Evidence of a planktonic food web response to changes in nutrient input dynamics in the Mar Menor coastal lagoon, Spain

Planktonic community changes in response to shifting agricultural practices around the Mar Menor coastal lagoon, southeast Spain, were studied between 1988-97. In the last 10 yr, dry crop farming has given way to intensively irrigated crops, with irrigation water diversion leading to phreatic level...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inHydrobiologia Vol. 475-476; no. 1; pp. 359 - 369
Main Authors Pérez-Ruzafa, A., Gilabert, J., Gutiérrez, J.M., Fernández, A.I., Marcos, C., Sabah, S.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Dordrecht Springer Nature B.V 01.05.2002
Subjects
Ecology
Eutrophication
Lagoons
Larvae
Marine
Nutrient dynamics
Phytoplankton
Summer
Zooplankton
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Summary:Planktonic community changes in response to shifting agricultural practices around the Mar Menor coastal lagoon, southeast Spain, were studied between 1988-97. In the last 10 yr, dry crop farming has given way to intensively irrigated crops, with irrigation water diversion leading to phreatic level changes and higher nitrate inputs to the lagoon. Urban sewage inputs also have increased without additional treatment infrastructure. Abundance changes in plankton (particularly two jellyfish species) and in size spectra, as well as gut content analyses, suggest a strong top-down control mechanism of size structure. In this case the feeding activities of large gelatinous jellyfish zooplankton appear to control the consequences of eutrophication in this coastal lagoon.
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ISSN:0018-8158
1573-5117
DOI:10.1023/A:1020343510060