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Short‐Term Thermal Effects of a Power‐Generating Plant on Zooplankton in the Swartkops Estuary, South Africa
Author(s) -
Perissinotto R.,
Wooldridge T.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
marine ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.668
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1439-0485
pISSN - 0173-9565
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0485.1989.tb00473.x
Subject(s) - zooplankton , plankton , estuary , oceanography , environmental science , phytoplankton , temperate climate , thermal pollution , abundance (ecology) , ecology , geology , biology , environmental engineering , nutrient
. The short‐term effect of elevated water temperatures (Δ t = 5–10°C after passing through the cooling circuit of an electricity generating plant) on plankton in a warm temperate estuary. South Africa, was investigated. Phytoplankton entrained on the flood tide was more severely affected than that entrained on the ebb, but chlorination of cooling water was probably a major factor affecting phytoplankton assemblages. Abundance of zooplankton of marine origin was significantly reduced after passing through the cooling circuit. The effect of thermal stress on the curyhalinc zooplankton was not clear, as the origin of the water canal to the generators is located at the extreme seaward limit of spatial distribution of cstuarinc plankton at low tide. Estuarinc species of zooplankton were therefore infrequently sampled and in low numbers only. Other factors which increase mortality are discussed.