This thesis has as a goal to (1) study aspects of the eutrophication of the northern
Adriatic Sea with the particular aim of (2) testing a hypothesis that suggests large phytoplankton cell size to be indicative of areas which are subjects to intermittenly high nutrient concentration and input.
Because the thesis deals with aspects of marine eutrophication in the northern Adriatic Sea, I have assigned chapter 1 for purposes of clarifying, in more general terms, for the reader
• What is actually meant by marine eutrophication?
• Does an operational definition of marine eutrophication exist?
• Under which conditions does marine eutrophication develop?
• How can coastal marine eutrophication be identified and measured?
To understand the background for the rationale of the second aim of this thesis, readers unfamiliar with this topic may need some introduction to
• What are the empirical evidences of identifying a pattern in nutrient delivery with phytoplankton cell size?
• How did the hypothesis of relating phytoplankton cell size to eutrophication
develop?
• In what way may the size structrue of the phytoplankton community relate to
eutrophication?
Chapter 2 has been assigned for this purpose.
Chapter 3 describes the material and methods used in the thesis.
Chapter 4 shows the results of a recent 20 months sampling programme which had the aim of studying patterns in the way phytoplankton biomass and production are distributed in relation to the physio-chemical properties of different parts of the northern Adriatic Sea.
Chapter 5 shows the results from the test of a hypothesis which predicts that
The development of a larger celled phytoplankton community occurs primarily in
regions of intermittently high nutrient concentration and input also based on recent data collected in the northern Adriatic Sea.