Abstract
Variations in nitrogen fixation (acetylene reduction) by Nodularia spumigena blooms in the Peel-Harvey estuarine system were examined with respect to spatial (sampling station location, and depth) and temporal (seasonal and diurnal) distribution. The annual contributions of nitrogen fixation by the blooms to the nitrogen budget of the estuary were estimated to range from 309 to 713t. Contributions by nitrogen fixation were similar to the riverine inputs in the Harvey Estuary, but lower in the Peel Inlet.
The Harvey Estuary had higher biomass and total fixation rates (to 0.4 nmol C2H2 · ml−1 h−1), but the heterocyst nitrogen fixation rates were greater in the Peel Inlet (to 9 × 10−1 nmol C2H2 · heterocyst−1 · h−1). Nitrogen fixation decreased with depth in response to light, though other factors also appeared to be involved. The rates of fixation decreased concurrently with increasing bloom age, total soluble inorganic nitrogen and salinities. Maximum daily fixation rates occurred in the early morning.
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Huber, A.L. Nitrogen fixation by Nodularia spumigena Mertens (Cyanobacteriaceae). 1: Field studies and the contribution of blooms to the nitrogen budget of the Peel-Harvey Estuary, Western Australia. Hydrobiologia 131, 193–203 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00008855
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00008855