Impact of nutrients and physical factors on the shift from cyanobacterial to chlorophyte dominance in shallow Danish lakes

Phytoplankton dominance (as biomass) by heterocystous cyanobacteria, nonheterocystous cyanobacteria, and chlorophytes was studied along a trophic gradient (0.011–2.2 mg P∙L−1) by analyzing regularly collected semiquantitative data from 178 shallow Danish lakes (mean depth  1 mg P∙L−1). In contrast with many earlier findings, heterocystous cyanobacteria were not dominant at low total N (TN):TP or low inorganic N concentrations; chlorophytes were dominant at extremely high pH, and the shift from cyanobacterial to chlorophyte dominance could not be explained by a change in the photic zone to mixing zone ratio. We suggest that chlorophyte dominance in hypertrophic shallow lakes is attributable to continuous input of nutrients and carbon from the sediment and exte...

[1]  Colin S. Reynolds,et al.  The ecology of freshwater phytoplankton , 1984 .

[2]  J. Shapiro,et al.  Current beliefs regarding dominance by blue-greens: The case for the importance of CO2 and pH , 1990 .

[3]  L. Pechar,et al.  Fish as a Factor Controlling Water Quality in Ponds , 1980 .

[4]  B. Moss,et al.  The Role of Predation in Causing Major Changes in the Limnology of a Hyper‐Eutrophic Lake , 1980 .

[5]  Erik Jeppesen,et al.  Fish manipulation as a lake restoration tool in shallow, eutrophic temperate lakes 1: cross-analysis of three Danish case-studies , 1990 .

[6]  N. Takamura,et al.  Phytoplankton species shift accompanied by transition from nitrogen dependence to phosphorus dependence of primary production in Lake Kasumigaura, Japan , 1992 .

[7]  R. Crawford,et al.  Growth and reproductive strategies of freshwater phytoplankton , 1989 .

[8]  J. P. Riley,et al.  A modified single solution method for the determination of phosphate in natural waters , 1962 .

[9]  J. Shapiro,et al.  Blue‐green Dominance in Lakes: The Role and Management Significance of pH and CO2 , 1984 .

[10]  V. Smith.  Predictive models for the biomass of blue-green algae in lakes , 1985 .

[11]  E. Willén,et al.  PREDICTING THE SUMMER PEAK BIOMASS OF FOUR SPECIES OF BLUE-GREEN ALGAE (CYANOPHYTA/CYANOBACTERIA) IN SWEDISH LAKES1 , 1987 .

[12]  S. Carpenter,et al.  Shifts in phytoplankton size structure and community composition during grazing by contrasting zooplankton assemblages , 1985 .

[13]  Fish manipulation as a lake restoration tool in shallow, eutrophic, temperate lakes 2: threshold levels, long-term stability and conclusions , 1990 .

[14]  C. Steinberg,et al.  Planktonic bloom-forming Cyanobacteria and the eutrophication of lakes and rivers , 1988 .

[15]  H. Utermöhl.  Zur Vervollkommnung der quantitativen Phytoplankton-Methodik , 1958 .

[16]  U. Sommer.  Comparison between steady state and non-steady state competition: experiments with natural phytoplankton , 1985 .

[17]  C. Gelin.  Primary production and chlorophyll a content of nanoplankton in a eutrophic lake , 1971 .

[18]  T. Christensen.  Algae : a taxonomic survey , 1980 .

[19]  Colin S. Reynolds,et al.  Cyanobacterial Water-Blooms , 1987 .

[20]  M. Vanni,et al.  Seasonal patterns of grazing and nutrient limitation of phytoplankton in a eutrophic lake , 1990 .

[21]  F. W. Gilcreas,et al.  Standard methods for the examination of water and waste water. , 1966, American journal of public health and the nation's health.

[22]  J. Talling,et al.  The depletion of carbon dioxide from lake water by phytoplankton , 1976 .

[23]  D. Lean,et al.  The role of macronutrients (C, N, P) in controlling cyanobacterial dominance in temperate lakes , 1987 .

[24]  H. Jensen,et al.  Importance of temperature, nitrate, and pH for phosphate release from aerobic sediments of four shallow, eutrophic lakes , 1992 .

[25]  R. Heim,et al.  Les algues vertes , 1966 .

[26]  J. Sharp,et al.  Determination of total dissolved nitrogen in natural waters1 , 1980 .

[27]  V. Smith,et al.  Low Nitrogen to Phosphorus Ratios Favor Dominance by Blue-Green Algae in Lake Phytoplankton , 1983, Science.

[28]  E. Prepas,et al.  Evaluation of Total Phosphorus as a Predictor of the Relative Biomass of Blue-green Algae with Emphasis on Alberta Lakes , 1987 .

[29]  David W. Hosmer,et al.  Applied Logistic Regression , 1991 .

[30]  Val H. Smith,et al.  Light and Nutrient Effects on the Relative Biomass of Blue-Green Algae in Lake Phytoplankton , 1986 .