Aspects of phytoplankton community structure (e.g., taxonomic composition, biomass) and function (e.g., light adaptation, net oxygen production, exudation) can be inferred with a binning method that uses water transparency (Secchi depth), dissolved inorganic nitrogen, and ortho-phosphate to classify phytoplankton habitat conditions in the surface mixed layer. The method creates six habitat categories, forming a disturbance scale from turbid, nutrient-enriched waters (“degraded”) to clear waters with bloom-limiting nutrient concentrations (“reference”). Across this disturbance scale, estuarine phytoplankton exhibit strong differences in chlorophyll a, count-based biomass, trophic mode, average cell size, photopigment cell content, taxonomic dominance, and the frequency of algal blooms. Differences in ambient dissolved oxygen and dissolved organic carbon are also observed. Two alternate states are apparent, separated primarily by water transparency, or clarity. Water transparency determines cellular light-adaptation and the potential for photosynthesis and growth; nutrient concentrations determine how much of that potential can be realized if and when light becomes available. In Chesapeake Bay, Secchi depth thresholds separating the two states are 0.7–0.9 m in shallow, well-mixed, low salinity waters and 1.2–2.1 m in deeper, stratified, higher salinity waters. The water quality binning method offers a conceptual framework that can be used to infer the overall state of a phytoplankton population more accurately than chlorophyll a alone.

中文翻译：

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一种推断浮游植物群落结构和功能的水质分类方法

浮游植物群落结构（例如，生物分类组成，生物量）和功能（例如，光适应，净氧气产生，渗出）的方面可以通过一种分箱方法来推断，该分箱方法使用水的透明度（Secchi深度），溶解的无机氮和邻位磷酸盐可对表面混合层中浮游植物的生境条件进行分类。该方法创建了六个栖息地类别，形成了从浑浊，营养丰富的水（“降级”）到具有限制开花的营养物浓度的清澈水（“参考”）的干扰标度。在此扰动范围内，河口浮游植物的叶绿素a差异很大。，基于计数的生物量，营养模式，平均细胞大小，光色素细胞含量，生物分类优势和藻华发生频率。还观察到周围溶解氧和溶解有机碳的差异。两种交替状态是明显的，主要由水的透明度或透明度分开。水的透明性决定了细胞的光适应性以及光合作用和生长的潜力。营养成分的浓度决定了在有光时以及何时有光时可以实现多少潜力。在切萨皮克湾，分隔这两个州的塞奇深度阈值在浅度，高度混合的低盐度水域中为0.7–0.9 m，而在较深，分层，高盐度水域中为1.2–2.1 m。一个人。