Abstract
Phytoplankton productivity of the tidal estuaries and coastal waters of southern Nassau Country, Long Island, New York, USA was determined monthly at 28 stations during 1966. Diatoms alternated with dinoflagellates in dominating the standing crop in the coastal area. The estuaries were characterized by sustained blooms of green flagellates and dinoflagellates during the spring/summer period, 1966. Chlorophyll a ranged from 1.0 to 27.6 mg/m3 in the estuarine area, and 1.45 to 10.15 mg/m3 in adjacent coastal waters. Rate of phytosynthesis per unit weight chlorophyll a for surface samples in the region under study a veraged from 3.1 to 3.5 mgC/mg chlorophyll a/h. At light saturation, however, the ratio varied according to water temperature and species' composition. Primary productivity decreased seawards, with mean values for 1966 of 0.35, 0.22, and 0.16 gC/m3/d for the estuarine, nearshore and offshore areas, respectively.
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Communicated by G. L. Voss, Miami
This study was carried out at the Lamont Geological Observatory of Columbia University Palisades; New York, USA.
The study was conducted with financial assistance from Nassau County, New York, and the G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation.
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Mandelli, E.F., Burkholder, P.R., Doheny, T.E. et al. Studies of primary productivity in coastal waters of southern Long Island, New York. Marine Biology 7, 153–160 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00354920
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00354920