Aquatic metabolism is an important descriptor of ecosystem functioning. The metabolism of ponds and confined coastal lagoons has been poorly studied in comparison to other aquatic systems, in which the metabolic dynamics are better understood. In this study, we described the ecosystem metabolism of two confined Mediterranean coastal lagoons located in La Pletera salt marsh (NE Iberian Peninsula), which is dominated by flooding-confinement patterns. We estimated the metabolic rates by applying Bayesian models to three years of high-frequency open water oxygen data. Our aim was to test if nutrients and other environmental variables (the temperature, conductivity, light and water level) that registered as important drivers of metabolism in the literature were the primary drivers of metabolic variation in confined coastal water bodies. We observed clear seasonal patterns in the metabolic rates, with extremely high oxygen variability during the summer season ranging from supersaturation (saturations > 200% were recorded) to anoxia (<5%). Despite the high rates of production registered during the summer, periods of anoxia could prevail for several days during that season. Thus, although the aerobic production and respiration were quite balanced in the lagoons during the study period, these lagoons are probably more heterotrophic since their anaerobic respiration has not been estimated. Because the studied lagoons are rich in nutrients, we expected a low response in the metabolic rates to nutrient increases, since the physiological response of primary producers to nutrient loading is usually low in nutrient-saturated ecosystems; our results supported this hypothesis. The temperature was the primary driver, highlighting the importance of seasonality in these highly productive ecosystems. Our results also showed an uncoupling between the metabolic rates, which were higher in the summer, and the standardized ones, after removing the temperature and irradiance effects, which were higher in the winter and negatively related to the conductivity. This finding suggests that potential productivity (standardized rates) is more sensitive to winter inputs and, in contrast, the actual productivity is more related to summer concentration processes due to confinement.

水生代谢是生态系统功能的重要指标。与其他水生系统相比，对池塘和狭窄的沿海泻湖的代谢研究较差，而在其他水生系统中，对代谢动力学的了解更好。在这项研究中，我们描述了位于拉普莱特拉盐沼（东北伊比利亚半岛）的两个密闭的地中海沿海泻湖的生态系统代谢，该泻湖以洪水限制模式为主。我们通过将贝叶斯模型应用于三年的高频露天水氧数据来估算代谢率。我们的目的是检验在文献中记录为新陈代谢的重要驱动因素的营养素和其他环境变量（温度，电导率，光照和水位）是否是受限沿海水体中新陈代谢变化的主要驱动因素。我们观察到明显的季节性代谢模式，在夏季，氧气的波动性极高，范围从过饱和（记录到饱和度> 200％）到缺氧（<5％）。尽管夏季录得高产，但缺氧时期可能在该季节持续数天。因此，尽管在研究期间泻湖的好氧生产和呼吸非常平衡，但是由于尚未估计其厌氧呼吸，这些泻湖可能更具异养性。由于所研究的泻湖富含营养物，因此我们预期代谢速率对营养物增加的响应较低，因为在营养饱和的生态系统中初级生产者对营养物负荷的生理响应通常较低；我们的结果支持了这一假设。温度是主要驱动因素，突显了在这些高产生态系统中季节性的重要性。我们的结果还显示，去除温度和辐照度影响后，夏季的代谢率与夏季的较高，与冬季的较高，这与电导率呈负相关。这一发现表明，潜在的生产力（标准化比率）对冬季的投入更为敏感，相反，由于局限性，实际的生产力与夏季的集中过程更为相关。去除温度和辐照度后，温度和辐照度在冬季较高，并与电导率成负相关。这一发现表明，潜在的生产力（标准化比率）对冬季的投入更为敏感，相反，由于局限性，实际的生产力与夏季的集中过程更为相关。去除温度和辐照度后，温度和辐照度在冬季较高，并与电导率成负相关。这一发现表明，潜在的生产力（标准化比率）对冬季的投入更为敏感，相反，由于局限性，实际的生产力与夏季的集中过程更为相关。