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COMPARISON OF IN SITU PHOTOSYNTHETIC ACTIVITY OF EPIPHYTIC, EPIPELIC AND PLANKTONIC ALGAL COMMUNITIES IN AN OLIGOTROPHIC LAKE, SOUTHERN FINLAND 1
Author(s) -
Kairesalo Timo
Publication year - 1980
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.1529-8817.1980.tb02999.x
Subject(s) - phytoplankton , epiphyte , biology , productivity , algae , irradiance , plankton , photosynthesis , botany , littoral zone , diatom , biomass (ecology) , ecology , nutrient , physics , quantum mechanics , economics , macroeconomics
The photosynthetic activity of different algal communities at the outer edge of an Equisetum fluviatile L. stand in an oligotrophic lake (Pääjärvi, in southern Finland) was investigated. Production by the algal communities was measured simultaneously using a modified 14 C‐method, and the results were related to the volume of algae and the available irradiance. The relative production rate (P/B quotient) of phytoplankton was ca. 3 × that of epiphyton and ca. 20 × that of epipelon. Epiphyton productivity remained almost constant although the algal volume varied greatly, suggesting that the surface layer of the algal community was mainly responsible for the photosynthetic activity. In the littoral area (at 1 m depth) primary production/m 2 of lake surface by phytoplankton, epiphyton and epipelon was similar but in the littoriprofundal area (2–4 m) phytoplankton production was twice that of epipelon. Primary productivity of epiphyton and epipelon/m 2 of substratum was about equal to phytoplankton productivity/m 3 of water at the same irradiance. This relation provided a means of estimating the relative contributions of the different algal communities to the total algal production in the lake.