The Nitrogen Isotopic Composition of Biotic Components in Northern Biscayne Bay and Associated Waterways, South Florida USA
Creator(s):
Swart, Peter Koenraad K; ORCID:
0000-0002-6743-6162 Saied, Amel
Ahearn, Sean
Troxler, Tiffany
Gidley, Maribeth
Sinigalliano, Christopher
Karim, Aliza
Kelly, Elizabeth
Silverstein, Rachel
Abstract:
Over an approximate 12-month period, between June 2021 and June 2022, possible causes of water quality decline that may have contributed to occurrences of fish mortality in northern Biscayne Bay (South Florida, USA) were investigated by analyzing monthly collected samples of algae and benthic vegetation from 22 locations (Miami River, Little River, Biscayne Canal, Biscayne Bay, Virginia Key, and Snake Creek). A smaller number of additional water samples (70) were analyzed for the δ18O and δ15N values of the NO3-. Sediment samples were analyzed for the δ15N values of their organic material. The highest δ15N values were found in algae and plants collected from the Biscayne Canal, Little River, and Miami River sites, while lower values were measured at the central Biscayne Bay sites which are inland sites heavily influenced by land-based source of pollution such as stormwater, septic tanks, and industrial runoff. We propose that dissolved inorganic nitrogen, derived from septic tanks with elevated δ15N values, mixes with nitrogen derived from the natural environment as well that sourced from artificial fertilizers (both with lower δ15N values) to produce a pool of nitrogen with intermediate δ15N values. Mixing between natural sources of nitrogen or nitrogen arising from anthropogenic sources or other animal waste and nitrogen arising from contamination by fertilizer produces a positive association between NO3- concentration and δ15NNO3- values.
How to cite this dataset:
Swart, P. K. K., Saied, A., Ahearn, S., Troxler, T., Gidley, M., Sinigalliano, C., Karim, A., Kelly, E., Silverstein, R., 2025. The Nitrogen Isotopic Composition of Biotic Components in Northern Biscayne Bay and Associated Waterways, South Florida USA, Version 1.0. Interdisciplinary Earth Data Alliance (IEDA).
https://doi.org/10.60520/IEDA/113788. Accessed 2025-06-16.
DOI Creation Date:
2025-06-11
Related
Publication(s):
The Nitrogen Isotopic Composition of Biotic Components in Northern Biscayne Bay and Associated Waterways, South Florida USA (To be submitted)
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International [CC-BY-4.0]
Funding source(s):
EPA X7-02D01821-1
Keyword(s):
Coverage Scope: Regional (Continents, Oceans)
Geographic Location: Biscayne Bay, South Florida
User Contributed Keyword(s):
Nitrogen isotopes, nutrients, sewage, algae, stormwater, canals, Biscayne Bay
Bounding Coordinates:
North: 25.9 South: 25.3 East: -80.1 West: -80.3
Data Available On:
2025-12-01