Diatom accumulations on a tropical meso-tidal beach: Environmental drivers on phytoplankton biomass

作者：da Rocha Franco Andrea de Oliveira; de Oliveira Soares Marcelo; Parente Moreira Maria Odete

来源：Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 2018, 207: 414-421.

DOI：10.1016/j.ecss.2017.07.020

• Low-latitude
• Surf-zone
• Tides
• Chlorophylla
• Asterionellopsis
• Anaulus

Diatom accumulations are important phenomena that occur on many sandy beaches worldwide, but little is known about their seasonal occurrence and environmental drivers at lower latitudes. The results revealed that the diatom Anaulus cf. australis and Asterionellopsis tropicalis were accumulated on a tropical beach near the Equator (3 degrees 41'S; northeastern Brazil). The highest frequency of diatom accumulation (81%) occurred during the rainy season, when wind intensity was weak and waves had lower heights. The main environmental driver that control occurrence of the patches on this oligotrophic sandy beach is a rainfall that is associated with the availability of nutrients. Tides are a physical driver that affect the phytoplankton biomass at the surf zone, large tidal ranges were related to dispersal and biomass reduction of the diatom accumulations. In addition, there was an association between swell and patches, this kind of wave appear be an important physical driver, however this mechanism is not fully understood. These findings provide novel insights into the environmental drivers and general knowledge of diatom accumulations worldwide.

• 出版日期2018-7-31