How to reach optimal estimates of confidence intervals in microscopic counting of phytoplankton?
Abstract Present practices in the microscopic counting of phytoplankton to estimate the reliability of results rely on the assumption of a random distribution of taxa in sample preparations. In contrast to that and in agreement with the literature, we show that aggregated distribution is common and can lead to over-optimistic confidence intervals, if estimated according to the shortcut procedure of Lund et al. based on the number of counted cells. We found a good linear correlation between the distribution independent confidence intervals for medians and those for parametric statistics so that 95% confidence intervals can be approximated by using a correction factor of 1.4. Instead, the rec…
Accumulation of low oxygen water in deep waters of ice-covered lakes cooled below 4 °C
We studied vertical distribution of oxygen under the ice of 5 medium-sized, morphologically variable lakes that cooled well below 4 °C before freezing. In the upper part of the water column, dissolved oxygen and dissolved inorganic carbon concentrations generally remained vertically almost uniform, but in the deepest water, concentrations changed rapidly near the bottom. The coincidence of the changes with an increase in deep water temperature shows that they were due to advection of water made heavier by the heat flux from the sediment. Consequently, water with low concentrations of dissolved oxygen and high concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon accumulated in the deepest part of th…
Development of picoplankton during natural and enhanced mixing under late-winter ice
We studied the development of autotrophic picophytoplankton and heterotrophic bacterioplankton during the tran- sition from winter ice cover to open water under natural and manipulated mixing conditions in eutrophic Lake Vesijarvi. During the melting of the snow and ice cover, a convection layer developed which eventually met the che- mocline at the interface between the oxic and anoxic water masses. However, in the years with mechanically enhanced mixing, the whole water column remained well oxygenated and the deepening of penetrative convection was facilitated. Stochastic variations in weather, primarily the thickness of the snow cover, likely determined the timing of picophytoplankton gr…
Biogenic Fenton process - A possible mechanism for the mineralization of organic carbon in fresh waters.
To explore the mechanisms that mineralize poorly bioavailable natural organic carbon (OC), we measured the mineralization of OC in two lake waters over long-term experiments (up to 623 days) at different pH and iron (Fe) levels. Both the microbial and photochemical mineralization of OC was higher at pH acidified to 4 than at the ambient pH 5 or an elevated pH 6. During 244 days, microbes mineralized up to 60% of OC in the 10-mu m filtrates of lake water and more than 27% in the 1-mu m filtrates indicating that large-sized microbes/grazers enhance the mineralization of OC. A reactivity continuum model indicated that the acidification stimulated the microbial mineralization of OC especially i…
Bleaching of color of kraft pulp mill effluents and natural organic matter in lakes
In situ changes in the color of lake water and biologically treated kraft pulp mill effluents mixed in lake water were examined in three lakes. In 1.7 m3 enclosures, the color (400700 g Pt·m3) of the mixture of pulp mill effluent and lake water remained similar for 4 months in darkness, whereas exposure to solar radiation resulted in 1742% bleaching of color. During the summer stratification of a humic lake, the color (160 g Pt·m3) of hypolimnetic water remained similar to that found during spring turnover, but the color of epilimnion decreased 13%. The measured rates of photochemical bleaching of color by solar radiation could explain the decrease of epilimnetic color. Attenuation of …
Interannual variability of circulation under spring ice in a boreal lake
A small range (, 1uC) of under-ice water temperature is shown to result in remarkably different circulation regimes under spring ice in a deep, oligotrophic boreal lake. With the water column at , 4uC, melting of snow led to deepening vertical convection before ice break and a final depth of convection inversely correlated with earlier deep-water temperature. We attribute that to the nonlinear dependence of water density on temperature, albeit further affected by stochastic weather factors. In four of nine study years, convection led to complete under-ice overturn of the lake, indicating that this may not be uncommon in similar lakes with steep topography. River inflow and more intensive wa…
Effects of temperature and sediment properties on benthic CO2production in an oligotrophic boreal lake
Summary 1. Temperature and many other physical and chemical factors affecting CO2 production in lake sediments vary significantly both seasonally and spatially. The effects of temperature and sediment properties on benthic CO2 production were studied in in situ and in vitro experiments in the boreal oligotrophic Lake Paajarvi, southern Finland. 2. In in situ experiments, temperature of the water overlying the shallow littoral sediment varied seasonally between 0.5 and 15.7 °C, but in deep water (≥20 m) the range was only 1.1–6.6 °C. The same exponential model (r2 = 0.70) described the temperature dependence at 1.2, 10 and 20 m depths. At 2.5 and 5 m depths, however, the slopes of the two re…
Pumping of epilimnetic water into hypolimnion improves oxygen but not necessarily nutrient conditions in a lake recovering from eutrophication
To mitigate deep water oxygen depletion and its consequences, epilimnetic water was pumped into deep water of a eutrophic, 26 km 2 subbasin of Lake Vesijarvi, Finland. In winter, the mechanical mixing largely eliminated vertical differences in temperature, oxygen, and nutrients. Although ice cover prevented oxygen flux from the atmosphere, the high proportion of shallows in the basin with high oxygen concentration facilitated the avoidance of hypoxia by mixing. Despite the disappearance of anoxia in deep water, the volume-weighted mean concentrations of nutrients were not affected. In summer, the introduction of epilimnetic water into the hypolimnion improved oxygen conditions, but anoxia o…
Modelling circulation in an ice-covered lake
In deep ice-covered lakes with temperatures below 4 °C the heat flux from the bottom sediment results in a horizontal density gradient and a consequent flow along the bottom slope. Measurements in Lake Paajarvi, Finland, show a stable temperature field where a heat gain through the bottom and a heat loss through the ice nearly balance each other. The circulation is thermal with low velocities (less than 1.5 cm s -1 ). We used the 3D hydrodynamic Princeton Ocean Model as a tool to simulate the water circulation and the temperature distribution under the ice. The model forcing was based on field temperature measurements. The model simulations suggest that in midwinter the velocity field of th…
Pelagic food web as the basis of fisheries in Lake Tanganyika: A bioenergetic modeling analysis
Fisheries in Lake Tanganyika, East Africa, are mainly based on two predominantly planktivorous clupeids (Stolothrissa tanganicae and Limnothrissa miodon) and a centropomid predator (Lates stappersi), caught with lift nets, purse seines, and beach seines by traditional, artisanal, and industrial fishers. The biological basis and sustainability of the present fisheries were assessed in a comprehensive project “Research for the Management of the Fisheries on Lake Tanganyika” in 1992–1998. Production in the whole lake was estimated for the entire pelagic food chain leading to the commercially important fish species. Preliminary calculations based on a constant production efficiency suggested th…
Regular build-up of the spring phytoplankton maximum before ice-break in a boreal lake
The development of phytoplankton biomass and composition in a eutrophic boreal lake was studied during the evolution of under-ice convection in spring. The results from 8 yr showed that, within a few weeks before ice-break, phytoplankton biomass regularly increased by up to two or three orders of magnitude, reaching or exceeding the biomass in summer. Accordingly, this may be the most significant single annual phytoplankton episode in the lake. The development of phytoplankton was closely coupled with that of convection created by solar radiation at water temperatures < 4°C. In addition to vertical convection which keeps phytoplankton suspended, there was also horizontal convection which tr…
Size-fractionated δ15N and δ13C isotope ratios elucidate the role of the microbial food web in the pelagial of Lake Tanganyika
Food web structure of the pelagic community in Lake Tanganyika was studied using the stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes 15N and 13C. Size-fractionated seston, zooplankton, shrimps, medusae and fish were sampled in the northern part of Lake Tanganyika. Picoplankton fractions as well as cyanobacteria-dominated nano/microplankton fractions had very low nitrogen isotope signatures typical for nitrogen-fixing organisms. Fractions containing mainly dead organic matter (and associated bacteria) or nano/microalgae (chlorophytes and diatoms) had δ15N 2 to 4‰ higher. The low δ15N signatures of small cyclopoids and shrimps suggest they are feeding on nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria (picoplankton or lar…
The stoichiometry of particulate nutrients in Lake Tanganyika — implications for nutrient limitation of phytoplankton
We studied the potential nutrient limitation of phytoplankton by means of seston nutrient stoichiometry and nutrient enrichment bioassays in the epilimnion of Lake Tanganyika. In most cases, the particulate carbon to phosphorus (C:P) ratio was high and indicated moderate P deficiency, while the respective C:N ratio mainly suggested moderate N deficiency. The N:P ratios of seston indicated rather balanced N and P supply. In three two-day enrichment bioassays in April—May 1995, a combined addition of P, N and organic carbon (glucose) always increased primary production in comparison to untreated controls. Primary production also slightly increased after the addition of phosphate-P, while the …
Phytoplankton in Lake Tanganyika — vertical and horizontal distribution of in vivo fluorescence
Determinations of chlorophyll a and in vivo fluorescence of photosynthetic pigments were used to study vertical and horizontal distribution of phytoplankton in Lake Tanganyika (East Africa). Blue excited fluorescence (IVFb) was an approximate predictor of chlorophyll a at different depths and locations. Green excited fluorescence (IVFg), which reflects phycoerythrin in cyanobacteria, explained chlorophyll a variation equally well, and in combination with IVFb the degree of explanation was improved to 87% (n = 90). Particularly during the shallow stratification in March–May, the maxima of chlorophyll a, IVFb and IVFg were located within the thermocline. Such distribution may have resulted fr…
Comparison of thermal stratification, light attenuation and Chlorophyll-a dynamics between the ends of Lake Tanganyika
Thermal structure, light attenuation, and chlorophyll-a dynamics within the upper 100 m at the northern and southern ends of Lake Tanganyika were measured from August 1995–July 1996. Pronounced variability of thermal structure in time, depth and region were observed. During the dry windy season (June–September), the water column in the south was largely isothermal down to 100 m, while in the north stratification was detectable. Subsequently, in October, cessation of winds coincided with a reestablishment and strengthening of thermal stratification in the south, and a distinct rise of a weakened thermocline in the north was accompanied by an increase in epilimnetic concentrations of dissolve…
Spatial distribution of phytoplankton and picocyanobacteria in Lake Tanganyika in March and April 1998
The spatial distribution of phytoplankton and picocyanobacteria was studied in Lake Tanganyika in relation to environmental factors. Sampling was conducted within three weeks during the wet season of 1998 when the water column stratification was most stable. The secchi depth varied between 11 and 16 m, except off the river Malagarasi (3 m). The depth of the euphotic zone was 33 to 56 m. Altogether, 218 phytoplankton taxa were identified. Their total biomass varied between 13 and 88 mg m−3 fresh weight. Picocyanobacteria were present at very high densities (104 to 6 × 10 5 cells ml−1). The influence of the river Malagarasi appeared to spread along the water surface because of the lower densi…