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Temporal variation of phytoplankton growth and grazing loss in the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia

2015; Springer Science+Business Media; Volume: 187; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/s10661-015-4487-5

1573-2959

Joon Hai Lim, Choon Weng Lee, Isao Kudo,

Marine Biology and Ecology Research

Phytoplankton growth (μ) and grazing loss (g) rates were measured monthly by the Landry-Hassett dilution method over a 2-year period at both estuarine (Klang) and coastal water (Port Dickson) systems along the Straits of Malacca. Chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration ranged from 0.20 to 4.47 μg L−1 at Klang except on two occasions when Chl a spiked above 10 μg L−1. In contrast, Chl a concentrations were relatively stable at Port Dickson (0.14 to 2.76 μg L−1). From the rate measurements, μ was higher (t = 2.01, df = 43, p < 0.05) at Klang (0.30 to 2.26 day−1) than at Port Dickson (0.18 to 1.66 day−1), but g was not significantly different (p > 0.80). g ranged from 0.30 to 1.50 and 0.21 to 1.51 day−1 at Klang and Port Dickson, respectively. In this study, grazing loss was coupled to phytoplankton growth, and the ratio of g/μ or grazing pressure which estimates the proportion of primary production grazed was 50 % at Klang and lower than at Port Dickson (68 %; t = 2.213, df = 36, p < 0.05). We found that the higher growth rates in a eutrophic system, i.e., Klang, were not matched by higher grazing loss, and this may have implications for the biogeochemical cycling in coastal waters.