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Phytoplankton of an eutrophic tropical reservoir: comparison of biomass estimated from counts with chlorophyll-a biomass from HPLC measurements

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Abstract

The seasonal variation of phytoplankton in an eutrophic tropical reservoir was evaluated through photosynthetic pigments analyzed by HPLC. The contributions of algal classes to total chlorophyll a (TChl-a) were estimated by two procedures. The first one used fixed marker pigment/chlorophyll a ratio available from culture studies of the major species of each class. In the second procedure, a matrix factorization program (CHEMTAX) was used to analyze the pigment data. The pigment data were compared with carbon biomass estimated from microscope analysis. A significant correlation between total chlorophyll a (measured by HPLC) and total biomass was obtained, indicating only a slight variation in the content of algal chlorophyll a when compared to its fluctuations in carbon biomass. The interpretation of pigment data with CHEMTAX resulted in a good agreement with biomass. Although displaying some differences, the general pattern of the phytoplankton community dynamics and the major shifts in composition, biomass and the cyanobacterial bloom were evidenced. In contrast, Chl-a biomass estimates from fixed Xan/Chl-a ratios presented poor agreement with microscope data and did not register the principal changes in phytoplankton. Our results also highlighted the needs of better understanding of the relationships between marker pigments, chlorophyll-a and algal biomass.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Ecofisiologia e Toxicologia de Cianobactérias (LETC), CCS, Bloco g, sala 56 – Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Rio de Janeiro, 21.941-900, Brasil

    Marcelo Manzi Marinho

  2. Departamento de Química Analítica, Outeiro São João Batista s/n, Niterói, Universidade Federal Fluminense, 24020-150, Brasil

    Silvana Viana Rodrigues

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  1. Marcelo Manzi Marinho
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  2. Silvana Viana Rodrigues
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Manzi Marinho, M., Viana Rodrigues, S. Phytoplankton of an eutrophic tropical reservoir: comparison of biomass estimated from counts with chlorophyll-a biomass from HPLC measurements. Hydrobiologia 505, 77–88 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:HYDR.0000007296.22031.f6

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