Chitin determination on marine seston in a shallow temperate estuary (Argentina)

FLORENCIA BIANCALANA; GERMÁN A. KOPPRIO; SOFÍA DUTTO; ANABELA BERASATEGUI; ANNA FRICKE; JOHN E. GARZÓN CARDONA; PETERKE DIETER; RUBÉN J. LARA

BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF OCEANOGRAPHY

INST OCEANOGRAFICO

Lugar: São Paulo; Año: 2017 p. 146 - 154

1679-8759

Chitin is one of the most abundant biopolymers in the planet. Its recycling represents an important source of carbon and nitrogen in marine environments. Chitin was quantified in seston fractions in order to obtain the first characterization of this polymer in the Bahía Blanca Estuary. Sampling was conducted at two sites: a non- impacted tidal channel -Bahía del Medio (BM)- and a sewage discharge sector -Canal Vieja (CV)-, during winter and summer. The highest values of chitin were observed in the seston fraction 500 µm) did not exceed ~1% of total chitin. There were significant differences in chitin concentrations between groups formed by Multidimensional scaling method, due to the chitin content of the fraction