Assessment of carbon- and fluorescence-based primary productivity in Ariake Bay, southwestern Japan

A comparative account of primary productivity (PP), in the characteristically turbid and highly dynamic waters of Ariake Bay, measured by 13C uptake and fast repetition rate fluorometer (FRRF) was conducted to ensure compatibility between the two methods. Estimates from both methods depicted strong linearity for both short-term (r2 > 0.90) and daily (r2 = 0.42–0.93) measurements, except in the near-surface (∼0 m) layer. 13C-based short-term (1 h; in situ) PP estimates showed similar magnitudes and trend with the instantaneous PP measured by FRRF concurrently. Whereas, unlike short-term measurements, the daily PP estimates from both methods showed large difference, with FRRF-based time integrated daily PP resulting in 1.09–1.82 times higher than the carbon-based daily (24 h; simulated in situ) PP. This difference between daily PP estimates was mainly due to: (1) the temporal variation of water column chlorophyll a (Chl a) because of frequent moving of water mass, and (2) the dissimilarity in ambient light field conditions between the two methods. Results revealed that considering the above two environmental factors invariable over a daylength, fairly close approximation of daily PP, compared to 13C-based daily PP, could be obtained from FRRF. Hence, FRRF-based daily PP can be considered as more realistic in this highly dynamic water body like Ariake Bay where water column parameters are subjected to strong temporal variation. The relationship between Chl a-specific photosynthetic rate (PB) and the corresponding photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) in the water column (PAR–PB relationship) was found to be linear for FRRF and curvilinear for 13C-based measurements in the near-surface layer, for the same intensities of incident PAR, and this is thought to be the primary basis for the higher difference in PP estimates at the near-surface layer. Considering the minor variations in FRRF-based time series of PAR–PB relationships, a combined and/or instantaneous PAR–PB relationship in combination with incubation Chl a and light field condition was used to obtain fairly close estimates of daily water column integrated PP from FRRF.