Quantifying the impact of periphytic algae on nutrient availability for phytoplankton

SUMMARY.

• 1 Recent laboratory studies demonstrate that periphytic algae growing on the sediment surface reduce nutrient availability in the overlying water. Consequently, periphytic algae may competitively reduce growth of phytoplankton.
• 2 The aim of this study was to quantify the competitive impact of sediment-attached periphytic algae on phytoplankton in the presence of all other factors simultaneously affecting nutrient dynamics in natural systems.
• 3 In enclosure experiments, performed in three lakes of different productivity, the periphytic algal biomass was manipulated. When compared to enclosures with high biomass of periphytic algae, those with reduced biomass showed an increase in total phosphorus concentration in the water of 32–44%. Extrapolation of the experimental results to whole lakes predicts an increase in original total phosphorus concentration of between 1.5% and 8.0%. According to existing regressions between total phosphorus and phytoplankton chlorophyll, the potential increase in original phytoplankton biomass will be between 2.5% and 12.6%.
• 4 With respect to the shallow parts of lakes, my results support the conclusions revealed from laboratory studies that periphytic algae have a significant impact on the phosphorus concentration in the overlying water. However, when considering whole-lake dynamics, the competitive impact of periphytic algae on phytoplankton biomass development is probably of minor importance.
• 5 Rather, the main competitive advantage of growing on the sediment surface, compared to in the water, may be the exclusive access to nutrients in the sediment.