The Bioavailability of Effluent-derived Organic Nitrogen along an Estuarine Salinity Gradient |
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| Authors: | Katherine C Filippino Margaret R Mulholland Peter W Bernhardt George E Boneillo Ryan E Morse Matthew Semcheski Harold Marshall Nancy G Love Quinn Roberts Deborah A Bronk |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Ocean, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, Old Dominion University, 4600 Elkhorn Ave, Norfolk, VA 23529, USA;(2) Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529, USA;(3) Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, 2350 Hayward St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2125, USA;(4) Virginia Institute of Marine Science, The College of William & Mary, 1208 Greate Rd., Gloucester Point, VA 23062, USA |
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| Abstract: | Total maximum daily loads for nitrogen (N) are currently being established for the Chesapeake Bay watershed. While we know
inorganic N is bioavailable in the environment and therefore its input contributes to cultural eutrophication, the bioavailability
of organic N is unclear. Using bioassay experiments, we examined the impact of effluent-derived organic nitrogen (EON) from
wastewater treatment plants on natural water samples collected along an estuarine/salinity gradient within the lower Chesapeake
Bay watershed. All of the inorganic N and between 31% and 96% of the EON was removed during biotic bioassays within the first
2 days. Further, there was substantial abiotic reactivity of effluent N when it was added to natural water samples. Results
demonstrate that organic and inorganic N in effluent is removed to support the growth of microbial communities. These are
the first results aimed at assessing the reactivity of EON in natural waters along an estuarine/salinity gradient. |
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