Distributions of particulate and dissolved phosphorus in aquatic habitats of Peninsular Malaysia

Joon Hai Lim; Choon Weng Lee; Chui Wei Bong; Yang Amri Affendi; Yii Siang Hii; Isao Kudo

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.01.037

Distributions of particulate and dissolved phosphorus in aquatic habitats of Peninsular Malaysia

Mar Pollut Bull. 2018 Mar:128:415-427. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.01.037. Epub 2018 Feb 6.

Authors

Joon Hai Lim¹, Choon Weng Lee², Chui Wei Bong³, Yang Amri Affendi⁴, Yii Siang Hii⁵, Isao Kudo⁶

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Microbial Ecology, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Institute of Graduate Studies, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
² Laboratory of Microbial Ecology, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Electronic address: lee@um.edu.my.
³ Laboratory of Microbial Ecology, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
⁴ Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
⁵ School of Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences, University Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia.
⁶ Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.

PMID: 29571392
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.01.037

Abstract

Particulate phosphorus was the dominant phosphorus species and accounted for 72 ± 5% of total phosphorus in coastal habitats, 63 ± 4% in estuaries, 58 ± 6% in lakes and 80 ± 7% in aquaculture farms whereas dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) and dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) were minor components. Correlation analyses (DIP vs Chl a; R² = 0.407, df = 31, p < 0.001) suggested phosphorus limiting conditions in lakes, which was corroborated with the highest alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) that fluctuated from 0.38 to 41.14 nmol L^-1 min^-1. In contrast, APA was elevated in coastal habitats and estuaries only when DIP concentration decreased below 0.9 μM. Moreover size-fractionation experiment showed that the highest APA was detected in the 0.2-2 μm pico-size fraction. Our results suggested that the main APA in coastal habitats and estuaries was from phototrophic pico-eukaryotes and heterotrophic bacteria, and regulated largely by DIP availability.

Keywords: Alkaline phosphatase activity; Dissolved inorganic phosphorus; Dissolved organic phosphorus; Particulate phosphorus; Tropical waters.

MeSH terms

Alkaline Phosphatase / analysis
Aquaculture
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring / methods*
Estuaries*
Lakes / chemistry*
Malaysia
Phosphorus / analysis*
Salinity
Seawater / chemistry*
Solubility
Temperature

Substances

Phosphorus
Alkaline Phosphatase