| Abstract: | Reservoirs typically exhibit a gradient along their longitudinal axis in turbidity, nutrient flux, and algal biomass. We utilized these characteristics to examine factors influencing temporal and spatial patterns in abundance, biomass, composition, and production of epilimnetic autotrophic picoplankton (APP) in Sardis Reservoir, Mississippi, USA. Over a 18-month period, APP abundance varied between about 15,000 and 700,000 cells ml−1. Both APP abundance and APP biomass were closely linked to APP production and temperature. On an annual basis, the contribution of APP to total algal biomass and light-standardized production ranged between 15–47%, and 5–40%, respectively. Prokaryotes comprised more than 95% of all APP in summer, but eukaryotes dominated the APP community in winter. During the nutrient-depleted summer period, APP decreased in number but tended to increase in the percentage of total algal biomass and production, from the uplake riverine zone to the downlake lacustrine zone. Only in the second year of the study, when reservoir water residence time was more than four times greater than in the first year, were there significant differences in biomass and productivity of APP between the uplake and downlake regions. We suggest that, particularly in years or at times of the year when water-flow through the reservoir is slow, the importance of APP in Sardis Reservoir reflects a spatial and temporal gradient in nutrient availability. |
