Subtropical Nutrient Cycling: Florida Bay

Like many other ecosystems, Florida Bay has experienced algal blooms and loss of seagrass habitat. There are a number of hypotheses regarding the cause of environmental change in this large lagoonal system, but no definitive answers. The planned increase of freshwater flow to Florida’s Everglades will be on of the nation’s largest restoration projects. HPL scientists are determining the influences of sea grasses and benthic microalgae on nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, the balance between benthic and water column production and respiration, the biological availability and cycling of organic and inorganic nitrogen, and the role of nitrogen fixation in nutrient cycling. Our work has included stable isotope and water column N cycling, sediment biogeochemical fluxes, dynamics of production of benthic microalgae, and biogeochemical studies of seagrass nutrient cycles.