Abstract
Cluster analysis was used to group samples collected from ten stations in Moses Lake, Washington, according to the similarity of their contained algal species. During the period 1968 to 1970, nine recurring distinct sample groups, or algal populations, were identified. Of the nine, three were most distinct; they consistently recurred at the same stations, and were dominated by diatom, green, and blue-green algae, respectively. Of the six species of blue-greens that characterized that population, the recreationally nuisance forms,Aphanizomenon flos-aquae andMicrocystis aeruginosa, were dominant. The blue-green population was the most widespread in the lake and occurred in waters that were warmest and contained the lowest concentrations of inorganic nutrients: N, P, and C. Green algae dominated in waters that received treated sewage effluent and contained relatively high concentrations of nutrients. As the nutrient content declined when proceeding away from that area, blue-green algae became dominant. Temporal variation in biomass (chlorophyll content) of the blue-green population was inversely related to phosphate content, but not to the other nutrients.
These results support the hypothesis that nuisance blue-green algae dominate in shallow eutrophic lakes during warm summer months when ambient nutrient content is low because, under these conditions, they apparently out-compete other forms for nutrients. In shallow unstable eutrophic lakes like Moses Lake, the nutrient supply rate from sediments may be considered great although ambient concentrations are low which allow the dominating blue-green population to reach a large biomass, e. g., maximums as high as 300 µg l−1 chlorophyll were observed. Because correlation analysis andin situ bioassays showed that biomass of blue-green algae was most closely related to inorganic phosphate even at times when nitrate was very low and invariable, we suggest that phosphorus availability is most critical to biomass formation. Control of ambient phosphorus content, therefore, would be most apt to result in a reduction in maximum biomass of the blue-greens. Phosphorus control would be unlikely to alter algal dominance in this shallow lake, however, since blue-greens seem to be generally favored over other populations by reduction in nutrient concentration during warm weather.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Public Health Association: 1965,Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Waste Water, 12th ed., American Public Health Association, Inc., New York, 769 pp.
Brook, A. J. and Woodward, W. B.: 1956,J. Animal Ecol. 25,23.
Buckley, J. A.: 1971, M. S. Thesis, Water and Air Resources Div., Dept. Civil Engr., Univ. of Wash., 116 pp.
DeWalle, F. B., Welch, E. B., and Buckley, J. A.: 1971,Water Res., submitted.
Dickman, M.: 1969,Limnol. Oceanogr. 14, 660.
Edmondson, W. T.: 1967, inEnvironmental Requirements of Blue-Green Algae, U. S. Dept. Interior, Pacific Northwest Water Laboratory, pp. 1–6.
Fager, E. W.: 1963, inThe Sea, Ideas and Observations on Progress in the Study of the Sea,Vol. 2,The Composition of Sea Water, Comparative and Descriptive Oceanography, Interscience Publishers, New York, pp. 415–37.
Fitzgerald, G. P.: 1969,Limnol. Oceanogr. 14,206.
Fogg, G. E.: 1966,Algal Cultures and Phytoplankton Ecology, Univ. of Wisc. Press, Madison, Milwaukee, and London, 126 pp.
Frink, C. R.: 1967,Environ. Sci. Technol. 1, 425.
Gabler, A. R. and Sanville, W. D.: 1971,Characterization of Lake Sediments and Evaluation of Sediment — Water Nutrient Interchange Mechanisms in the Upper Klamath Lake System, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Pacific Northwest Water Laboratory, Corvallis, Oregon, 45 pp.
Gerloff, G. C. and Skoog, F.: 1954,Ecology 35, 348.
Gerloff, G. C. and Skoog, F.: 1957,Ecology 38, 556.
Gerloff, G. C., Fitzgerald, G. P., and Skoog, F.: 1952,Am. J. Bot. 39,20.
Goldman, C. R. and Wetzel, R. G.: 1963,Ecology 44, 283.
Hawkes, H. A.: 1969, inEngineering Aspects of Thermal Pollution (ed. by Frank L. Parker and Peter A. Krenkel). Vanderbilt University Press, pp. 15–57.
Hendrey, G. R.: 1969, M. S. Thesis, Water and Air Resources Div., Dept. Civil Engr., Univ. of Wash.
Hutchinson, G. E.: 1944,Ecology 25, 3.
Hutchinson, G. E.: 1967,A Treatise on Limnology. Vol. II,Introduction to Lake Biology and the Limnoplankton, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1115 pp.
Ketchum, B. H.: 1939,J. Cell. Comp. Physiol. 13, 373.
King, D. L.: 1970,J. Water Poll. Control. Fed. 42, 2035.
Mackereth, F. J.: 1953,J. Exp. Bot. 4,296.
Olson, P. A.: 1971, private communication.
Palmer, C. M.: 1969,J. Phycol. 5, 78.
Patrick, R., Crum, B., and Coles, J.: 1969,Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 64, 472.
Pearsall, W. H.: 1932,J. Ecol. 20,241.
Phinney, H. K. and Peek, C. A.: 1961,Algae and Metropolitan Wastes, U. S. Public Health Service, SECTR W61-3, pp. 22.
Pomeroy, L. R., Smith, E. E., and Grant, C. M.: 1965,Limnol. Oceanogr. 10, 167.
Rawson, D. S.: 1956,Limnol. Occanogr. 1, 18.
Rodhe, W. E.: 1948,Symb. Bot. Upsal. 10, 1.
Ryther, J. H.: 1954,Biol. Bull. Woods Hole 106, 198.
Saunders, G. W., Trama, F. B., and Bachman, R. W.: 1962,Evaluation of a Modified C14 Technique for Shipboard Estimation of Photosynthesis in Large Lakes, Institute of Science and Technology, Univ. of Mich., Ann Arbor, 61 pp.
Sawyer, C. N.: 1947,J. New England Water Works Assn. 61, 109.
Stewart, W. D. P., Fitzgerald, G. P., and Burris, R. H.: 1970a,Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. U. S. A.,66, 1104.
Stewart, W. D. P., Mague, T., Fitzgerald, G. P., and Burris, R. H.: 1970b,New Phytol. 70, 497.
Strickland, J. D. H. and Parsons, T. R.: 1968,Fish. Res. Bd. Can. Bull. 167, 1.
Sylvester, R. O. and Oglesby, R. T.: 1964,The Moses Lake Water Environment, Dept. Civil Engr., Univ. of Wash., 89 pp.
Welch, E. B.: 1968,Proc. Seventh Annual Sanitary and Water Resources Engineering Conference, Vanderbilt University, pp. 45–73.
Welch, E. B., Buchanan, R. J., Nece, R. E., and Bogan, R. H.: 1969,Plankton Community and Hydraulic Characterization Preliminary to Lake Flushing, Dept. Civil Engr., Univ. of Wash., 181 pp.
Welch, E. B., Buckley, J. A., and Bush, R. M.: 1971,J. Water Poll. Control Fed., submitted.
Zadorojny, C.: 1971, M. S. Thesis, Water and Air Resources Div., Dept Civil Engr., Univ. of Wash.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bush, R.M., Welch, E.B. Plankton associations and related factors in a hypereutrophic lake. Water Air Soil Pollut 1, 257–274 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00294003
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00294003