ESTONIAN ACADEMY
PUBLISHERS
eesti teaduste
akadeemia kirjastus
cover
Estonian Journal of Ecology
Temporal and spatial variation in the zooplankton : phytoplankton biomass ratio in a large shallow lake; pp. 99–115
PDF | doi: 10.3176/eco.2010.2.02

Authors
Kätlin Blank, Reet Laugaste, Juta Haberman
Abstract
The material of the present study was collected from the pelagial of L. Peipsi (Estonia/Russia) mainly during the vegetation periods of 1997–2008. The zooplankton : phytoplankton biomass ratio (BZp/BPhyt) was followed in different lake parts: the northern eutrophic L. Peipsi s.s. and the southern hypertrophic L. Pihkva (together with L. Lämmijärv connecting the other parts). During 1997–2008 the average values of BZp/BPhyt for the growing season were lower than 0.5 (0.27 and 0.16 for L. Peipsi s.s. and L. Lämmijärv, respectively). The average monthly values of BZp/BPhyt fluctuated in a wide range: from 0.06 to 0.62 for L. Peipsi s.s. and from 0.06 to 0.29 for L. Lämmijärv in May–October. For L. Pihkva, this value was 0.06 in August. Maximum values (up to 2) occurred for L. Peipsi s.s. in June and quite a high value (up to 1) was also found in May. In parallel with the increasing trophic state of the lake, the mean values of BZp/BPhyt for the growing season decreased from 0.34 in 1997 to 0.18 in 2008 in L. Peipsi s.s., and from 0.24 to 0.10 in L. Lämmijärv. The widest range of fluctuations in BZp/BPhyt was found in May and August. For May this is explicable with differences in the melting time of the ice cover and therefore, in the timing of the spring peak of phytoplankton in different years. In August the absolute values of phytoplankton (water bloom caused by cyanobacteria) varied by years and depended mainly on weather conditions. The ratio demonstrated lowest variability in autumn months. This ratio revealed significant differences in the content of nutrients and characteristic features in plankton between the lake parts with different levels of trophy (P-level < 0.0001). We consider mean values of the ratio BZp/BPhyt in a growing season to be quite a reliable indicator for assessing the quality of the ecosystem and water of a large lake.
References

Amundsen, P.-A., Siwertsson, A., Primicerio, R. & Bøhn, T. 2009. Long-term responses of zoo­plankton to invasion by a planktivorous fish in a subarctic watercourse. Freshwater Biol., 54, 24–34.
doi:10.1111/j.1365-2427.2008.02088.x

Andronikova, I. N. 1996. Structural and Functional Organization of Zooplankton in Lake Ecosystems of Different Trophic Status. Nauka, St. Petersburg (in Russian).

Barreiro, A., Guisande, C., Maneiro, I., Vergara, A. R., Riveiro, I. & Iglesias, P. 2007. Zooplankton interactions with toxic phytoplankton: some implications for food web studies and algal defence strategies of feeding selectivity behaviour, toxin dilution and phytoplankton population diversity. Acta Oecol., 32, 279–290.
doi:10.1016/j.actao.2007.05.009

Blenckner, T. 2008. Models as tools for understanding past, recent and future changes in large lakes. Hydrobiologia, 599, 177–182.
doi:10.1007/s10750-007-9210-2

Downing, J. A., Watson, S. B. & McCauley, E. 2001. Predicting cyanobacteria dominance in lakes. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 58, 1905–1908.
doi:10.1139/cjfas-58-10-1905

Ghadouani, A., Pinel-Alloul, B. & Prepas, E. 2003. Effects of experimentallyincreased cyano­bacterial blooms on crustacean zooplankton communities. Freshwater Biol., 48, 363–381.
doi:10.1046/j.1365-2427.2003.01010.x

Gilbert, J. J. 1990. Differential effects of Anabaena affinis on cladocerans and rotifers: mechanisms and implications. Ecology, 71, 1727–1740.
doi:10.2307/1937581

Gilbert, J. J. 1994. Susceptibility of planktonic rotifers to a toxic strain of Anabaena flos-aquae. Limnol. Oceanogr., 39, 1286–1297.
doi:10.4319/lo.1994.39.6.1286

Gulati, R. D. 1983. Zooplankton and its grazing as indicators of trophic status in Dutch lakes. Environ. Monit. Assess., 3, 343–354.
doi:10.1007/BF00396229

Haberman, J. 1996. Contemporary state of zooplankton in Lake Peipsi. Hydrobiologia, 338, 113–123.
doi:10.1007/BF00031715

Haberman, J. 1998. Zooplankton of Lake Võrtsjärv. Limnologica, 28, 49–65.

Haberman, J. 2001. Zooplankton. In Lake Peipsi: Flora and Fauna (Pihu, E. & Haberman, J., eds), pp. 50–68. Sulemees Publishers, Tartu.

Haberman, J. & Laugaste, R. 2003. On characteristics reflecting the trophic state of large and shallow Estonian lakes (L. Peipsi, L. Võrtsjärv). Hydrobiologia, 506/509, 737–744.
doi:10.1023/B:HYDR.0000008572.77431.1b

Haberman, J., Virro, T. & Krikmann, K. 2008. Zooplankton. In Peipsi (Haberman, J., Timm, T. & Raukas, A., eds), pp. 271–290. Eesti Loodusfoto, Tartu.

Hynynen, J., Palomäki, A., Veijola, H., Meriläinen, J. J., Bagge, P., Manninen, P., Ustinov, A. & Bibiceanu, S. 1999. Planktonic and zoobenthic communities in an oligotrophic, boreal lake inhabited by an endemic and endangered seal population. Boreal Environ. Res., 4, 145–161.

Ibneeva, N. I. & Dorozhkina, T. Ya. 1983. Exploitation of food resources by planktivorous fishes in Lake Peipsi-Pihkva. Sb. naychn. tr. GosNIORKh, 209, 51-55 (in Russian).

Iglesias, C., Mazzeo, N., Goyenola, G., Fosalba, C., De Mello, F. T., Garcia, S. & Jeppesen, E. 2008. Field and experimental evidence of the effect of Jenynsia multidentata, a small omnivorous–planktivorous fish, on the size distribution of zooplankton in subtropical lakes. Freshwater Biol., 53, 1797–1807.
doi:10.1111/j.1365-2427.2008.02007.x

Jaani, A., Klaus, L., Pärn, O., Raudsepp, U., Zadonskaja, O., Gronskaja, T. & Solntsev, V. 2008. Hüdroloogia. In Peipsi (Haberman, J., Timm, T. & Raukas, A., eds), pp. 113–155. Eesti Loodusfoto, Tartu.

Jeppesen, E., Jensen, J. P., Søndergaard, M. & Lauridsen, W. T. 1999. Trophic dynamics in turbid and clear water lakes with special emphasis on the role of zooplankton for water clarity. Hydrobiologia, 408/409, 217–231.
doi:10.1023/A:1017071600486

Jeppesen, E., Jensen, J. P., Søndergaard, M., Lauridsen, T. & Landkildehus, F. 2000. Trophic structure, species richness and biodiversity in Danish lakes: changes along phosphorus gradient. Freshwater Biol., 45, 201–218.
doi:10.1046/j.1365-2427.2000.00675.x

Jeppesen, E., Jensen, J. P., Amsinck, S., Landkildehus, F., Lauridsen, T. & Mitchell, S. F. 2002. Reconstructing the historical changes in Daphnia mean size and planktivorous fish abundance in lakes from the size of Daphnia ephippia in the sediment. J. Paleolimnol., 27, 133–143.
doi:10.1023/A:1013561208488

Jeppesen, E., Søndergaard, M., Jensen, J. P. et al. 2005. Lake responses to reduced nutrient loading – an analysis of contemporary long-term data from 35 case studies. Freshwater Biol., 50, 1747–1771.
doi:10.1111/j.1365-2427.2005.01415.x

Kangur, K. & Möls, T. 2008. Changes in spatial distribution of phosphorus and nitrogen in the large north-temperate lowland Lake Peipsi (Estonia/Russia). Hydrobiologia, 599, 31–39.
doi:10.1007/s10750-007-9204-0

Kangur, A., Kangur, P., Pihu, E., Vaino, V., Tambets, M., Krause, T. & Kangur, K. 2008. Kalad ja kalapüük. In Peipsi (Haberman, J., Timm, T. & Raukas, A., eds), pp. 317–340. Eesti Loodus­foto, Tartu.

Kaufman, Z. S. 1990. Ecosystem of Lake Onega and Tendencies of Its Changes. Nauka, Leningrad (in Russian).

Kiselev, I. A. 1956. Methods of plankton research. In Freshwater Biota of the USSR IV (Pavlovski, E. N. & Zhadin, V. I., eds), pp. 183–265. Izd. AN SSSR, Moscow-Leningrad (in Russian).

Laugaste, R. & Pork, M. 1980. Changes of species composition of phytoplankton and primary production. In Anthropogenic Impact on Small Lakes (Koplan-Diks, I. S. & Stravinskaya, E. A., eds), pp. 46–54. Nauka, Leningrad (in Russian).

Laugaste, R., Nõges, P., Nõges, T., Yastremskij, V. V., Milius, A. & Ott, I. 2001. Algae. In Lake Peipsi:Flora and Fauna (Pihu, E. & Haberman, J., eds), pp. 31-49. Sulemees Publishers, Tartu.

Laugaste, R., Haberman, J., Krause, T. & Salujõe, J. 2007. Significant changes in phyto- and zooplankton in Lake Peipsi in recent years: what is the underlying reason? Proc. Estonian Acad. Sci. Biol. Ecol., 56, 106–123.

Lindholm, T., Vesterquist, P., Spoof, L., Lundberg-Niinistö, C. & Meriluoto, J. 2003. Microcystin occurrence in lakes in Åland, SW Finland. Hydrobiologia, 505, 129–138.
doi:10.1023/B:HYDR.0000007301.89200.ad

Milius, A. & Haldna, M. 2008. Hüdrokeemia. In Peipsi (Haberman, J., Timm, T. & Raukas, A., eds), pp. 157-178. Eesti Loodusfoto, Tartu.

Nõges, P. & Nõges, T. 2006. Indicators and criteria to assess ecological status of the large shallow temperate polymictic lakes Peipsi (Estonia/Russia) and Võrtsjärv (Estonia). Boreal Environ. Res., 11, 67–80.

Nõges, T., Haberman, J., Timm, M. & Nõges, P. 1993. The seasonal dynamics and trophic relations of the plankton components in Lake Peipsi (Peipus). Int. Rev. Hydrobiol., 79, 513–519.

Nõges, T., Haberman, J., Kisand, V., Laugaste, R. & Zingel, P. 2001. Trophic relations and food web structure of plankton community in Lake Peipsi s.s. In Lake Peipsi: Flora and Fauna (Pihu, E. & Haberman, J., eds), pp. 74-81. Sulemees Publishers, Tartu.

Nõges, T., Laugaste, R., Loigu, E., Nedogarko, I., Skakalski, B. & Nõges, P. 2005. Is the destabilisation of Lake Peipsi ecosystem caused by increased phosphorus loading or decreased nitrogen loading? Water Sci. Technol., 54, 267–274.

Nõges, T., Laugaste, R., Nõges, P. & Tõnno, I. 2008. Critical N : P ratio for cyanobacteria and N2-fixing species in the large shallow temperate lakes Peipsi and Võrtsjärv, North-East Europe. Dev. Hydrobiol., 199, 77–86.

OECD. 1982. Eutrophication of Water, Monitoring, Assessment and Control. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (O.E.C.D.), Paris.

Rumyantsev, V. A. & Drabkova, V. G. 2002. Lake Ladoga: Past, Present, Future. Nauka, St. Petersburg (in Russian).

Sarvala, J., Aulio, K., Mölsä, H., Rajasilta, M., Salo, J. & Vuorinen, I. 1984. Factors behind the exceptionally high fish yield in the Lake Pyhäjärvi, southwestern Finland – hypotheses on the biological regulation of fish production. Aqua Fenn., 14, 49–57.

SAS Institute. 1999. SAS OnlineDoc, version 8. SAS Institute Inc., Cary.

Scharf, W. 1999. Restoration of the highly eutrophic Lingese Reservoir. Hydrobiologia, 416, 85–96.
doi:10.1023/A:1003851102095

Sonesten, L. 2008. Vattenkvaliteten i Storvänern. In Årsskrift 2008 Vänerns Vattenvårdsförbund. Raport nr. 49 (Christersen, A., ed.). http://www.lansstyrelsen.se/vastragotaland/Projektwebbar/ Vanern/rapporter/ (visited 2010-01-05).

Starast, H., Milius, A., Möls, T. & Lindpere, A. 2001. Hydrochemistry of Lake Peipsi. In Lake Peipsi. Meteorology, Hydrology, Hydrochemistry (Nõges, T., ed.), 97–131. Sulemees Publishers, Tartu.

Tanner, R., Kangur, K., Spoof, L. & Meriluoto, J. 2005. Hepatotoxic cyanobacterial peptides in Estonian freshwater bodies and inshore marine water. Proc. Estonian Acad. Sci. Biol. Ecol., 54, 40–52.

Trifonova, I. S. & Makartseva, E. S. 2003. Long-term dynamics of phyto- and zooplankton in mesotrophic Lake Krasnoe. In Lake Ecosystems: Biological Processes, Anthropogenic Transformation, Water Quality (Mikheyeva, T. M., ed.), pp. 528–530. Belarusian State University, Minsk (in Russian).

Utermöhl, H. 1958. Zur Vervollkommnung der quantitativen Phytoplankton Methodik. Mitt. Int. Ver. Theor. Angew. Limnol.,9, 1–38.

Watanabe, M. F., Park, H. & Nakajima, T. 2000. Composition of Microcystis and microcystins in Lake Biwa. Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnol., 27, 2899–2903.

Willén, E. 2001. Phytoplankton and water quality characterization: experiences from the Swedish large lakes Mälaren, Hjälmaren, Vättern and Vänern. Ambio, 30, 529–537.
doi:10.1579/0044-7447-30.8.529
Back to Issue

Back issues