Nutrient Limitation of Periphyton in a Spring-Fed, Coastal Stream in Florida, USA.

There is strong evidence to suggest that ground-waternitrate concentrations have increased in recent years andfurther increases are expected along portions of the centralGulf coast of Florida. Much of the nitrate enriched groundwateris discharged into surface waters through numerousfreshwater springs that are characteristic of the area and thepotential for eutrophication of their receiving waters is alegitimate concern. To test the potential effects of elevatednutrient concentrations on the periphyton community aninsitunutrient addition experiment was conducted in thespring-fed Chassahowitzka River, FL, USA, during the summerof 1999. Plastic tubes housing arrays of glass microscopeslides were suspended in the stream. Periphyton colonizingthe microscope slides was subjected to artificial increases innitrogen, phosphorus or a combination of both. Slides fromeach tube were collected at 3- to 4- day intervals and theperiphyton communities were measured for chlorophyll concentration.The addition of approximately 10 μg/L of phosphateabove ambient concentrations significantly increasedthe amount of periphyton on artificial substrates relative tocontrols; the addition of approximately 100 μg/L of nitrateabove ambient concentrations did not. The findings fromthis experiment implicated phosphorus, rather thannitrogen, as the nutrient that potentially limits periphytongrowth in this system.(PDF contains 4 pages.)

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Notestein, Sky K., Frazer, T. K., Hoyer, M. V., Canfield, D. E., Jr.
Format:	article biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	2003
Subjects:	Management, Biology, Limnology, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Bioassay, Eutrophication, Nutrient Enrichment, Chassahowitzka River, Florida, springs,
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/1834/19501
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