Net community production and dark community respiration in a Karenia brevis (Davis) bloom in West Florida coastal waters, USA

• Published in: Harmful algae 2010-05, Vol.9 (4), p.351-358
• Main Authors: Hitchcock, Gary L., Kirkpatrick, Gary, Minnett, Peter, Palubok, Valeriy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algae; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Autoecology; Biological and medical sciences; Florida; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Karenia brevis; Net production; Plant cytology, morphology, systematics, chorology and evolution; Plants and fungi; Respiration; Thallophyta
• ISSN: 1568-9883; 1878-1470
• DOI: 10.1016/j.hal.2010.01.002

Oxygen-based productivity and respiration rates were determined in West Florida coastal waters to evaluate the proportion of community respiration demands met by autotrophic production within a harmful algal bloom dominated by Karenia brevis. The field program was adaptive in that sampling during the 2006 bloom occurred where surveys by the Florida Wildlife Research Institute indicated locations with high cell abundances. Net community production (NCP) rates from light-dark bottle incubations during the bloom ranged from 10 to 42 μmole O 2 L −1 day −1 with highest rates in bloom waters where abundances exceeded 10 5 cells L −1. Community dark respiration ( R) rates in dark bottles ranged from R) over 24 h, although heterotrophy (NCP < R) characterized the densest sample where K. brevis cell densities exceed 10 6 cells L −1.