Abstract
The development and metabolism of epilimnetic plankton from a highly humic lake was followed in late summer, when the predominant zooplankton species, Daphnia longispina, was very abundant (ca. 200 ind. l−1). The experiment was made in two tanks: one with an unaltered plankton assemblage and one with larger zooplankton removed. The scarce phytoplankton community was also simple, consisting mainly of one Cryptomonas and two Mallomonas species. The abundance and species composition of smaller plankton was heavily influenced by grazing of Daphnia. In particular, the biomass, of heterotrophic flagellates increased after the removal of Daphnia. The biomass and production of bacterioplankton were not affected, and remained several times higher than that of phytoplankton. Bacterial production and grazing on bacteria were balanced, and when Daphnia was removed its grazing activity was compensated by flagellates. The removal of Daphnia did not affect the respiration or community net production of plankton. Among organisms smaller than zooplankton, bacteria seemed to be responsible for most of the respiration. The community net production was consistently negative even at the water surface, indicating an allochthonous carbon source. The results suggest that phytoplankton primary production was insufficient for the secondary production in the epilimnetic water of the study lake. The food requirements of bacteria and zooplankton, as well as of flagellates, each exceeded that supplied by phytoplankton primary production. The simple food chains in this experiment made it possible to reveal the functioning of the community so completely that dissolved organic matter is certainly comparable to or exceeds the importance of phytoplankton primary production as an energy and carbon source for food webs in this humic lake.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arvola, L., K. Salonen, P. Kankaala & A. Lehtovaara, 1992. Vertical distributions of bacteria and algae in a steeply stratified humic lake under high grazing pressure from Daphnia longispina. Hydrobiologia 229: 253–269.
Azam, F., T. Fenchel, J. G. Field, J. S. Gray, L. A. MeyerReill & F. Thingstad, 1983. The ecological role of watercolumn microbes in the sea. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser. 10: 257–263.
Børsheim, K. Y. & S. Andersen, 1987. Grazing and food selection by crustacean zooplankton compared to production of bacteria and phytoplankton in a shallow Norwegian mountain lake. J. Plankton Res. 9: 367–379.
Børsheim, K. Y. & Y. Olsen, 1984. Grazing activities by Daphnia pulex on natural populations of bacteria and algae. Verb. int. Ver. Limnol. 22: 644–648.
Børsheim, K. Y., S. Andersen, G. H. Johnsen, E. O. Kambestad & S. Norland, 1988. Primary and bacterial production compared to growth and food requirements of Daphnia longispina in Lake Kvernavatnet, west Norway. J. Plankton Res. 10: 921–939.
Geller, W. & H. Müller, 1981. The filtration apparatus of Cladocera: filter mesh-sizes and their implications on food selectivity. Oecologia (Berl.) 49: 316–321.
Hessen, D. O., 1985. The relation between bacterial carbon and dissolved organic humic compounds in oligotrophic lakes. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 31: 215–223.
Hessen, D. O., T. Andersen & A. Lyche, 1989. Differential grazing and resource utilization of zooplankton in a humic lake. Arch. Hydrobiol. 114: 321–347.
Hessen, D. O., T. Andersen & A. Lyche, 1990. Carbon metabolism in a humic lake: Pool sizes and cycling through zooplankton. Limnol. Oceanogr. 35: 84–99.
James, M. & K. Salonen, 1992. Zooplankton-phytoplankton interactions and their importance in the phosphorus cycle of a polyhumic lake. Arch. Hydrobiol. (in press).
Johansson, J.-Å., 1983. Seasonal development of bacterioplankton in two forest lakes in central Sweden. Hydrobiologia 101: 71–88.
Jones, R. I. & L. Arvola, 1984. Light penetration and some related characteristics in small forest lakes in southern Finland. Verh. int. Ver. Limnol. 22: 811–816.
Jones, R. I. & K. Salonen, 1985. The importance of bacterial utilization of released phytoplankton photosynthate in two humic forest lakes in southern Finland. Holarct. Ecol. 8: 133–140.
Kankaala, P., 1988. The relative importance of algae and bacteria as food for Daphnia longispina (Cladocera) in a polyhumic lake. Freshwat. Biol. 19: 285–294.
Kuuppo-Leinikki, P. & K. Salonen, 1992. Bacterioplankton in a small polyhumic lake with an anoxic hypolimnion. Hydrobiologia 229: 159–168..
Lampert, W., 1984. The measurement of respiration. In J. A. Downing & F. H. Rigler (eds.), A manual on methods for the assessment of secondary productivity in fresh waters. IBP Handbook 17, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, 501 pp.
Moran, M. A. & R. E. Hodson, 1990. Bacterial production on humic and nonhumic components of dissolved organic carbon. Limnol. Oceanogr. 35: 1744–1756.
Peterson, B. J., 1980. Aquatic primary productivity and the 14C-CO2 method: a history of the productivity problem. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 11: 359–385.
Salonen, K. & T. Hammar, 1986. On the importance of dissolved organic matter in the nutrition of zooplankton in some lake waters. Oecologia (Berl.) 68: 246–253.
Salonen, K. & S. Jokinen, 1988. Flagellate grazing on bacteria in a small dystrophic lake. Hydrobiologia 161: 203–309.
Salonen, K. & A. Lehtovaara, 1992. Migrations of haemoglobin-rich Daphnia longispina in a small, steeply stratified, humic lake with an anoxic hypolimnion. Hydrobiologia 229: 271–288.
Salonen, K., R. I. Jones & L. Arvola, 1984. Hypolimnetic phosphorus retrieval by diel vertical migrations of lake phytoplankton Freshwat. Biol. 14: 431–438.
Salonen, K., L. Arvola, T. Tulonen, T. Hammar, T-R. Metsälä, P. Kankaala & U. Münster, 1992. Planktonic food chains of a highly humic lake. I. A mesocosm experiment during the spring primary production maximum. Hydrobiologia 229: 125–142.
Salonen, K., K. Kononen & L. Arvola, 1983. Respiration of plankton in two small, polyhumic lakes. Hydrobiologia 101: 65–70.
Sanders, R. W., K. G. Porter, S. J. Bennett & A. E. DeBiase, 1989. Seasonal pattern of bacterivory by flagellates, ciliates, rotifers, and cladocerans in a freshwater planktonic community. Limnol. Oceanogr. 34: 673–687.
Sherr, E. B., 1988. Direct use of high molecular weight polysaccharide by heterotrophic flagellates. Nature 335: 348–351.
Tranvik, L., 1988. Availability of dissolved organic carbon for planktonic bacteria in oligotrophic lakes of differing humic content. Microb. Ecol. 16: 311–322.
Tranvik, L., 1989. Bacterioplankton growth, grazing mortality and quantitative relationship to primary production in a humic and a clearwater lake. J. Plankton Res. 11: 985–1000.
Tranvik, L., 1990. Bacterioplankton growth on fractions of dissolved organic carbon of different molecular weights from humic and clear waters. Appl. envir. Microbiol. 56: 1672–1677.
Tulonen, T., K. Salonen & L. Arvola, 1992. Effects of different molecular weight fractions of dissolved organic matter on the growth of bacteria, algae and protozoa from a highly humic lake. Hydrobiologia 229: 239–252.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Salonen, K., Kankaala, P., Tulonen, T. et al. Planktonic food chains of a highly humic lake. Hydrobiologia 229, 143–157 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00006997
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00006997