Nutrient and Organic Carbon Cycling Processes in Tidal Marshes and
Shallow Water Habitats
Brian Bergamaschi, Bryan Downing, Tamara Kraus, Jon Burau, JohnFranco Saraceno, Scott Nagel, Frank Anderson, Jacob Fleck, Katy O'Donnell, Angela Hansen, Roger Fujii, and many others
Motivation • Can wetland restorations be
implemented to promote export of phytoplankton to the pelagic food web?
• To what extent will wetland nutrient uptake offset pelagic phytoplankton production?
• When, where, and under what conditions are nutrients limiting to phytoplankton production?
0 4 8 12 miles
0 4 8 12 14 kilometers
0 4 8 12 miles
0 4 8 12 14 kilometers
b
Foodweb Dynamics Van den Meersche et al. 2009 Foodweb Dynamics
allochtonous DOC
algal DOC
Zooplankton diet in a iidal estuary
microzooplankton ,__ _ _____.
allochtonous POC
algae
f)J(;
zooplankton
F ig. 7. Schematic pict ure of the lower plankton food web in the tidal Scheidt River and estuary, including main carbon fluxes to mesozooplankton. Thick arrows represent the n1os t important now paths.
Its all about pelagic habitat
• What are the physical, chemical and biological attributes of wetlands that contribute to “good” pelagic aquatic habitat? – More yummy food: phytoplankton and POC/NAP
– More zooplankton –the cool ones.
– Good plumbing; connection and transport to pelagic system.
• Where and when and under what conditions do we observe “good” wetland - pelagic aquatic habitat couplings?
• Study several of them. Together with y’all. For a good long time.
PHYTOPLANKTON •Abundance
•Taxa •Health
Residence time
Nutrients
Hydrodynamics
Light
Seed Populations Contaminants
Hydrodynamics
Death – Phytoplankton detritus
Drivers of Production Drivers of Loss
Clam grazing
•bathymetry •flow/transport •turbulence •interaction w/ benthos
•forms •ratios
•types •conc. •interactions
•bathymetry •flow/transport •turbulence •interaction w/ benthos
•insolation •turbidity
•source water
Temperature
ZOOPLANKTON •abundance
•taxa •health
Figure 1. Conceptual diagram showing drivers of phytoplankton production
and loss as it contributes to zooplankton and fish production, highlighting the role of the
physical environment and physical dynamics. Although not depicted, it is assumed
that there are also links between drivers (e.g. hydrodynamics affect residence time;
residence time affects contaminant exposure and predation pressure).
Station Location Map
Liberty Island
West Upper Liberty Island
Browns Island
Little Holland Tract
East Upper Liberty Island
Methods • Nitrate (SUNA)
• Phosphate and ammonium (Cycle-P&N)
• WQ Parameters (EXO) – Temp, Cond., pH, FDOM,
– CHL, BGA, DO
• Discharge, DOC, etc.
SUNA in situ optical nitrate analyzer.
-2E+11
-1.5E+11
-1E+11
-5E+10
0
5E+10
1E+11
1.5E+11
2E+11
2.5E+11
3E+11
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
13-Mar 15-Mar 17-Mar 19-Mar 21-Mar 23-Mar 25-Mar 27-Mar
Nit
rate
(u
M)
Nitrate at Liberty Island mouth
t t +
t t
t +
t t +
t t
t t
-2E+11
-1.5E+11
-1E+11
-5E+10
0
5E+10
1E+11
1.5E+11
2E+11
2.5E+11
3E+11
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
13-Mar 15-Mar 17-Mar 19-Mar 21-Mar 23-Mar 25-Mar 27-Mar
Nit
rate
(u
M)
Nitrate at Liberty Island mouth
t t +
t +
t t
t t
-2E+11
-1.5E+11
-1E+11
-5E+10
0
5E+10
1E+11
1.5E+11
2E+11
2.5E+11
3E+11
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
13-Mar 15-Mar 17-Mar 19-Mar 21-Mar 23-Mar 25-Mar 27-Mar
Nit
rate
(u
M)
~200 kg/d
Nitrate at Liberty Island mouth
18 20 22 24 26 28 30 2
Cum
ula
tive f
racti
on o
f to
tal
flo
od
nit
rate
flu
x i
n s
pri
ng
0.00
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.10
Net unfiltered MeHg flux
11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25
Cum
ula
tive f
racti
on o
f to
tal
flo
od
nit
rate
flu
x i
n f
all
0.00
0.03
0.06
0.09
A
B
12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 C
um
ula
tive f
racti
on o
f to
tal
flo
od
nit
rate
flu
x i
n w
inte
r
-0.05
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20C
April 2005
January 2006
October 2005
May 2005
05 07 09 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25
Nit
rate
(
m)
0
10
20
30
40
50
11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 02 04 06 08
Nit
rate
(
m)
0
10
20
30
40
50
B
C
19 21 23 25 27 29 01 03 05 07 09
Nit
rate
(
m)
0
10
20
30
40
50A
April 2005 May 2005
October 2005
January 2006 February 2006
Figure 1. Continuous concentration for three periods on on left (with stage [dashed], precip [grey bars], and calibration samples [red symbols]). Cumulative flux on right. Cumulative flux over spring-neap cycle did not exceed uncertainty.
BROWNS ISLAND
Matt Brennan r ESA PWA ...I
Liberty Island Exchange Time Scales J,2A.. ,• • • \ " • " • "
' _. .. ,·
J7,.
....
' . . """ .... .. '"'" .. .... .
'
' ' 1;?$3; ...... !""" ..... ~ """ ....... '""" .. ~ ... ..... ~
G.1 1 •.. •. ' 0 10
. .
0 "
l/ , .. ·-··. • . ... . .. · . .. ..
I • 25 .... .. ....... ·· ·-· ......
I • ... --·· :--· -·-· ·-·-I
. 0.
I 20 "' '< I V>
':~ f ;:;
··-·· --·· --· --· ·-·-; r
:.· . v .. J .. i" ·- ·-- --- 15 (1) .... ... \ ' Q .• ~ ; -·~ . V>
"' . .... . .. . . .. . -. ---· --- ;:;
10 0.
...... ····- ..... , ...... ··-« ......
. . '5 . ............... ................. . •
...... ...... . ..... :······ ..... : ......
Cl 1; 6.16 6.19 6.2
-10000
-5000
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
1/1
1/2
014
2/5
/20
14
3/2
/20
14
3/2
7/2
014
4/2
1/2
014
5/1
6/2
014
6/1
0/2
014
7/5
/20
14
7/3
0/2
014
8/2
4/2
014
9/1
8/2
014
10
/13
/20
14
11
/7/2
014
SOUTH LIBERTY ISLAND
Nit
rate
(
M/L
)
Cu
mu
lati
ve N
itra
te F
lux
0
0.5
1
1.5
Ch
loro
ph
yll (
ug
/L)
2
4
6
0
Ch
loro
ph
yll
Chlo
rop
hyll
(g L
-1)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Wa
ter
de
pth
(m
)
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
Nitra
te (
M)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Wa
ter
de
pth
(m
)
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
Fri 17 Tue 21 Sat 25 Wed 29 Sun 02
Cum
ula
tive
nitra
te f
lux (
M)
-2000
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
Wa
ter
de
pth
(m
)
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
Chlo
rop
hyll
(g L
-1)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Wa
ter
de
pth
(m
)
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
Nitra
te (
M)
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
25
Wa
ter
de
pth
(m
)
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
6/3/11 6/7/11 6/11/11 6/15/11 6/19/11
Cum
ula
tive
nitra
te f
lux (
M)
-14
-12
-10
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
Wa
ter
de
pth
(m
)
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
Figure 2. Continuous records of chlorophyll, nitrate and cumulative nitrate flux in northern liberty Island. Winter period on left, summer period on right. Note that the sign changes on the flux direction between measurement periods. Note also that the largest component of the winter flux was due to a regional shift in water height and, thus, storage.
NORTHWESTERN LIBERTY ISLAND
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
10/21/2013 10/25/2013 10/29/2013 11/2/2013 11/6/2013 11/10/2013
NORTHEASTERN LIBERTY ISLAND
NORTH WIND
Nit
rate
(m
g/L
)
Ch
loro
ph
yll (
g/L
)
Matt Brennan r ESA PWA ...I
Liberty Island Exchange Time Scales J,2A.. ,• • • \ " • " • "
' _. .. ,·
J7,.
....
' . . """ .... .. '"'" .. .... .
'
' ' 1;?$3; ...... !""" ..... ~ """ ....... '""" .. ~ ... ..... ~
G.1 1 •.. •. ' 0 10
. .
0 "
l/ , .. ·-··. • . ... . .. · . .. ..
I • 25 .... .. ....... ·· ·-· ......
I • ... --·· :--· -·-· ·-·-I
. 0.
I 20 "' '< I V>
':~ f ;:;
··-·· --·· --· --· ·-·-; r
:.· . v .. J .. i" ·- ·-- --- 15 (1) .... ... \ ' Q .• ~ ; -·~ . V>
"' . .... . .. . . .. . -. ---· --- ;:;
10 0.
...... ····- ..... , ...... ··-« ......
. . '5 . ............... ................. . •
...... ...... . ..... :······ ..... : ......
Cl 1; 6.16 6.19 6.2
Water isotopes as a proxy for residence time
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
0
5
10
15
20
25
9/30/2014 10/2/2014 10/4/2014 10/6/2014 10/8/2014 10/10/2014 10/12/2014
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
0
5
10
15
9/30/2014 10/2/2014 10/4/2014 10/6/2014 10/8/2014 10/10/2014 10/12/2014
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
75
85
95
105
115
125
9/30/2014 10/2/2014 10/4/2014 10/6/2014 10/8/2014 10/10/2014 10/12/2014
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
0
1
2
3
4
9/30/2014 10/2/2014 10/4/2014 10/6/2014 10/8/2014 10/10/2014 10/12/2014
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
200
250
300
350
400
9/30/2014 10/2/2014 10/4/2014 10/6/2014 10/8/2014 10/10/2014 10/12/2014
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
0
100
200
300
400
500
9/30/2014 10/2/2014 10/4/2014 10/6/2014 10/8/2014 10/10/2014 10/12/2014
NITRATE
CHLORO- PHYLL
OXYGEN
CO2
DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON
PARTICLE SIZE
LITTLE HOLLAND TRACT
Nitrate uptake on LHT
Chlorophyll production on LHT and export
Net production on LHT Variable over time
DIC drawdown on LHT Aquatic production
DOC production on LHT Export of DOC
Larger particles coming onto LHT; export of smaller particles
Marsh plain subsidy Phytoplankton growth and taxonomy Zooplankton abundance, health and transport Food webs Clam grazing Fish use Etc. Etc.
Conclusions • Wetlands are variable in every dimension
• We are still in the research mode
• Need to be cautious about extrapolating from short-term studies of aquatic processes
• Need to develop new research tools that adequately capture the spatial, temporal and parameter variability so we can better understand them
• Need to find ways to work better together at similar temporal and spatial scales
Thank you