Fatty Acids to Quantify Phytoplankton Functional Groups and Their Spatiotemporal Dynamics in a Highly Turbid Estuary

Abstract

Phytoplankton community composition expresses estuarine functionality and its assessment can be improved by implementing novel quantitative fatty acid–based procedures. Fatty acids have similar potential to pigments for quantifying phytoplankton functional groups but have been far less applied. A recently created dataset containing vast information on fatty acids of phytoplankton taxonomic groups was used as reference to quantify phytoplankton functional groups in the yet undescribed Guadalquivir River Estuary. Twelve phytoplankton groups were quantitatively distinguished by iterative matrix factor analysis of seston fatty acid signatures in this turbid estuary. Those phytoplankton groups including species unfeasible for visual identification (coccoid or microflagellated cells) could be quantified when using fatty acids. Conducting monthly matrix factor analyses over a period of 2 years and the full salinity range of the estuary indicated that diatoms dominated about half of the phytoplankton community spatiotemporally. The abundance of Cyanobacteria and Chlorophytes was inversely related to salinity and little affected by seasonality. Euglenophytes were also more abundant at lower salinity, increasing their presence in autumn–winter. Coccolithophores and Dinophytes contributed more to phytoplankton community at higher salinity and remained little affected by seasonality. Multivariate canonical analysis indicated that the structure of the estuarine phytoplankton community was most influenced by salinity; secondly influenced by water temperature, irradiance, and river flow; and unaffected by nutrients. Fatty acids are especially suited for phytoplankton community research in high turbid estuaries and generate outcomes in synergy with those derived from classical pigment assessments.