Premium
Pelagic Diatom Populations in Lentic Freshwater Microcosms
Author(s) -
Harte John,
Levy Donald,
Rees John T.
Publication year - 1983
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.19830680212
Subject(s) - microcosm , diatom , pelagic zone , stratification (seeds) , lake ecosystem , ecology , limnology , diel vertical migration , biology , environmental science , thermal stratification , ecosystem , thermocline , seed dormancy , botany , germination , dormancy
Three experiments, involving simultaneous monitoring of selected biological and chemical parameters in 50 l laboratory microcosms and the epilimnia of their parent reservoirs, were carried out from the autumn of 1978 to the winter of 1980. Experiments lasted 8‐13 weeks, their aim being to ascertain degree of similarity between laboratory and field systems. Microcosm dynamics, specifically diatom dynamics, most closely paralleled that found in reservoirs during late spring and early summer, a time of thermal stratification. During winter months when thermal stratification was absent or less pronounced, microcosm diatom populations diverged significantly from reservoir populations within 24 days. It is inferred that microcosm design and operating conditions have a major bearing on microcosm usefulness for environmental assessment.