Premium
30 Seasonal control of phytoplankton biomass and productivity in coastal british columbia lakes and reservoirs
Author(s) -
Davies J. M.,
Nowlin W. H.,
Mazumder A.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of phycology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.85
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1529-8817
pISSN - 0022-3646
DOI - 10.1111/j.0022-3646.2003.03906001_30.x
Subject(s) - phytoplankton , biology , ecology , trophic level , biomass (ecology) , nutrient , productivity , chlorophyll a , trophic cascade , abundance (ecology) , algae , community structure , oceanography , environmental science , food web , botany , economics , macroeconomics , geology
Factors controlling algal abundance and carbon fixation form a cornerstone of aquatic ecology. Central among these are light, nutrients, and grazers. We measured 14C fixation over one year in six coastal BC lakes that differed in trophic status and grazer community structure. The lakes in our study were never covered with ice, so mixing due to wind energy was more similar to summer months and light levels were higher during winter than comparable ice‐covered lakes. Our study, therefore, offered a unique opportunity to examine how seasonal changes in light and temperature affects the functioning of these lakes. While many of our study lakes had higher chlorophyll concentrations during winter months, only the lake with a community dominated by small grazers maintained moderate nutrient deficiency throughout the year and increased 14C‐fixation during the winter (Jan–Feb).