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Updated: Apr 12, 2026

A Low-Cost Method of Measuring the In Situ Primary Productivity of Periphyton Communities of Lentic Waters
Published on: December 16, 2022
Stable isotope variations in benthic primary producers along the Bosphorus (Turkey): A preliminary study
Edoardo Calizza1, Yelda Aktan2, Maria Letizia Costantini1
1Laboratory of Trophic Ecology, Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, via dei Sardi 70, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Abstract:
The Bosphorus Strait is a dynamic and complex system. Recent evidences showed nitrogen and heavy metal concentrations to follow opposite patterns across the Strait, suggesting a complex spatial organisation of the anthropogenic disturbance in this system. Here, we provide isotopic information on the origin and transportation of dissolved nitrogen along the Bosphorus. C and N isotopic and elemental analyses were performed on specimens of Ulva lactuca and associated epiphytes sampled in five locations across the Strait. Variations in C and N isotopic signatures were observed in U. lactuca, pointing to a decrease in the availability of anthropogenic organic dissolved nitrogen along a north-south direction. Conversely, epiphytes did not show isotopic or elemental patterns across the Strait. These results suggest that preliminary stable isotope surveys in extended costal systems basing on U. lactuca can represent a valuable tool to focus meaningful targets and hypotheses for pollution studies in the Mediterranean region.
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