Seasonal and long-term trends in the water quality of Florida Bay (1989–1997) (original) (raw)
Abstract
Analysis of 6 yr of monthly water quality data was performed on three distinct zones of Florida Bay: the eastern bay, central bay, and western bay. Each zone was analyzed for trends at intra-annual (seasonal), interannual (oscillation), and long-term (monotonic) scales. the variables TON, TOC, temperature, and TN∶TP ratio had seasonal maxima in the summer rainy season; APA and Chl_a_, indicators of the size and activity of the microplankton tended to have maxima in the fall. In contrast, NO3 −, NO2 −, NH4 +, turbidity, and DOsat, were highest in the winter dry season. There were large changes in some of the water quality variables of Florida Bay over the study period. Salinity and TP concentrations declined baywide while turbidity increased dramatically. Salinity declined in the eastern, central, and western Florida Bay by 13.6‰, 11.6‰, and 5.6‰, respectively. Some of the decrease in the eastern bay could be accounted for by increased freshwater flows from the Everglades. In contrast to most other estuarine systems, increased runoff may have been partially responsible for the decrease in TP concentrations as input concentrations were 0.3–0.5 μM. Turbidity in the eastern bay increased twofold from 1991 to 1996, while in the central and western bays it increased by factors of 20 and 4, respectively. Chl_a_ concentrations were particularly dynamic and spatially heterogeneous. In the eastern bay, which makes up roughly half of the surface area of Florida Bay, Chl_a_ declined by 0.9 μg l−1 (63%). The hydrographically isolated central bay zone underwent a fivefold increase in phytoplankton biomass from 1989 to 1994, then rapidly declined to previous levels by 1996. In western Florida Bay there was a significant increase in Chl_a_, yet median concentrations of Chl_a_ in the water column remained modest (∼2 μg l−1) by most estuarine standards. Only in the central bay did the DIN pool increase substantially (threefold to sixfold). Notably, these changes in turbidity and phytoplankton biomass occurred after the poorly-understood seagrass die-off in 1987. It is likely the death and decomposition of large amounts of seagrass biomass can at least partially explain some of the changes in water quality of Florida Bay, but the connections are temporally disjoint and the process indirect and not well understood.
Access this article
Subscribe and save
- Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month
- Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals
- Cancel anytime View plans
Buy Now
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.
Instant access to the full article PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
- Boyer, J. N., J. W. Fourqurean, andR. D. Jones. 1997. Spatial characterization of water quality in Florida Bay and White-water Bay by multivariate analysis: Zones of similar influence (ZSI).Estuaries 20:743–758.
Article CAS Google Scholar - Boyer, J. N. andR. D. Jones. 1999. Effects of freshwater inputs and loading of phosphorus and nitrogen on the water quality of Eastern Florida Bay, p. 321–329.In K. R. Reddy (ed.), Phosphorus Biogeochemistry in Sub-tropical Ecosystems. CRC/Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, Florida.
Google Scholar - Butler, IV,M. J., J. H. Hunt, W. F. Herrnkind, M. J. Childress, R. Bertelson, W. Sharp, T. Mathews, J. M. Field, andH. G. Marshall. 1995. Cascading disturbances in Florida Bay, USA: Cyanobacteria blooms, sponge mortality, and implications for juvenile spiny lobsters_Panulirus argus_.Marine Ecology Progress Series 129:119–125.
Article Google Scholar - Capone, D. G. andB. F. Taylor. 1980. Microbial nitrogen cycling in a seagrass community, p. 153–161.In V. S. Kennedy (ed.), Estuarine Perspectives. Academic Press, New York.
Google Scholar - Chatfield, C. 1989. The Analysis of Time Series. Chapman & Hall, New York.
Google Scholar - Dennison, W. C. 1987. Effects of light on seagrass photosynthesis, growth and depth distributions.Aquatic Botany 27:15–26.
Article Google Scholar - Fourqurean J. W., R. D. Jones, andJ. C. Zieman. 1993. Processes influencing water column nutrient characteristics and phosphorus limitation of phytoplankton biomass in Florida Bay, FL, USA: Inferences from spatial distributions.Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 36:295–314.
Article CAS Google Scholar - Fourqurean, J. W., G. V. N. Powell, W. J. Kenworthy, andJ. C. Zieman. 1995. The effects of long-term manipulation of nutrient supply on competition between the seagrasses_Thalassia testudinum_ and_Halodule wrightii_ in Florida Bay.Oikos 72:349–358.
Article Google Scholar - Fourqurean, J. W., G. V. N. Powell, andJ. C. Zieman. 1992. Relationships between porewater nutrients and seagrasses in a subtropical carbonate environment.Marine Biology 114:57–65.
CAS Google Scholar - Fourqurean, J. W., andM. B. Robblee. 1999. Florida Bay: A brief history of recent ecological changes.Estuaries 22:345–357.
Article CAS Google Scholar - Frankovich, T. A., andR. D. Jones. 1998. A rapid, precise, and sensitive method for the determination of total nitrogen in natural waters.Marine Chemistry 60:227–234.
Article CAS Google Scholar - García, H. E. andL. I. Cordon. 1992. Oxygen solubility in seawater: Better fitting equations.Limnology and Oceanography 37:1307–1312.
Google Scholar - Hall, M. O., M. J. Durako, J. W. Fourqurean, andJ. C. Zieman. 1999. Decadal changes in seagrass distribution and abundance in Florida Bay.Estuaries 22:445–459.
Article Google Scholar - Hela, J. 1952. Remarks on the climate of southern Florida.Bulletin of Marine Science 2:438–447.
Google Scholar - Hirsch, R. M., R. B. Alexander, andR. A. Smith. 1991. Selection of methods for the detection and estimation of trends in water quality.Water Resources Research 27:803–813.
Article Google Scholar - Light, S. S. andJ. W. Dineen. 1994. Water control in the Everglades: A historical perspective, p. 47–84.In S. M. Davis and J. C. Ogden (eds.), Everglades: The Ecosystem and Its Restoration. St. Lucie Press, Delray Beach, Florida.
Google Scholar - McGill, R., J. W. Tukey, andW. A. Larsen. 1978. Variations of box plots.American Statistician 32:12–16.
Article Google Scholar - Phlips, E. J. andS. Badylak. 1996. Spatial variability in phytoplankton standing crop and composition in a shallow innershelf lagoon, Florida Bay, Florida.Bulletin of Marine Science 58: 203–216.
Google Scholar - Robblee, M. B., T. B. Barber, P. R. Carlson, Jr.M. J. Durako, J. W. Fourqurean, L. M. Muehlstein, D. Porter, L. A. Yabro, R. T. Zieman, andJ. C. Zieman. 1991. Mass mortality of the tropical seagrass_Thalassia testudinum_ in Florida Bay (USA).Marine Ecology Progress Series 71:297–299.
Article Google Scholar - Ruddnick, D., Z. Chen, D. Childers, T. Fontaine, andJ. N. Boyer. 1999. Phosphorus and nitrogen inputs to Florida Bay: The importance of the Everglades watershed.Estuaries 22:398–416.
Article Google Scholar - Schmidt, T. W. 1979. Ecological study of the fishes and the water quality characteristics of Florida Bay, Everglades National Park, Florida. United States National Park Service, Everglades National Park, Homestead, Florida.
Google Scholar - Schomer, N. S. and R. D. Drew. 1982. An ecological classification of the lower Everglades, Florida Bay and the Florida Keys. United States Fish and Wildlife Service FWS/OBS-82/58.1. Washington, D. C.
- Smith, N. 1994. Long-term Culf-to-Atlantic transport through tidal channels in the Florida Keys.Bulletin of Marine Science 54: 602–609.
Google Scholar - Solórzano, L. andJ. H. Sharp. 1980. Determination of total dissolved phosphorus and particulate phosphorus in natural waters.Limnology and Oceanography 25:754–758.
Article Google Scholar - Tabb, D. C. andM. A. Roessler. 1989. History of studies on juvenile fishes of coastal waters of Everglades National Park.Bulletin of Marine Science 44:23–34.
Google Scholar - Tilmant, J. T. 1989. A history and an overview of recent trends in the fisheries of Florida Bay.Bulletin of Marine Science 44:3–22.
Google Scholar - Zieman, J. C. 1982. The ecology of seagrasses of south Florida: A community profile. United States Fish and Wildlife Service FWS/OBS-82/25, Washington, D. C.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
- Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International University, 33199, Miami, Florida
Joseph N. Boyer - Southeast Environmental Research Center and Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, 33199, Miami, Florida
James W. Fourqurean & Ronald D. Jones
Authors
- Joseph N. Boyer
- James W. Fourqurean
- Ronald D. Jones
Corresponding author
Correspondence toJoseph N. Boyer.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Boyer, J.N., Fourqurean, J.W. & Jones, R.D. Seasonal and long-term trends in the water quality of Florida Bay (1989–1997).Estuaries 22, 417–430 (1999). https://doi.org/10.2307/1353208
- Received: 01 August 1997
- Accepted: 10 November 1998
- Issue date: June 1999
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1353208