Abstract
Eroding bank soils and riverine suspended sediments from the Flathead River-Lake ecosystem, Montana, USA, were cultured with the alga Selenastrum capricornutum Printz in PAAP medium with the sediments as the sole source of phosphorus. Extraction of phosphorus by NaOH and nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) solutions were compared to results from algal bioassays. The fine sediment particles transported into Flathead Lake during spring runoff had the highest availability (i.e. 6% of total phosphorus). Bank soils which contained the greatest percentage of fine clays exhibited similar (i.e. 4% of total phosphorus) availability. Bank soils containing predominantly organic phosphorus had the lowest availability. Spearman's rank correlation indicated significance at the 5% test level between algal assay estimates of available phosphorus and both chemical extraction techniques.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aspila, K. I., H. Agemian & A. S. Y. Chau, 1976. A semiautomated method of determination of inorganic, organic and total phosphate in sediments. Analyst 101: 187–197.
Barrows, H. L. & V. J. Kilmer, 1963. Plant nutrient losses from soils by water erosion. Adv. Agron. 15: 303–316.
Bostrom, B. & K. Pettersson, 1982. Different patterns of phosphorus release from lake sediments in laboratory experiments. Hydrobiologia 92: 415–429.
Canfield, D. E. & R. W. Bachmann, 1981. Prediction of total phosphorus concentrations, chlorophyll a, and Secchi depths in natural and artificial lakes. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 38: 414–423.
Cowen, W. F. & G. F. Lee, 1976a. Algal nutrient availability and limitation in Lake Ontario during IFYGL: EPA-600/3–76–094a. Duluth, MN, 216 pp.
Cowen, W. F. & G. F. Lee, 1976b. Phosphorus availability in particulate materials transported by urban runoff. J. Water Poll. Control Fed. 48: 580–591.
Dorich, R. A., D. W. Nelson & L. E. Sommers, 1980. Algal availability of sediment P in drainage water of the Black Creek watershed. J. Envir. Qual. 9: 557–563.
Dorich, R. A., D. W. Nelson & L. E. Sommers, 1984. Algal availability of phosphorus in suspended stream sediments of varying paricle size. J. Envir. Qual. 13: 82–86.
Golterman, H. L., 1977. Sediments as a source of phosphate for algal growth. In H. L. Golterman (ed.), Interactions between sediments and fresh water. Junk, Netherlands: 286–293.
Golterman, H. L., 1984. Sediments, modifying and equilibrating factors in the chemistry of freshwater. Verb. int. Ver. Limnol. 22: 23–59.
Grobbelaar, J. U., 1983. Availability to algae of N and P adsorbed on suspended solids in turbid waters of the Amazon River. Arch. Hydrobiol. 96: 302–316.
Grobler, D. C. & E. Davies, 1979. The availability of sediment phosphate to algae. Water S.A. 5: 114–122.
Guy, H. P., 1969. Laboratory theory and methods for sediment analyses. Book 5, Chapter Cl of Techniques of Water Resources Investigations of the USGS. U.S. Govt. Printing Office, WA, 58 pp.
Harwood, J. E., R. A. van Steenderen & A. L. Kuhn, 1969. Rapid method for orthophosphate analysis at high concentrations in water. Water Res. 3: 417–423.
John, M. K., 1970. Colorimetric determination of phosphorus in soil and plant materials with ascorbic acid. Soil Sci. 109: 214–220.
Lund, J. W., 1965. The ecology of the freshwater phytoplankton. Biol. Rev. 40: 231–293.
Miller, W. E., J. C. Greene & T. Shiroyama, 1978. The Selenastrum capricornutum Printz algal assay bottle test: experimental design, application, and data interpretation protocol. U.S.E.P.A.:-600/9–78–018. Corvallis, OR, 126 pp.
Mueller, D. K., 1982. Mass balance model estimation of phosphorus concentration in reservoirs. Water Res. Bull. 18: 377–382.
Peters, R. H., 1981. Phosphorus availability in Lake Memphremagog and its tributaries. Limnol. Oceanogr. 26: 1150–1161.
Potter, D. S. & J. A. Stanford, 1975. Influences on the plankton communities of oligotrophic Flathead Lake. Verh. int. Ver. Limnol. 19: 1790–1797.
Rechow, K. H. & S. C. Chapra, 1983. Engineering approaches for lake management. Volume 1. Data analysis and empirical modelling. Butterworth Publ. Woburn, MA, 340 pp.
Sagher, A., 1976. Availability of soil runoff phosphorus to algae. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. Wis., Madison, 192 pp.
Siegel, S., 1956. Nonparametric statistics for the behavioral sciences. McGraw-Hill Co., NY, 312 pp.
Stanford, J. A. & D. S. Potter, 1976. Limnology of Flathead LakeRiver ecosystem, Montana: a perspective. In R. Soltero (ed.), Prodeedings of ESA symposium on aquatic and terrestrial research in the Pacific Northwest. Eastern Wash. Univ., Cheney, WA: 241–250.
Wetzel, R. G. and G. E. Likens, 1979. Limnological analyses. W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, 357 pp.
Williams J. D. H., H. Shear & R. L. Thomas, 1980. Availability to Scenedesmus quadricauda of different forms of P in sedimentary materials from the Great Lakes. Limnol. Oceanogr. 25: 1–11.
Young, T. C. & J. V. DePinto, 1982. Algal-availability of particulate phosphorus from diffuse and point sources in the lower Great Lakes basin. Hydrobiologia 91: 111–119.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ellis, B.K., Stanford, J.A. Phosphorus bioavailability of fluvial sediments determined by algal assays. Hydrobiologia 160, 9–18 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00014274
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00014274