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Eutrophication and Vegetation Development in Maritime Antarctic Lakes

  • Conference paper
Antarctic Ecosystems

Summary

Differences in water chemistry and in the composition, abundance and activity of benthic and planktonic plant communities were observed in freshwater lakes of different trophic status at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, maritime Antarctica. Phytoplankton density increased with increasing nutrient concentration. Picoplankton ( < 2 μm) contributed most chlorophyll–a and numbers to the phytoplankton in all lakes, but the nanoplankton fraction (2–20 μm) was disproportionally active in photosynthesis. Some algae only occurred in the eutrophic lakes, notably a large Chlamydomonas sp., while smaller flagellated chlorophytes, chrysophytes and cryptophytes predominated in the nanoplankton of oligotrophic lakes. Partitioning of photosynthate in protein, polysaccharide, lipid and metabolite fractions showed little difference between the lakes.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK

    I. Hawes

Authors
  1. I. Hawes
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of the Arts, Sport, the Environment, Tourism and Territories, Australian Antarctic Division, Channel Highway, Kingston, Tasmania, 7050, Australia

    K. R. Kerry

  2. Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Columbusstraße, 2850, Bremerhaven, Germany

    G. Hempel

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© 1990 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Hawes, I. (1990). Eutrophication and Vegetation Development in Maritime Antarctic Lakes. In: Kerry, K.R., Hempel, G. (eds) Antarctic Ecosystems. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-84074-6_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-84074-6_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-84076-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-84074-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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