Long-term declines in chlorophyll a and variable phenology revealed by a 60-year estuarine plankton time series.

ABSTRACT: Long-term ecological time series provide a unique perspective on the emergent properties of ecosystems. In aquatic systems, phytoplankton form the base of the food web and their biomass, measured as the concentration of the photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll a (chl a), is an indicator of ecosystem quality. We analyzed temporal trends in chl a from the Long-Term Plankton Time Series in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, USA, a temperate estuary experiencing long-term warming and changing anthropogenic nutrient inputs. Dynamic linear models were used to impute and model environmental variables (1959 to 2019) and chl a concentrations (1968 to 2019). A long-term chl a decrease was observed with an average decline in the cumulative annual chl a concentrati

SUBMITTER: Thibodeau PS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11127012 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature