Soluble reactive phosphorus release from bryozoan dominated periphyton

Net release of soluble reactive phosphorus from mass developments of bryozoans, grown on artificial substrata in Mikolajskie Lake, Poland, was measured in depth profiles from 0 to 4 m. Release rates up to 94 g P dm^-2 h^-1 were recorded. P uptake by algae in the bryozoan community was a minor component of the P balance. The P exchange was several times higher in this community than typical values for other periphyton communities in the same lake. It is concluded that well developed bryozoan communities, when present, can contribute considerably to the recycling of phosphorus in the littoral of smaller lakes.