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Effect of sewage nutrients on algal production, biomass and species composition in tropical tidal creeks

Created 07/03/2026

Updated 07/03/2026

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Microalgal blooms are one of the most visible responses to anthropogenic nutrient loadings in coastal ecosystems. However, differentiating sources of nutrients causing blooms remains a challenge. The response of phytoplankton and benthic microalgae (BMA) to nutrient loads was compared across tidal creeks with and without secondary treated sewage in a tropical estuary. Concentrations of the sewage marker, coprostanol, were higher near sewage discharge points and decreased downstream. This was commensurate with a decline in nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations suggesting that sewage was the main source of nitrogen and phosphorus. Primary productivity in the water column was limited by nitrogen availability in absence of sewage, with nitrogen saturation in the presence of sewage. Phytoplankton primary productivity rates and chlorophyll a concentrations increased in response to sewage, and there was a greater response than for BMA. There was no evidence of a change in algal pigment proportions within the phytoplankton or BMA communities. This study highlights the scale and type of response of algal communities to sewage nutrients in situ.

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Field Value
Title Effect of sewage nutrients on algal production, biomass and species composition in tropical tidal creeks
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/en/dataset/1ce101f4-b6d8-40ce-81da-4067cc793e95
Contact Point
Geoscience Australia Data
clientservices@ga.gov.au
Reference Period 22/04/2018
Geospatial Coverage
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
{
  "coordinates": [
    [
      [
        130.5,
        -13.0
      ],
      [
        132.0,
        -13.0
      ],
      [
        132.0,
        -12.0
      ],
      [
        130.5,
        -12.0
      ],
      [
        130.5,
        -13.0
      ]
    ]
  ],
  "type": "Polygon"
}
Data Portal Geoscience Australia

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Geoscience Australia "Effect of sewage nutrients on algal production, biomass and species composition in tropical tidal creeks". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/effect-of-sewage-nutrients-on-algal-production-biomass-and-species-composition-in-tropical-tida7