Abstract
Chlorophyll a and pheopigment standing stocks and fluxes were used during a two weeks colonization experiment in a productive tropical pond (Layo, Côte d'Ivoire) in order to establish a chlorophyll budget. The experiment started from an azoïc state (the pond was dried, limed and progressively filled with ground water). Algal production was the only input to the phytoplanktonic system, while grazing and algal sedimentation were the main outputs. Chlorophyll a reflected the algal biomass, and degradation pigments were considered as an index of grazing by zooplankton (here, protozoans and rotifers). An estimation of the input through the algal growth rate was performed for the two main biological events observed during the study. The first algal bloom, with a large picoplankton participation, was mainly regulated by microzooplankton (increase of the peak) and rotifers (decrease of the peak). The second bloom (exclusively nanoplankton) was regulated by rotifers (increase) and by sedimentation of living cells (decrease). This last process was related to a sudden exhaustion of ammonia in the water column. Because of the time-lag between algal proliferation and zooplanktonic bloom, the phytoplanktonic biomass was able to be adjusted according to the availability of nutrients. This self-regulation took the form of sinking of active algal cells, resulting in a transient reduction of the food available for rotifers. This process had drastic consequences in these shallow waters, since a major part of the phytoplankton produced was removed from the pelagic system. For an optimal exploitation of the natural resources of an aquaculture pond, a study of the equilibrium nutrients-phytoplankton-zooplankton would provide a basis for artificial intervention, with a view to limit the impact of this mode of natural regulation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allan, J. D., 1976. Life history patterns in zooplankton. Am Nat. 110: 165–180.
Arfi, R., D. Guiral & J. P. Torréton, 1991. Natural recolonization in a productive tropical pond, day to day variations in the photosynthetic parameters. Aquat. Sci. 53: 39–54.
Azam, F. T., J. G. Fenchel, J. S. Gray, L. A. Meyer-Reil & F. Thingstad, 1983. The ecological role of water-column microbes in the sea. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 10: 257–263.
Barlow R. G., P. H. Burkill & R. F. C. Mantoura, 1988. Grazing and degradation of algal pigments by marine protozoan Oxyrrhis marina. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 119: 119–129.
Bienfang, P. K., 1980. Phytoplankton sinking rates in oligotrophic waters off Hawaii, USA. Mar. Biol. 61: 69–77.
Bonin, D. J., M. R. Droop, S. Y. Maestrini & M. C. Bonin, 1986. Physiological features of six micro-algae to be used as indicators of seawater quality. Cryptogamie, Algologie 7: 23–83.
Bonou, C., 1990. Etude de la productivité planctonique dans un étang d'aquaculture en milieu saumâtre tropical. Thèse doct, 1MSP Toulouse, 210 pp.
Boraas, M. E., C. C. Remsen & D. D. Seale, 1985. Phagotrophic flagellate populations in Lake Michigan, use of image analysis to determine numbers and size distribution. Eos 66: 1299.
Burkill, P. H., R. F. C. Mantoura, C. A. Llewellyn & N. J. P. Owens, 1987. Microzooplankton grazing and selectivity of phytoplankton in coastal waters. Mar. Biol. 93: 581–590.
Burns, N. M. & F. Rosa, 1980. In situ measurement of the settling velocity of organic carbon particles and 10 species of phytoplankton. Limnol. Oceanogr. 25: 855–864.
Caron, D. A., F. R. Pick & D. R. S. Lean, 1985. Chroococcoid cyanobacteria in Lake Ontario, vertical and seasonal distributions during 1982. J. Phycol. 21: 171–175.
Conover, R. J., R. Durvasula, S. Roy & R. Wang, 1986. Probable loss of chlorophyll-derived pigments during passage through the gut of zooplankton, and some of the consequences. Limnol. Oceanogr. 3: 878–887.
Coté, B. & T. Platt, 1983. Day to day variations in the spring-summer photosynthetic parameters of coastal marine phytoplankton. Limnol. Oceanogr. 28: 320–344.
Daley, R. J., 1973. Experimental characterization of lacustrine chlorophyll diagenesis. II. Bacterial, viral and herbivore grazing effects. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 9: 35–42.
Dam, G. D. & W. T. Peterson, 1988. The effect of temperature on the gut clearance rate constant of planktonic copepods. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 123: 1–14.
Eppley, R. W., R. W. Holmes & J. D. H. Strickland, 1967. Sinking rates of marine phytoplankton measured with a fluorometer. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 1: 191–208.
Fahnenstiel, G. L., L. Sicko-Goad, D. Scavia & E. F. Stoermer, 1986. Importance of picoplankton in Lake Superior. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 43: 235–240.
Fenchel, T., 1982. Ecology of heterotrophic microflagellates. I. Some important forms and their functional morphology. Mar. Ecol. prog. Ser. 8: 211–223.
Fenchel, T., 1982. Ecology of heterotrophic microflagellates. II; Bioenergetics and growth. Mar. Ecol. prog. Ser. 8: 225–231.
Goldman, J. C. & D. A. Caron, 1985. Experimental studies on an omnivorous microflagellate: implications for grazing and nutrient regeneration in the marine microbial food chain. Deep Sea Res. 32: 889–915.
Grassé, P. P., 1965. Traité de zoologie, tome IV (III). Masson, Paris, 1496 pp.
Hem, S., M. Legendre, L. Trebaol, A. Cisse & Y. Moreau, 1993. Recherches sur les principales espèces d'intérêt aquacole en milieu lagunaire. Durand, J. R., P. Dufour & S. G. Zabi (eds), Environnement et ressources aquatiques de Côte d'Ivoire. 2 — Le milieu lagunaire. Editions de l'ORSTOM, in press.
Herbland, A., 1988. The deep phaeopigments maximum in the ocean: reality or illusion. In Rothschild, B. J. (ed.), Toward a Theory on biological-Physical Interaction in the World Ocean, Kluwer Academic Publishers: 157–172.
Jeffrey, S. W., 1974. Profiles of photosynthetic pigments in the ocean using the thin layer chromatography. Mar. Biol. 26: 101–110.
Lännergren, C., 1979. Buoyancy of natural populations of marine phytoplankton. Mar. Biol. 54: 1–10.
Legendre, M., M. Pagano & L. Saint-Jean, 1987. Peuplements et biomasse zooplanctonique dans des étangs de pisciculture lagunaire Layo, Côte d'Ivoire. Etude de la recolonisation après la mise en eau. Aquaculture 67: 321–341.
Litaker, W., C. S. Duke, B. E. Kenney & J. Ramus, 1988. Diel chl a and phaeopigment cycles in a shallow tidal estuary, potential role of microzooplankton grazing. Marine Ecol. prog. Ser. 47: 259–270.
Lopez, M. D. G., M. E. Huntley & P. F. Sykes, 1988. Pigment destruction by Calanus pacificus: impact on the estimation of water column fluxes. J. Plankton Res. 10: 715–734.
Lorenzen, C. J., 1981. Chlorophyll b in the ocean. Deep Sea Res. 28: 1049–1056.
Lorenzen, C. J. & N. A. Welschmeyer, 1983. The in situ sinking rates of herbivore fecal pellets. J. Plankton Res. 5: 929–933.
Lorenzen, C. J., N. A. Welschmeyer, A. E. Copping & M. Vernet, 1983. Sinking rates of organic particulates. Limnol. Oceanogr. 28: 766–769.
Morel, A., 1978. Available, usable and stored radiant energy in relation to marine photosynthesis. Deep Sea Res. 25: 673–688.
Parsons, T. R., Y. Maita & C. M. Lalli, 1984. A manual of chemical and biological methods for seawater analysis. Pergamon Press, New York.
Pilarska, J., 1977. Ecophysiological studies on Brachionus rubens Ehrbg Rotatoria. I. Food selectivity and feeding rate. Pol. Arch. Hydrobiol. 24: 319–328.
Pourriot, R. & P. Champ, 1982. Ecologie du plancton des eaux continentales. Pourriot, R. ed., Masson, Paris, 198 pp.
Shuman, F. R. & C. J. Lorenzen, 1975. Quantitative degradation of chlorophyll by a marine herbivore. Limnol. Oceanogr. 20: 580–586.
SooHoo, J. B. & D. A. Kiefer, 1982a. Vertical distribution of phaeopigments. — I. A simple grazing and photooxidative scheme for small particles. Deep-Sea Res. 29: 1539–1551.
SooHoo, J. B. & D. A. Kiefer, 1982b. Vertical distribution of phaeopigments. — Il. Rates of production and kinetics of photooxidation. Deep-Sea Res. 29: 1553–1563.
Stoecker, D. K., 1984. Particles production by phytoplanktonic ciliates. Limnol. Oceanogr. 29: 930–940.
Titman, D. & P. Kilham, 1976. Sinking in freshwater phytoplankton, some ecological implications of cell nutrient status and physical mixing processes. Limnol. Oceanol. 21: 409–417.
Vernet, M. & C. J. Lorenzen, 1987. The relative abundance of pheophorbide a and pheophytin a in temperate marine waters. Limnol. Oceanogr. 32: 352–358.
Waltz, N., 1983. Continuous culture of the pelagic rotifer Keratella cochlearis and Brachionus angularis. Arch. Hydrobiol. 98: 70–92.
Welschmeyer, N. A., A. E. Copping, M. Vernet& C. J. Lorenzen, 1984. Diel fluctuation in zooplankton grazing rate as determined from the downward vertical flux of pheopigments. Mar. Biol. 83: 263–270.
Welschmeyer, N. A. & C. J. Lorenzen, 1985. Chlorophyll budgets, zooplankton grazing and phytoplankton growth in a temperate fjord and the Central Pacific gyres. Limnol. Oceanogr. 30: 1–21.
Yentsch, S. & D. W. Menzel, 1963. A method for the determination of phytoplankton chlorophyll a and phaeophytin by fluorescence. Deep Sea Res. 10: 221–231.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Arfi, R., Guiral, D. Chlorophyll budget in a productive tropical pond: algal production, sedimentation, and grazing by microzooplankton and rotifers. Hydrobiologia 272, 239–249 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00006524
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00006524