Light-Environment Controls and Basal Resource Use of Planktonic and Benthic Primary Production Kara Radabaugh University of South Florida, [email protected]
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School January 2013 Light-Environment Controls and Basal Resource Use of Planktonic and Benthic Primary Production Kara Radabaugh University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Other Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons Scholar Commons Citation Radabaugh, Kara, "Light-Environment Controls and Basal Resource Use of Planktonic and Benthic Primary Production" (2013). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/4564 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Light-Environment Controls and Basal Resource Use of Planktonic and Benthic Primary Production by Kara R. Radabaugh A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy College of Marine Science University of South Florida Major Professor: Ernst Peebles, Ph.D. David Jones, Ph.D. Theodore Switzer, Ph.D. Chuanmin Hu, Ph.D. Steven Murawski, Ph.D. Date of Approval: December 17 th , 2012 Keywords: Stable isotopes, light attenuation, food web, photosynthetic fractionation, isoscape Copyright © 2013, Kara R. Radabaugh Acknowledgments Many number people at the University of South Florida provided assistance to this research through sample collection, analysis, and scientific advice. In particular I would like to thank David English, Jennifer Cannizzaro, Ralph Kitzmiller, Scott Burghart, Robert Byrne, Xuewu (Sherwood) Liu, Greg Ellis, Elon Malkin, Kristen Wolfgang, Amy Wallace, Sheri Huelster, and Michael Drexler. Ethan Goddard, David Hollander, and the USF Paleolab were invaluable for stable isotopic analyses. I am grateful to the late Benjamin Flower for his work as an exemplary teacher and mentor. I would also like to thank all of my committee members for their helpful comments and critiques; I particularly thank my major advisor Ernst Peebles for his guidance, advice, and encouragement. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission provided generous cooperation during SEAMAP surveys, in particular Bob McMichael, Jr., Amanda Tyler-Jedlund, Jenna Tortorelli, Ted Switzer, and Ed Matheson. The Caloosahatchee data were gathered in collaboration with Florida Gulf Coast University scientists Gregory Tolley, David Fugate, and Michael Parsons. Megan Andresen and Brooke Denkert along with many other FGCU students were essential to field work efforts. Finally, I gratefully thank Janice Rock, James Radabaugh, Taya Radabaugh, and Regi Rodriguez for their support and encouragement. Table of Contents List of Tables ....................................................................................................... iv List of Figures ....................................................................................................... v Abstract .............................................................................................................. viii Chapter 1. Introduction ......................................................................................... 1 1.1 Aquatic basal resources ....................................................................... 1 1.2 Stable isotope ecology ......................................................................... 3 1.2.1 Introduction to stable isotopes ................................................ 3 1.2.2 Stable isotopes in food web studies ....................................... 4 1.3 Light attenuation .................................................................................. 6 1.4 Outline of dissertation .......................................................................... 8 Chapter 2. Light-environment effects on carbon isotope fractionation by aquatic microalgae in an estuarine environment ........................................... 10 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 10 2.2 Methods ............................................................................................. 13 2.2.1 Experimental setup .............................................................. 13 2.2.2 Isotopic analyses .................................................................. 16 2.2.3 Water quality analyses ......................................................... 17 2.2.4 Calculation of PAR ............................................................... 20 2.2.5 Statistical analyses ............................................................... 21 2.3 Results ............................................................................................... 22 2.3.1 Environmental conditions ..................................................... 22 2.3.2 Microalgal growth ................................................................. 25 2.3.3 Carbon fractionation ............................................................. 28 2.4 Discussion ......................................................................................... 31 2.4.1 Dominant controls of photosynthetic fractionation ................ 31 2.4.2 Sources of variability in natural settings ............................... 32 2.4.3 Implications for trophic studies ............................................. 34 2.4.4 Summary and conclusions ................................................... 35 Chapter 3. Stable isotope trends on a trophic gradient; the importance of benthic algae to continental-shelf fish species .............................................. 36 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 36 15 13 3.1.1 Factors influencing marine δ N and δ C baselines ............ 37 3.1.2 Basal resources and trophic enrichment .............................. 39 i 3.2 Methods ............................................................................................. 41 3.2.1 Survey area .......................................................................... 41 3.2.2 Target species ...................................................................... 42 3.2.3 Sample collection ................................................................. 43 3.2.4 Stable isotope analysis ........................................................ 44 3.2.5 Calculation of trophic level ................................................... 45 3.2.6 Calculation of basal resource use ........................................ 46 3.2.7 Isoscapes ............................................................................. 47 3.3 Results ............................................................................................... 48 3.4 Discussion ......................................................................................... 58 3.4.1 δ13 C benthic algae depth gradient ........................................ 58 3.4.2 POM isotopic values ............................................................ 59 3.4.3 Basal resources ................................................................... 60 3.4.4 Fish trophic levels and ∆15 N ................................................. 62 3.4.5 δ15 N longitudinal/latitudinal gradients ................................... 63 3.4.6 Fish site fidelity and isotopic variability ................................. 65 3.4.7 Conclusions and global implications .................................... 66 Chapter 4. A dynamic model for baseline δ13 C and δ15 N values on the West Florida Shelf ......................................................................................... 68 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 68 4.2 Methods ............................................................................................. 69 4.2.1 Sample collection ................................................................. 69 4.2.2 Calculation of trophic level and δ15 N baseline ...................... 71 4.2.3 Calculation of basal resource use and δ13 C baseline ........... 72 4.2.4 Remote sensing data ........................................................... 73 4.2.5 Dynamic model methods ...................................................... 75 4.3 Results ............................................................................................... 76 4.4 Discussion ......................................................................................... 88 4.4.1 Fish trophic levels and basal resource use .......................... 88 4.4.2 δ15 N predictors ..................................................................... 88 4.4.3 δ13 C predictors ..................................................................... 92 4.4.4 Sources of error and variability ............................................. 95 4.4.5 Conclusions .......................................................................... 98 Chapter 5. Detection and classification of phytoplankton deposits along an estuarine gradient ....................................................................................... 100 Note to Reader ...................................................................................... 100 5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................... 100 5.1.1 Study area .........................................................................