Continuous monitoring of phytoplankton dynamics in Lake Balaton (Hungary) using on-line delayed fluorescence excitation spectroscopy

1. This study introduces delayed fluorescence (DF) excitation spectroscopy as an on‐line tool for in situ monitoring of the composition and biomass of various colour classes of phytoplankton when they are photosynthetically active (cyanobacteria, chlorophytes, chromophytes and cryptophytes). The DF data are validated by comparison with those from conventional methods (weekly microscopic counts and the measurement of chlorophyll concentration). 2. The composition of phytoplankton as assessed by DF agreed reasonably well with the results from microscopic counts, particularly when differences in chlorophyll‐specific DF integrals of the various colour classes were taken into account. 3. Integrals of DF spectra were converted into concentration of chlorophyll a using empirical factors derived from field data. The value of the conversion factor was nearly twice as high when the relative abundance of cyanobacteria was low (<15%) than when it was high. The converted DF‐chl time series agreed well with chlorophyll measurements particularly when blooms were developing. As the DF method is inherently free of the interference caused by pigment degradation products, the discrepancy between the two data sets increased during the collapse of blooms and when sediment resuspension was intense. 4. Fourier spectrum analysis of the time series of DF‐chl indicated that samples must be taken, at a minimum, every 2–3 days to capture the dynamics of phytoplankton. As a consequence, the dynamics of various algal blooms, including their timing, duration and net growth rate, could be estimated with greater confidence than by using conventional methods alone. 5. On‐line DF spectroscopy is an advanced technique for monitoring daily the biomass and composition of the photosynthetically active phytoplankton in aquatic environments, including turbid shallow lakes. At present, the detection limit is around 1 mg DF‐chl a m^?3 in terms of total biomass but confidence in estimates of phytoplankton composition declines sharply below about 5 mg chl a m^?3. 6. On‐line DF spectroscopy represents a promising approach for monitoring phytoplankton. It will be useful in water management where it can act as an early‐warning system of declines in water quality. In basic ecological research it can supplement manual methods. While default calibration spectra may be acceptable for routine monitoring, we suggest a careful individual calibration of the DF spectrometer for basic research. The statistical methods developed here help to assess the adequacy of various calibration sets.     

The distribution of chlorophylls, carotenoids and their breakdown products in Lake Kinneret (Israel) sediments

SUMMARY. 1. The sedimentary distribution of chlorophylls, carotenoids and their breakdown products following the winter-spring bloom of the dinoflagellate Peridinium gatunense in Lake Kinneret was determined both spatially and vertically within the sediments, using high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC).
2. All four stations (epilimnic, oxic St. J (depth = 8m) and D (12m) and hypolimnic, anoxic St. F (21 m) A (41 m) were characterized by the presence of chlorophyll a (chl-a) chl- b , chl- c , phaeophytins a (ph'tin- a ) and b , phaeophorbide a (ph'bide- a ) and lutein, fucoxanthin, diatoxanthin and β-carotene together with spectrally similar, but HPLC-resolved, breakdown products in the surface sediments. The central deep station A (41 m), which is seasonally anoxic, trapped and preserved significantly more pigments (e.g. chl- a = 16.35 μg g⁻¹ organic matter) than the more erosive, oxic littoral stations (chl- a = 1.10 and 0.76μg g^−l OM at St. D and J, respectively).
3. Whereas it was possible to ascribe the presence of lutein and chl- b to inputs of green algae and higher plants from the catchment, and fucoxanthin and chl- c ₁, c ₂ to winter diatom blooms (e.g. Melosira granulata ), there was a remarkable absence of peridinin and dinoxanthin from sediments, despite the dominance of dinoflagellates in the phytobiomass. This is consistent with the well-known oxic lability of this epoxy carotenoid in aquatic systems, and indicates efficient breakdown of this dinoflagellate organic matter in the water column, prior to sedimentation.
4. Although pigment concentrations all decreased with depths within sediments, lutein and β-carotene were selectively preserved compared to chl-a and fucoxanthin which, at 40m depth at St. A, decreased to < 1% of their surface concentrations.     

以色列Kinneret湖多甲藻水华期间浮游植物的P-I曲线

在水域生态系统中,浮游植物的光合作用在很大程度上决定水体可更新资源的丰度以及碳在生物地球化学过程中的通量。为了描述光合作用与光辐射强度的关系,很多作者进行了有益的探索。通过不同的P－I曲线对观察值的拟会,得到了反映光合作用特征的参数。事实上,很多环境因子影响着光合作用的强度和效率,如光强、光周期、温度、营养盐以及浮游植物群落结构等。本研究采用不同的WI曲线模型对以色列kirmeret湖P-I观察值进行拟合,阐明该湖泊夏季浮游植物群落光合作用的特点,并对湖泊中浮游植物的光适应规律作一探讨。1材料和方法1．1湖泊…     

Distribution fields for aquatic ecosystem components: method of identification of correlation zones

1. Data from the two multidisciplinary surveys of Lake Kinneret (Israel), including acoustic surveys of fish concentrations and concurrent sampling of plankton at stations, were used to reconstruct fish and plankton distributions. No significant lake-wide correlations for the distribution fields were found. With respect to patchiness of the fish and plankton distributions, we hypothesized that they might be correlated in localized zones. 2. A method is suggested for the identification of areas where there are strong correlations of two distribution fields. The method is based on outlining zones where the gradients of the two fields of interest are in the same direction (or are opposite). Only areas larger than the autocorrelation circles (or ellipses) for the fields are considered. The correlation of the fields is calculated for each of the zones selected. 3. The method was used in analysing data from the multidisciplinary surveys. We were able to detect areas of the lake where there were correlations for fish and plankton distributions. Analysis of specific conditions inside the correlation zones made it possible to construct hypotheses concerning the causes for the observed patterns of fish and plankton distributions.