Natural community bioassays to determine the abiotic factors that control phytoplankton growth and succession

SUMMARY. 1. The successional patterns of the dominant phytoplankton species in Lake Maarsseveen (The Netherlands) were very similar in 1980 and 1981. In December/January the diatoms Stephanodiscus hantzschii Grun., Stephanodiscus astraea (Ehr.) Grun. and Asterionella formosa Hass. dominated the algal community (A. formosa had several further population increases during the year). Fragilaria crotonensis Kitt. came to dominance in March/April, followed by the chrysophyte Dinobryon divergens Imhof and the diatom Cyclotella comta (Ehr.) Kütz in May/June. A second appearance of D. divergens was observed in July/August, followed in 1980 by F. crotonensis and a third small increase of D. divergens. In both years S. astraea and S. hantzschii started to grow again in November/December. Cryptophyceae and Chlorophyta were present throughout the year, but did not show a distinct succession. 2. Natural community bioassays, performed under natural light and temperature conditions in a newly developed outdoor bioassay apparatus, showed that phosphate was the major nutrient limiting the growth rate of the phytoplankton. From January till June, during the decline in phosphorus concentration, the diatoms became successively phosphate limited in the sequence: S. hantzschii, S. astraea, F. crotonensis, A. formosa and C. comta. Light limitation was probably the major cause of the relatively late start of F. crotonensis in early spring. 3. D. divergens, increasing after the diatoms from June till September, was stimulated by the addition of a chelator (EDTA). The chelator might stimulate the formation of trace metal species favouring their uptake (e.g. iron). 4. The patterns of succession of the diatoms observed from January till June and from July till December were to a large extent symmetrical. The controlling factors followed opposite trends: declining phosphorus concentrations with increasing irradiance from winter till spring and increasing phosphorus concentrations with decreasing irradiance from summer till late winter.