Contribution of microbial activities and stocks to the C and P biogeochemical cycles in a frontal zone of the Southern Adriatic Sea (Gulf of Manfredonia).

The study was performed ffrom 15 to 27 May 2003 in the Gulf of Manfredonia during the SAMCA 3 cruise (System Approach to Mediterranean Coastal Areas) wihin the Cluster-SAM program. A total of 51 samples were collected from 16 stations along 4 transects. In this report, we focused on physical, chemical and microbiological analyses (primary production, net bacterial production, bacterial stock and ectoenzymatic activities related to Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorus cycles) carried on 35 samples collected along a coastal-offshore transect. Multivariate statistical analysis was applied to four water masses (inner, outer, transitional and deeper group). Different relationships were observed between bacterial and environmental parameters in the water masses, suggesting the occurrence within them of some variations in biogeochemical cycles.