JPR Advance Access published online on June 11, 2007
Journal of Plankton Research, doi:10.1093/plankt/fbm055
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Inferring long-term changes in the physical-chemical environment of the shallow, enriched Lake Nero from statistical and functional analyses of its phytoplankton
Yaroslavl State University named by Demidov, pr. Matrosova 9, Yaroslavl, Russia, 150057 1 Institute of Biology of Inland Waters Russian Academy of Sciences, Borok, Yaroslavl area, Russia, 152742
* Correspondence Author: E-mail: baba{at}bio.uniyar.ac.ru
Received on April 4, 2007; revised on April 24, 2007; accepted on June 1, 2007
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The qualitative and quantitative studies of the phytoplankton, concentration of inorganic nitrogen and phosphate and chlorophyll a in the water column, and its' seasonal and spatial variation, have been studied in the open water of the large, shallow and highly eutrophic Lake Nero over periods representing more than one decade (19881989 and 1999 2003). The average qualitative characteristics of phytoplankton have remained stable over the period of observations, structural and functional characteristics have been highly unstable in the short term. This is controversial but may be due to the high robustness of the ecosystem to the environmental stresses. The frequencies of species within seasonal-abundance parameters have been used, together with additional data on the dominance of the community expressed in terms of evaluated Species of the Functional Groups (SFG). Correlation and factor analyses were used to estimate the strength of selected environmental factors on the development of SFG. In the periods covered by our analyses, the selected parameters were always strongly correlated with first principal components, which were dominated by properties relating to the underwater light field. According to our investigation, the phytoplankton of Lake Nero supports a commonly occurring combination S1 filamentous Cyanobacteria with C diatoms and participation J greens, M and H1 dinitrogen-fixing types. It is typical of shallow, nutrient-rich lakes, comprising species that perform well under conditions of poor light. Individual species dominance varies but strictly among species making up the S1 association. Full accord with the two hypotheses of the PROTECH model has been demonstrated.
Key Words: Buoyancy regulation Authors: Zhaosheng Chu Xiangcan Jin Bo Yang Qingru Zeng
Communicating Editor: K.J. Flynn