Dynamics of phytoplankton pigment characteristics in the Biya head water

Concentrations of phytoplankton photosynthetic pigments were measured at the Biya head water (in the immediate vicinity of Lake Teletskoe) every 10 days from July 1998 through December 2001. Comparison of phytoplankton pigment characteristics at the river’s head waters and at the surface of the lake’s pelagic zone for the ice-free period shows that the monitoring data give a clear picture of the formation and functioning of the lake phytoplankton. Analysis of seasonal fluctuations of pigment characteristics and their proportions revealed characteristic stages in the development of lake algal cenoses. We have demonstrated similarities and differences in the seasonal dynamics of the phytoplankton between Lake Teletskoe, a deep oligotrophic lake in the south of West Siberia, as compared with the general pattern observed in temperate lakes. According to the concentration of chlorophyll a, the trophic status of the lake’s pelagic zone and the Biya head water is ultraoligotrophic-oligotrophic. Yellow:green pigment ratio ranks Lake Teletskoe among “carotenoid lakes“. Low coefficients of linear correlation between chlorophyll a, water level and biogenic matter concentration shows that the relationships analyzed are far more complex than has been inferred from the combined effect of abiotic and biotic factors.