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Type of suspended clay influences zooplankton response to phosphorus loading
Author(s) -
Cuker Benjamin E.,
Hudson Leon
Publication year - 1992
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.1992.37.3.0566
Subject(s) - zooplankton , copepod , biology , turbidity , phosphorus , crustacean , nitrate , ecology , zoology , branchiopoda , environmental chemistry , cladocera , chemistry , organic chemistry
The effects on zooplankton community structure of P loading and two different kinds of suspended sediments were tested in a small lake. Limnocorrals were used in a complete, triplicated, six‐treatment‐block design. Treatments were loading with P, kaolinitic clay ( K ), K+P, montmorillonitic clay ( M ), and M + P plus a control without additions. P fertilization caused blooms of blue‐green bacteria and resulted in reductions of the dominant copepod ( Diaptomus mississippiensis ) and cladocerans ( Diaphanosoma brachyurum, Bosmina longirostris, and Ceriodaphnia reticulata ), while causing a 5‐fold increase in rotifers (mostly Keratella cochlearis ). Zooplankton in the K and K+P treatments were similar to the control, but cladoceran species other than Diaphanosoma were reduced. M was more detrimental to zooplankton than K, causing a 10‐fold decrease for all crustaceans. We attribute this in part to lower algal densities in the M treatment. Simultaneous P loading mitigated the effects of M on Diaphanosoma, rotifers, and copepods and may involve a transfer loop in which dissolved organic C adsorbed on clay becomes available to filter‐feeding zooplankton. The effects of mineral turbidity apparently cascaded up the food chain, with both kinds of clays reducing densities of Chaoborus larvae.