse River estuary, North Carolina, USA

Abstract

Both physical and chemical characteristics of the estuary were profoundly influenced by river flow; this became especially apparent during the near record high flow events of spring 1987. Salinity was deperessed throughout the estuary while average photic depth declined. A significant "washout' of chl a occurred as a result of freshwater input upstream. The effects of this high flow persisted for months after the events and influenced the spatial pattern of primary productivity. For a 4 yr period, daily primary productivity ranged from 0.002-4.84 g C m-2 and unlike many estuaries, correlated poorly with chl a. However, the product of biomass (chl a), photic depth, and surface incident light explained 66% of the variance in daily primary productivity. The 1985-1988 annual primary productivity estimates for the Neuse River estuary were 395, 455, 491 and 493 g C m-2yr-1 with the mean being 456 g C m-2yr-1. -from Authors