Bahia Blanca Estuary: A chemical oceanographic approach

MARCOVECCHIO, JORGE E.; OLIVA, ANA L; LA COLLA, NOELIA; ARIAS, ANDRÉS HUGO; BOTTE, SANDRA E; SIMONETTI, PIA; SERRA, ANALIA; NEGRIN, VANESA L.; RONDA, ANA C.; DOMINI, CLAUDIA

The Bahia Blanca Estuary

Springer

Año: 2021; p. 51 - 82

Aquatic environments are fully characterized by a set of parameters and chemicalprocesses that make up the natural scenario where organisms can properly develop(Odum 2014). The mentioned parameters include temperature, salinity, pH,dissolved oxygen, inorganic nutrients, organic matter, other dissolved gases, andphotosynthetic pigments, among others (Roy et al. 2011). In addition, theseparameters can show numerous processes that take place within the correspondingbiogeochemical cycles (i.e., seasonal variations, adsorption/desorption, alternativecirculation between water, sediments, organisms, and atmosphere driven byphysicochemical control) (Yakushev and Newton 2013). The interaction of theseparameters and processes determines the scenario where the whole biologicalprocesses will occur, also including population movements along the differentspatial gradients due to physiological problems (Hester and Harrison 2007).Moreover, the chemical scenario results in an essential framework to carry out thebiological production within the system, including the most transcendentalbiological processes for the environment such as photosynthesis and respiration(Yosim and Fry 2015), and the consequent transference of energy to higher trophiclevels (Xu et al. 2011). Finally, it is important to remark that this chemical scenariofully and continuously interact with other components within the environment (i.e.,hydrological, geomorphological, or climatic systems) to allow the development ofbiodiversity over time (Grimm et al. 2013).Two sets of chemical and/or physicochemical parameters could be mentioned tobuild up the abovementioned scenario: (i) structural parameters and (ii) ecophysiological parameters (Marcovecchio and Freije 2013). The frst group providesthe conditions under which biological processes develop at the stage considered andincludes parameters such as temperature, salinity, and pH/alkalinity, among others.Meanwhile, the second group indicates the production capacity of the system understudy and includes inorganic nutrients, photosynthetic pigments, and organic matter,among others. The integration of both groups provides an image of the health of theecosystem as well as the functioning of its biological components (Balvaneraet al. 2006).