EVALUATIONS OF THE AVAILABILITY OF SOURCES OF NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS FOR ALGAE1

Techniques are compared for the evaluation of nutrient sources in which the potential nutrients are in contact with algae over their entire culture period versus relatively short-term exposure tests. Different nitrogen and phosphorus compounds were shown to be utilized in darkness as well as in light and were equally available at pH 7 and 9. The availability of relatively insoluble nutrients–iron-phosphorus compounds and teeth for phosphorus, hair for nitrogen iron pyrites for iron, and marble for carbon–indicates that in many cases the equilibrium between soluble and insoluble forms allows algae to compete successfully with insoluble forms for nutrients. Apparently, factors other than mere insolubility prevent algae from obtaining available nitrogen or phosphorus from phosphate rock or lake muds. Live algae or aquatic weeds with adequate or surplus nitrogen or phosphorus were shown to not share their nutrients with nitrogen- or phosphorus-limited algae, whereas the nutrients of killed algae or aquatic weeds were readily used by nutrient-limited algae. The facts–(1) that live algae and aquatic weeds do not share their adequate or surplus nutrients with nutrient-limited algae and (2) that lake muds do not provide readily available nitrogen or phosphorus–indicate that once lake waters are stripped of available nutrients by plant production, further plant production will depend upon nutrients from continuous sources of nutrients, such as wastewater effluents.