Abstract
The seasonal variations of limnological (water temperature, light availability, turbidity, and chlorophyll a concentration) parameters were recorded continuously from January 2004 to February 2005 at two freshwater lakes: Oyako-ike and Hotoke-ike, Sôya Coast, East Antarctica. Water was in a liquid phase throughout the year, with temperatures ranging from 0 to 10°C. The maximum photosynthetically active radiation in Lake Oyako-ike was 23.16 mol m−2 day−1 (at 3.8 m) and Hotoke-ike was 53.01 mol m−2 day−1 (at 2.2 m) in summer, and chlorophyll a concentration ranged from ca. 0.5 to 2.5 μg L−1 (Oyako-ike) and from ca. 0.1 to 0.8 μg L−1 (Hotoke-ike) during the study period. Increase in chlorophyll a fluorescence occurred under dim-light conditions when the lakes were covered with ice in spring and autumn, but the signals were minimum in ice-free summer in both the lakes. During spring and summer, as a result of decreasing snow cover, the chlorophyll a concentration similarly decreased when PAR was relatively high, following periods of heavy winds. The autumnal and spring increase occurred under different PAR levels (ca. 20-fold and 90-fold stronger, respectively, in autumn in both the lakes). Differences in the autumn and spring increases suggest that the spring algal community is more shade-adapted than the autumn algal community. Antarctic phytoplankton appears especially adapted to low-light levels and inhibited by strong light regimes.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bayliss P, Ellis-Evans JC, Laybourn-Parry J (1997) Temporal patterns of primary production in a large ultra-oligotrophic Antarctic freshwater lake. Polar Biol 18:363–370
Bell EM, Laybourn-Parry J (1999) Annual plankton dynamics in an Antarctic saline lake. Freshw Biol 41:507–519
Butler HG (1999) Seasonal dynamics of the planktonic microbial community in a maritime Antarctic lake undergoing eutrophication. J Plankton Res 21:2393–2419
Butler HG, Edworthy MG, Ellis-Evans JC (2000) Temporal plankton dynamics in an oligotrophic maritime Antarctic lake. Freshw Biol 43:215–230
Campbell JW, Aarup T (1989) Photosynthetically available radiation at high latitudes. Limnol Oceanogr 34:1490–1499
Ellis-Evans JC (1996) Microbial diversity and function in Antarctic freshwater ecosystems. Biodivers Conserv 5:1395–1431
Falkowski PG, Raven JA (2007) Aquatic photosynthesis, 2nd edn. Princeton Univ Press, Princeton
Fritsen CH, Priscu JC (1999) Seasonal change in the optical properties of the permanent ice cover on Lake Bonney, Antarctica: consequences for lake productivity and phytoplankton dynamics. Limnol Oceanogr 44:447–454
Heath CW (1988) Annual primary productivity of an Antarctic continental lake: phytoplankton and benthic algal mat production strategies. Hydrobiologia 165:77–87
Henshaw T, Laybourn-Parry J (2002) The annual patterns of photosynthesis in two large, freshwater, ultra-oligotrophic Antarctic lakes. Polar Biol 25:744–752
Hodgson DA, Noon PE, Vyverman W et al (2001) Were the Larsemann Hills ice-free through the last glacial maximum? Antarctic Sci 13:440–454
Hodson DA, Vyverman W, Verleyen E, Sabbe K, Leavitt PR, Taton A, Squier AH, Keely BJ (2004) Environmental factors influencing the pigment composition of in situ benthic microbial communities in east Antarctic lakes. Aquat Microb Ecol 37:247–263
Howard-Williams C, Schwarz A-M, Hawes I, Priscu JC (1998) Optical properties of the McMurdo Dry Valley Lakes, Antarctica. In: Priscu JC (ed) Ecosystem dynamics in a polar desert. The McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Antarctic Research Series 72. American Geophysical Union, Washington, pp 189–204
Imura S, Bando T, Seto K, Ohtani S, Kudoh S, Kanda H (2003) Distribution of aquatic mosses in the Sôya Coast region, East Antarctica. Polar Biosci 16:1–10
Kreeb K (1974) Ökophysiologie der Pflanzen. Fischer, Jena
Kudoh S, Tsuchiya Y, Ayukawa E, Imura S, Kanda H (2003a) Ecological studies of aquatic moss pillars in Antarctic lakes 1. Macro structure and carbon, nitrogen and chlorophyll a contents. Polar Biosci 16:11–22
Kudoh S, Watanabe K, Imura S (2003b) Ecological studies of aquatic moss pillars in Antarctic lakes 2. Temperature and light environment at the moss habitat. Polar Biosci 16:23–32
Kudoh S, Kashino Y, Imura S (2003c) Ecological studies of aquatic moss pillars in Antarctic lakes 3. Light response and chilling and heat sensitivity of photosynthesis. Polar Biosci 16:33–42
Lalli CM, Parsons TR (1993) Biological oceanography. Elsevier, Oxford
Larcher W (2001) Ökophysiologie der Pflanzen. 6th edn. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart
Laybourn-Parry J, Bayliss P (1996) Seasonal dynamics of the planktonic community in Lake Druzhby, Princess Elizabeth Land, Eastern Antarctica. Freshw Biol 35:57–67
Levitt J (1980a) Responses of plants to environmental stresses, I. Chilling, freezing and high temperature stresses. 2nd edn. Academic, New York
Levitt J (1980b) Responses of plants to environmental stresses, II. Water, radiation, salt, and other stresses. 2nd edn. Academic, New York
Lizotte MP, Priscu JC (1992) Photosynthesis-irradiance relationships in phytoplankton from the physically stable water column of a perennially ice-covered lake (Lake Bonney, Antarctica). J Phycol 28:179–185
Lizotte MP, Sharp TR, Priscu JC (1996) Photosynthesis dynamics in the stratified water column of Lake Bonney, Antarctica. Polar Biol 16:155–162
Matsumoto GI, Komori K, Enomoto A, Imura S, Takemura T, Ohyama Y, Kanda H (2006) Environmental changes in Syowa Station area of Antarctica during the last 2,300 years inferred from organic components in lake sediment cores. Polar Biosci 19:51–62
Miura H, Maemoku H, Igarashi A, Moriwaki K (1998) Late quaternary raised beach deposits and radiocarbon dates of marine fossils around Lützow-Holm Bay, with explanatory text, Special map series of National Institute of Polar Research No. 6, Tokyo, 46p
Moran R, Porath D (1980) Chlorophyll determination in intact tissues using N,N-dimethylformamide. Plant Physiol 65:478–479
Morgan-Kiss RM, Priscu JC, Pocock T, Gudynaite-Savitch L, Huncr NPA (2006) Adaptation and Acclimation of photosynthetic microorganisms to permanently cold environments. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 70:222–252
Ohyama Y, Morimoto K, Mochida Y (1990) Seasonal changes of water temperature and chlorophyll concentration in Lake Ô-Ike. Proc NIPR Symp Polar Biol 3:201–206
Ohyama Y, Morimoto K, Mochida Y (1992) Seasonal changes of nutrient concentration in Lake Ô-Ike near Syowa Station, Antarctica. Proc NIPR Symp Polar Biol 5:146–150
Palethorpe B, Hayes-Gill B, Crowe J, Sumner M, Crout N, Foster M, Reid T, Benford S, Greenhalgh C, Laybourn-Parry J (2004) Real-time physical data acquisition through a remote sensing platform on a polar lake. Limnol Oceanogr Methods 2:191–201
Sabbe K, Hodgson DA, Verleyen E, Taton A, Wilmotte A, Vanhoutte K, Vyverman W (2004) Salinity, depth and the structure and composition of microbial mats in continental Antarctic lakes. Freshw Biol 49:296–319
Tang EPY, Tremblay R, Vincent WF (1997) Cyanobacterial dominance of polar freshwater ecosystems: are high-latitude mat-formers adapted to low temperature? J Phycol 33:171–181
Verleyen E, Hodgson DA, Vyverman W, Roberts D, McMinn A, Vanhoutte K, Sabbe K (2003) Modelling diatom responses to climate induced fluctuations in the moisture balance in continental Antarctic lakes. J Paleolimnol 30:195–215
Verleyen E, Hodgson DA, Sabbe K, Vanhoutte K, Vyverman W (2004) Coastal oceanographic conditions in the Prydz Bay region (East Antarctica) during the Holocene recorded in an isolation basin. Holocene 14:246–257
Vincent WF, Quesada A (1994) Ultraviolet radiation effects on cyanobacteria: implications for Antarctic microbial ecosystems. Antarct Res Ser 62:111–124
Vincent WF, Downes MT, Castenholz RW, Howard-Williams C (1993) Community structure and pigment organization of cyanobacteria-dominated microbial mats in Antarctica. Eur J Phycol 28:213–221
Vincent WF, Rae R, Laurion I, Howard-Williams C, Priscu JC (1998) Transparency of Antarctic ice-covered lakes to solar UV radiation. Limnol Oceanogr 43:618–624
Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge the members of the 45th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE), especially its leader Dr. H. Kanda, for their support in the field and other ways. We thank three anonymous reviewers for their constructive remarks.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tanabe, Y., Kudoh, S., Imura, S. et al. Phytoplankton blooms under dim and cold conditions in freshwater lakes of East Antarctica. Polar Biol 31, 199–208 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-007-0347-2
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-007-0347-2