Abstract
The pH of undisturbed surface waters in the New Jersey Pine Barrens is very acidic (pH 3.5–4.5). Surface waters disturbed by residential and agricultural development typically exhibit significantly elevated pH. Detailed analyses of a disturbed and undisturbed pond showed that the elevated pH of the disturbed pond was primarily the result of enhanced primary productivity. At night and during the winter, when productivity was reduced, the pH dropped to levels more characteristic of the undisturbed pond. The phenomenon of fluctuating pH had significant implications for the zooplankton in the disturbed pond. Though nutrients were significantly greater in the disturbed pond, zooplankton species composition and general abundance patterns were nearly identical in the two ponds. Thus, in these and other poorly buffered waters, it is hypothesized that the lowest pH values were the ones effectively regulating the zooplankton community.
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Morgan, M.D. Photosynthetically elevated pH in acid waters with high nutrient content and its significance for the zooplankton community. Hydrobiologia 128, 239–247 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00006820
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00006820