Research papersWill nutrient and light limitation prevent eutrophication in an anthropogenically-impacted coastal lagoon?

- The Ria Formosa has been classified as “poor” regarding eutrophication.
- Light limitation was observed in the winter for specific functional groups.
- Significant nutrient consumptions were not accompanied by algal growth.
- Only diatoms were clearly nitrogen limited in the spring.
- The lagoon is sensitive to eutrophication but high tidal flushing prevents it.

The Ria Formosa coastal lagoon (southern Portugal) is a highly productive and valuable temperate ecosystem, subjected to strong anthropogenic impacts and highly vulnerable to climate change. The main goal of this work is to understand ecosystem susceptibility to eutrophication, by evaluating the isolated and combined effects of nutrient (N, P and Si) and light enrichments on phytoplankton growth and community composition during autumn, winter and spring. Microcosms of natural phytoplankton collected in the lagoon were subjected to different nutrient and light treatments and incubated in situ for 48 h. Nutrient consumption, and phytoplankton growth and community structure were evaluated using spectrophotometric methods, and inverted and epifluorescence microscopy. Diatoms were the only group potentially limited by nitrogen, and only during spring. Increased nutrient consumptions were observed for all nutrient additions in all seasons, not associated with phytoplankton growth, suggesting that luxury consumption was used to build up intracellular nutrient pools. Responses to light enrichment were inconsistent among phytoplankton groups, probably due to a high taxonomic seasonal variability. Positive responses to light enrichment were mostly observed during winter. Negative synergistic interactions between nutrients and light were also observed. We conclude that eutrophication is currently not a problem in the Ria Formosa coastal lagoon, but future nutrient enrichments may lead to accelerated growth of specific functional groups and species, if light is not limiting.