Periphyton Biomass Accumulation from the Shark River Slough, Everglades National Park, from January 2003 to November 2004

Periphyton biomass was measured bimonthly at FCE LTER sites in Shark Slough. Fifteen 9.8 cm2 cores were removed from the floating periphyton mat and composited into a single sample. Percent aerial cover of floating periphyton was estimated visually in the field. Data are presented in terms of grams dry and ash-free dry mass per area. Total phosphorus, nitrogen and carbon concentration in the periphyton mat is also presented on a dry weight basis. This is part of a continuous data collection to test the hypothesis that phosphorus and nitrogen limit productivity at the upstream and downstream ends, respectively, of the FCE transects. Conclusions await longer-term data collection.