Lourenço Ribeiro

Structure and diversity of intertidal benthic diatom assemblages in contrasting shores: a case study from the Tagus estuary1

The structure of intertidal benthic diatoms assemblages in the Tagus estuary was investigated during a 2‐year survey, carried out in six stations with different sediment texture. Nonparametric multivariate analyses were used to characterize spatial and temporal patterns of the assemblages and to link them to the measured environmental variables. In addition, diversity and other features related to community physiognomy, such as size‐class or life‐form distributions, were used to describe the diatom assemblages. A total of 183 diatom taxa were identified during cell counts and their biovolume was determined. Differences between stations (analysis of similarity (ANOSIM), R = 0.932) were more evident than temporal patterns (R = 0.308) and mud content alone was the environmental variable most correlated to the biotic data (BEST, ρ = 0.863). Mudflat stations were typically colonized by low diversity diatom assemblages (H′ ~ 1.9), mainly composed of medium‐sized motile epipelic species (250–1,000 μm3), that showed species‐specific seasonal blooms (e.g., Navicula gregaria Donkin). Sandy stations had more complex and diverse diatom assemblages (H′ ~ 3.2). They were mostly composed by a large set of minute epipsammic species (<250 μm3) that, generally, did not show temporal patterns. The structure of intertidal diatom assemblages was largely defined by the interplay between epipelon and epipsammon, and its diversity was explained within the framework of the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis. However, the spatial distribution of epipelic and epipsammic life‐forms showed that the definition of both functional groups should not be over‐simplified.

Photosynthesis Assessment in Microphytobenthos Using Conventional and Imaging Pulse Amplitude Modulation Fluorometry

Imaging pulse amplitude modulated (Imaging‐PAM) fluorometry is a breakthrough in the study of spatial heterogeneity of photosynthetic assemblages. However, Imaging and conventional PAM uses a different technology, making comparisons between these techniques doubtful. Thereby, photosynthetic processes were comparatively assessed using conventional (Junior PAM and PAM 101) and Imaging‐PAM on intertidal microphytobenthos (MPB; mud and sand) and on cork oak leaves. Lower values of α (initial slope of the rETR, relative photosynthetic electron transport rate) vs E (incident photosynthetic active radiation) curve), ETRmax (maximum relative ETR), Ek (light saturation parameter) and Fv/Fm (maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II of dark‐adapted samples) were obtained using the Imaging‐PAM. The level of discrepancy between conventional and Imaging‐PAM systems was dependent on the type of sample, being more pronounced for MPB muddy sediments. This may be explained by differences in the depth integration of the fluorescence signal related to the thickness of the photosynthetic layer and in the light attenuation coefficients of downwelling irradiance. An additional relevant parameter is the taxonomic composition of the MPB, as cyanobacteria present in sandy sediments rendered different results with red and blue excitation light fluorometers. These findings emphasize the caution needed when interpreting chlorophyll fluorescence data of MPB communities.

Effects of elevated temperature and CO2 on intertidal microphytobenthos

BackgroundMicrophytobenthos (MPB) are the main primary producers of many intertidal and shallow subtidal environments. Although these coastal ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic activities, little is known on the effects of climate change variables on the structure and productivity of MPB communities. In this study, the effects of elevated temperature and CO2 on intertidal MPB biomass, species composition and photosynthetic performance were studied using a flow-through experimental life support system.ResultsElevated temperature had a detrimental effect on MPB biomass and photosynthetic performance under both control and elevated CO2. Furthermore, elevated temperature led to an increase of cyanobacteria and a change in the relative abundance of major benthic diatom species present in the MPB community. The most abundant motile epipelic species Navicula spartinetensis and Gyrosigma acuminatum were in part replaced by tychoplanktonic species (Minidiscus chilensis and Thalassiosira cf. pseudonana) and the motile epipelic Nitzschia cf. aequorea and N. cf. aurariae. Elevated CO2 had a beneficial effect on MPB biomass, but only at the lower temperature. It is possible that elevated CO2 alleviated local depletion of dissolved inorganic carbon resulting from high cell abundance at the sediment photic layer. No significant effect of elevated CO2 was detected on the relative abundance of major groups of microalgae and benthic diatom species.ConclusionsThe interactive effects of elevated temperature and CO2 may have an overall detrimental impact on the structure and productivity of intertidal MPB, and eventually in related ecosystem services.

Photosynthetic epibionts and endobionts of Pacific oyster shells from oyster reefs in rocky versus mudflat shores

The Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg), is the main bivalve species cultivated in the world. With global warming enabling its reproduction and larval survival at higher latitudes, this species is now recognized as invasive and creates wild oyster reefs globally. In this study, the spatial distribution of photosynthetic assemblages colonizing the shells of wild C. gigas was investigated on both a large scale (two contrasting types of reefs found in mudflats and rocky areas) and a small scale (within individual shells) using a hyperspectral imager. The microspatial distribution of all phototrophs was obtained by mapping the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Second derivative (δδ) analyses of hyperspectral images at 462, 524, 571 and 647 nm were subsequently applied to map diatoms, cyanobacteria, rhodophytes and chlorophytes, respectively. A concomitant pigment analysis was carried out by high performance liquid chromatography and completed by taxonomic observations. This study showed that there was high microalgal diversity associated with wild oyster shells and that there were differences in the structure of the phototropic assemblages depending on the type of reef. Namely, vertically-growing oysters in mudflat areas had a higher biomass of epizoic diatoms (hyperspectral proxy at δδ462 nm) and were mainly colonized by species of the genera Navicula, Nitzschia and Hippodonta, which are epipelic or motile epipsammic. The assemblages on the horizontal oysters contained more tychoplanktonic diatoms (e.g. Thalassiosira pseudonana, T. proschkinae and Plagiogrammopsis vanheurckii). Three species of boring cyanobacteria were observed for both types of reef: Mastigocoleus testarum, Leptolyngbya terrebrans, and Hyella caespistosa, but the second derivative analysis at 524 nm showed a significantly higher biomass for the horizontally-growing oysters. There was no biomass difference for the boring chlorophyte assemblages (δδ647 nm), with two species: Eugomontia testarum and Ostreobium quekettii observed for both types of reef. This study shows that oyster shells are an idiosyncratic but ubiquitous habitat for phototrophic assemblages. The contribution of these assemblages in terms of biomass and production to the functioning of coastal areas, and particularly to shellfish ecosystems, remains to be evaluated.

Contribution of benthic microalgae to the temporal variation in phytoplankton assemblages in a macrotidal system

Suspended marine benthic microalgae in the water column reflect the close relationship between the benthic and pelagic components of coastal ecosystems. In this study, a 12‐year phytoplankton time‐series was used to investigate the contribution of benthic microalgae to the pelagic system at a site along the French‐Atlantic coast. Furthermore, all taxa identified were allocated into different growth forms in order to study their seasonal patterns. The highest contribution of benthic microalgae was observed during the winter period, reaching up to 60% of the carbon biomass in the water column. The haptobenthic growth form showed the highest contribution in terms of biomass, dominant in the fall‐winter period when the turbidity and the river flow were high. The epipelic growth form did not follow any seasonal pattern. The epiphytic diatom Licmophora was most commonly found during summer. As benthic microalgae were found in the water column throughout the year, the temporal variation detected in the structure of pelagic assemblages in a macrotidal ecosystem was partly derived from the differentiated contribution of several benthic growth forms.

Morphology and distribution of a little known but widespread diatom (Bacillariophyceae), Navicula spartinetensis Sullivan et Reimer

Navicula spartinetensis Sullivan et Reimer was originally described from the sediments of a Delaware salt marsh on the east coast of the USA in 1975. This diatom species was first reported from Europe in the Dangast (North Sea) tidal flat sediments using this specific epithet some 30 years later. Further studies have led to its identification in collections from the Atlantic coast of France, the Tagus Estuary in Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. A search for illustrations of this species in the available literature on the diatom flora of European coasts was unsuccessful. However, our study of material collected in 1957 from the French Atlantic coast indicates that N. spartinetensis was present in Europe before its formal description. It is likely that N. spartinetensis has been included under the name N. flanatica Grunow in previous studies. No specific statements can be made concerning its biogeography because of the scarcity of floristic studies in marine coastal environments. It appears that at present N. spartinetensis has been collected from the USA and Europe in muddy, estuarine intertidal sediments with or without a vascular plant cover.