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Eutrophication Processes in Coastal Systems: Origin and Succession of Plankton Blooms and Effects on Secondary Production in Gulf Coast Estuaries book cover

1st Edition

Eutrophication Processes in Coastal Systems Origin and Succession of Plankton Blooms and Effects on Secondary Production in Gulf Coast Estuaries

By Robert J. Livingston Copyright 2001
    346 Pages
    by CRC Press

    352 Pages
    by CRC Press
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    Derived from an unprecedented research effort covering over 31 years in a series of studies of 7 major river-estuaries, Eutrophication Processes in Coastal Systems presents a comprehensive and current review of the nature of the eutrophication process and how short- and long-term nutrient loading affects marine systems. This unique book is the culmination of the most advanced research to date on how coastal systems work.
    Based on an 11 year interdisciplinary study of the Perdido Bay System, Dr. Robert J. Livingston's groundbreaking work offers evidence for significant findings such as:

  • Nutrient concentration gradients in fresh water as it entered the bay were stimulatory to phytoplankton blooms
  • Species that showed distinctive seasonal and interannual successions dominated plankton blooms
  • High relative dominance of bloom species was associated with significant reduction of phytoplankton species richness and diversity
  • The blooms were associated with major reductions of infaunal and epibenthic macroinvertibrates, forcing a serious disruption of the food webs and losses of secondary production
    Eutrophication Processes in Coastal Ecosystems goes beyond its innovative analyses of how estuarine and coastal systems have responded to fundamental alterations of the eutrophication process. Dr. Livingston's book presents the case that bloom impacts must be reviewed against the background conditions that include periodic changes brought on by drought and anthropogenous dredging. It points to the critical need for further study of phytoplankton communities and the connection between plankton blooms, sediment deterioration, and low secondary production.

    • INTRODUCTION
    Eutrophication Processes
    Aspects of Excessive Nutrient Loading
    Plankton Response to Nutrient Loading
    Phytoplankton Blooms and the HAB Concept
    Natural History of HABs
    Phytoplankton as Indicators of Water Quality
    Food Web Response to Nutrient Loading
    NORTHEAST GULF OF MEXICO
    Physiography
    Regional Geology
    Climate
    River Flow
    Tides
    Aquatic Habitats
    PRIMARY STUDY SITES
    Apalachee Bay (Econfina and Fenholloway River-Estuaries)
    Apalachicola River and Bay System
    The Choctawhatchee River and Bay System
    The Pensacola River and Bay System
    The Perdido River and Bay System
    THE PERDIDO BAY SYSTEM: EUTROPHICATION PROCESSES AND PLANKTON BLOOMS
    Introduction
    River Flow Trends
    Nutrient Dynamics
    Sediment Quality
    Water Quality: Spatial/Temporal Trends
    Long-Term Phytoplankton Trends In Perdido Bay
    EFFECTS OF BLOOMS ON SECONDARY PRODUCTION
    Introduction
    Bay-wide Trends of Invertebrates and Fishes
    COMPARISON OF GULF COASTAL SYSTEMS
    Habitat Conditions
    Salinity Stratification and Habitat Deterioration
    Nutrient Loading and Nutrient Concentrations
    Water Quality
    Sediment Comparisons
    Phytoplankton Organization
    Food Web Response to Plankton
    Organization
    RESTORATION, RESEARCH, AND
    REGULATION
    Restoration of the Perdido System
    "Ecosystem" Research
    Information, Regulatory "Action", and Political Control
    CONCLUSIONS
    SUMMARY OF RESULTS

    Biography

    Robert J. Livingston

    "The strength of the book is in its emphasis on interdisciplinary science as an essential approach to ecosystem research…In summary, this book is valuable reading to researchers and regulators dealing with the eutrophication issue. It provides a comprehensive assessment of ecosystem properties in one region, the northeastern Gulf of Mexico estuaries, and opens the possibility that the principles and mechanisms of eutrophication demonstrated here may be applicable to other regions. However, the book also succeeds on another level. It serves as an instructional treatise on what is required to adequately evaluate the eutrophication process."
    -COPEIA, February 2002

    "…an extremely valuable addition to the reference libraries of researchers working in northern Gulf of Mexico estuaries. This volume should also prove to be particularly useful to person involved in studies and discussions related to the effects of coastal eutrophication and the ultimate fate and results of nutrient load in our estuaries."
    - Ecology, 83(2), 2002

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