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The Chlorophyll-a Response of Phytoplankton to Ratio N/P in Different Coastal Waters
 
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1
Departement of Oceanography, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Diponegoro University, Indonesia
 
2
Undergraduate Program of Oceanography, Diponegoro University, Indonesia
 
3
Departement of Aquaculture, FPIK, Diponegoro University, Jl. Prof. H. Sudarto. SH. Tembalang Semarang, 50275, Indonesia
 
 
Corresponding author
Gentur Handoyo   

Departement of Oceanography, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Diponegoro University, Indonesia
 
 
Ecol. Eng. Environ. Technol. 2023; 9:121-129
 
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ABSTRACT
Phytoplankton growth is influenced by the presence of nutrients N and P. Each region has a specific N/P ratio, due to the influence of anthropogenic inputs. This study aimed to assess the response of phytoplankton chlorophyll-a biomass due to differences in N/P ratio by the influence of river flow in the north coast of Java; Jobokuto Bay (Jepara), The coastal waters of Semarang and the front of the Cisadane river. N-nutrients were analyzed in the form of N-NO3 (nitrate) and N-NH4+ (ammonium ions), and orthophosphate ions (P-PO42-). Nutrient analysis was spectrometric, using the reduction methods (nitrate), ammonium (indophenol-blue), and phosphate (molybdenum-blue). Test for site differences using Kruskall-Wallis, followed by a posthoc test. The results showed that Semarang waters had a lower N/P (Stoichiometric) ratio than Jepara and Cisadane, which can be used to predict that P nutrient input is higher than N. This high P input impacts microalgal development (chlorophyll-a). In addition, we also found Semarang waters to have higher speciation of inorganic N in the form of ammonium, which is one of the drivers of eutrophication in these waters. The use of a ratio of N/P is very important in estimating the eutrophication process and can be used to estimate the dominance of nutrients entering the water due to anthropogenic activities in the upstream area.
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