James E. Cloern 1982 <p>South San Francisco Bay, USA, is a shallow coastal embayment that receives large inputs of nutrients (N. P, Si) and small local inputs of freshwater. Phytoplankton dynamics are typically characterized by a spring bloom when surface chlorophyll a increases from &lt; 5 to &gt; 40 mg m^-3. The bloom persists for 2 to 4 wk, and then dissipates. Phytoplankton biomass remains low (chlorophyll a &lt; 5 mg m^-3) from May through December, although light and nutrient availability are sufficient to sustain growth rates of 1 to 1.5 divisions d^-1 in the expansive shallows. Transport processes apparently exert a small influence on phytoplankton biomass, and calculated zooplankton grazing accounts for only a small reduction in net rate of phytoplankton population growth in the shallows. However, suspension-feeding bivalves are sufficiently abundant to filter a volume equivalent to the volume of South Bay at least once daily. These observations suggest that grazing by benthos is the primary mechanism controlling phytoplankton biomass during summer and fall.</p> application/pdf en Inter-Research Does the benthos control phytoplankton biomass in South San Francisco Bay? article