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Phytoplankton and Periphyton Primary Production in Clear and Turbid Shallow Lakes: Influence of the Light Environment on the Interactions between these Communities

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Abstract

The ecological relevance of shallow lakes has been largely documented. The Pampean plain (Argentina) holds one of the main wetlands of South America, constituted by thousands of shallow lakes which provide valuable ecosystem services, and can be found in any of three regimes: clear-vegetated, inorganic-turbid or phytoplankton-turbid. Since these lakes play an important role in the global carbon balance, metabolism studies encompassing phytoplankton and periphyton under different regimes become relevant. Here, we analyzed the primary production (PP) of phytoplankton and periphyton in three Pampean shallow lakes representing the main types mentioned. The relative contribution of each algal community to the joint PP was different in each lake and related to their regime. The periphyton contribution was higher in the clear-vegetated lake than in the turbid lakes. The phytoplankton-turbid lake exhibited the highest PP for both communities. The inorganic-turbid lake presented the highest light limitation; nonetheless, the efficiency of periphyton in this lake showed an increasing trend with depth, suggesting light acclimation. Although phytoplankton dominated the PP in the three lakes, periphyton contribution was also important, particularly in the clear-vegetated lake. Our results emphasize that the PP of attached communities should be considered to estimate the PP of the whole lake.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mr. Roberto Escaray and the members of Laboratorio de Ecología y Fotobiología Acuática from Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas- Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (Chascomús, Buenos Aires, Argentina) for their field support. This research was supported by a grant of the University of Buenos Aires (UBACyT X838) and PAMPA2 Project (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, IEGEBA (UBA-CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Intendente Güiraldes 2160, Ciudad Universitaria, C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    María Laura Sánchez, Irina Izaguirre & Haydée Pizarro

  2. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC-CONICET), 9410 Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

    Patricia Rodríguez

  3. Programa de Ecología de Protistas, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad de Luján-CONICET, Ruta 5 and Av. Constitución 6700, Luján, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Ana María Torremorell

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  1. María Laura Sánchez
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  2. Patricia Rodríguez
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  3. Ana María Torremorell
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  4. Irina Izaguirre
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  5. Haydée Pizarro
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Correspondence to María Laura Sánchez.

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Sánchez, M.L., Rodríguez, P., Torremorell, A.M. et al. Phytoplankton and Periphyton Primary Production in Clear and Turbid Shallow Lakes: Influence of the Light Environment on the Interactions between these Communities. Wetlands 37, 67–77 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-016-0840-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-016-0840-x

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