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Silica Budgets and the Ecology of Planktonic Diatoms in an Unstratified Lake (Lough Neagh, N. Ireland)
Author(s) -
Gibson C. E.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
internationale revue der gesamten hydrobiologie und hydrographie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1522-2632
pISSN - 0020-9309
DOI - 10.1002/iroh.19810660502
Subject(s) - eutrophication , plankton , sediment , diatom , spring (device) , environmental science , phosphorus , oceanography , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental chemistry , ecology , geology , chemistry , nutrient , biology , geomorphology , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , engineering , mechanical engineering
River inputs of dissolved silica into a shallow eutrophic lake (Lough Neagh, N Ireland) are quantified. Exports of silica are high (3.6 to 9.6 tonnes dissolved SiO 2 km −2 y −1 ), but the spring concentration of dissolved silica in the lake depends on release of silica from the sediments. Two planktonic diatoms Melosira italica subarctica O. MÜLL, and Stephanodiscus astraea (EHR.) GRUN. dominate the spring flora. Their periodicity is described over ten years and their usage of silica and phosphorus is examined. Data are presented on the resuspension of cells from the sediment, the growth rates of the diatoms in the lake, the incidence of parasites and changes in the filament length of M. italica subarctica .