1. Effect of turbidity on phytoplanktonic pigments degradation in the Gironde Estuary
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Lemaire, Emmanuelle, Abril, Gwenaël, De Wit, Rutger, and Etcheber, Henri
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PHYTOPLANKTON , *TURBIDITY - Abstract
In the Gironde Estuary, most part of phytoplanktonic material carried by the rivers is mineralised in the maximum turbidity zone (MTZ). In order to follow the degradation of the phytoplanktonic material into the MTZ, we developed an in vitro approach based on the monitoring of phytoplanktonic pigments. Algal material from two chlorophytes (Scenedesmus suspicatus Chaudat and Chlamydomonas sp.) was incubated in the dark during 28 days into water samples from the Gironde estuary MTZ, at variable suspended solid concentrations (SPM) as well as in a sterilised turbid sample. First order decay constants of chlorophylls
a andb and lutein increased by a factor 3 to 5 between SPM of 0 and3 g l−1 . The production of pheophytina in the presence of particles and the lack of degradation in the sterilised turbid sample confirmed the effect of attached bacteria on the particles. To cite this article: E. Lemaire et al., C. R. Geoscience 334 (2002) 251–258. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]- Published
- 2002
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