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ATP in Lake Kinneret: Indicator of microbial biomass or of phosphorus deficiency? 1
Author(s) -
Cavari Benzion
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1976.21.2.0231
Subject(s) - hypolimnion , bloom , phosphorus , biomass (ecology) , phytoplankton , zooplankton , nutrient , eutrophication , biology , oceanography , environmental chemistry , ecology , environmental science , chemistry , geology , organic chemistry
The C : ATP ratio in Lake Kinneret water fluctuates from 200 : 1 to 5,000 : 1. The most dramatic variations of the ratio were observed during the bloom of Peridinium in the lake (February to May). Moreover, the ratio showed large changes with depth: it is maximal in the upper 2 m and declines rapidly below this layer. During the rest of the year, the ratio approaches the common value of 250 : 1. Complementary experiments on P‐starved Peridinium cells suggest that the high in situ values of the ratio during the bloom are related to low amounts of phosphorus available in the lake. However, these high values do not signal the end of the Peridinium bloom which, in the cycle observed, persisted 3 months after the highest measured value of the ratio. The data raise the possibility of using ATP determination as an indication of nutrient limitation in the natural aquatic environment. In addition, they confirm that ATP determination can serve as an assay for bacterial biomass determination in the hypolimnion where almost no phytoplankton or zooplankton exist.