Evaluation of the performance of HPLC–CHEMTAX analysis for determining phytoplankton biomass and composition in a turbid estuary (Schelde, Belgium) |
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Authors: | Marie Lionard Koenraad Muylaert Michle Tackx Wim Vyverman |
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Institution: | aLaboratory of Protistology and Aquatic Ecology, Biology Department, University of Gent, Krijgslaan 281 S8, B-9000 Gent, Belgium;bK.U. Leuven Campus Kortrijk, E. Sabbelaan 53, B-8500 Kortrijk, Belgium;cLaboratoire d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle (EcoLab), UMR 5245 CNRS/UPS, 29, rue Jeanne Marvig, 31055 Toulouse Cedex 4, France |
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Abstract: | In the upper Schelde estuary in 2002, phytoplankton biomass and community composition were studied using microscopic and pigment analyses. Chlorophyll a concentration was a good predictor of phytoplankton biomass estimated from cell counts and biovolume measurements. The phytoplankton carbon to chlorophyll a ratio, however, was often unrealistically low (<10). CHEMTAX was used to estimate the contribution of the major algal groups to total chlorophyll a. The dominant algal groups were diatoms and chlorophytes. While diatom equivalents in chlorophyll a predicted diatom biomass relatively well, chlorophyte equivalents in chlorophyll a were only weakly related to chlorophyte biomass. The pigment-based approach to study phytoplankton overestimated phytoplankton biomass in general and chlorophyte biomass in particular in late autumn and winter, when phytoplankton biomass was low. A possible explanation for this overestimation may be the presence of large amounts of vascular plant detritus in the upper Schelde estuary. Residual chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and lutein in this detritus may result in an overestimation of total phytoplankton and chlorophyte biomass when the contribution of phytoplankton to total particulate organic matter is low. |
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Keywords: | CHEMTAX chlorophytes diatoms detritus Schelde estuary |
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