Assessment of chitin variation in seston of a temperate estuary (Bahía Blanca, Argentina)

BIANCALANA FLORENCIA; FERNÁNDEZ SEVERINI MELISA DAIANA; VILLAGRAN DIANA MARIEL; BERASATEGUI ANABELLA ANAHI; TARTARA MATIAS NICOLAS; SPETTER CARLA VANESA; GUINDER VALERIA ANA; MARCOVECCHIO, JORGE EDUARDO; LARA RUBEN J.

Environmental Earth Sciences

Springer

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2018 vol. 2019 p. 1 - 14

1866-6280

Chitin was quantified in seston samples to determine its seasonal and spatial distribution in the estuary of Bahia Blanca.Sampling was conducted at three sites: Puerto Cuatreros, Maldonado, and Canal Vieja in autumn, winter, spring, and summer(2012?2013). Chitin concentrations were 3.79 ± 0.75 and 0.61 ± 0.36 chitin mg L−1 in autumn and winter, respectively. Theproportion of chitin in the suspended particular matter (SPM) reached a maximum of 4% in autumn. There were statisticaldifferences in chitin between seasons but not between sampling points. The particulate organic carbon (POC) ranged from337.25 ± 30.52 μM in winter to 54.93 ± 26.10 μM in summer. The SPM varied from a maximum of 1172.17 ± 17.53 mg L−1in spring to a minimum 71.42 ± 5.59 mg L−1 in autumn. In both cases, statistical differences were found between seasonsbut not between sampling points. The results indicated that the concentration of chitin as well as SPM and POC had a strongseasonal trend. The principal component analysis and the canonical analysis on the principal coordinates of environmentalvariables also highlighted the seasonal variation. The micro-detritus and planktonic organisms (fungi, diatoms, and copepods)in SPM and POC represent a chitinaceous substrate with a great importance for the study of the incorporation of compoundsof nitrogen and carbon to the Bahía Blanca system.