Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

CS28 Phytoplankton: Distributions in Space and Time

Date: Thursday, February 15, 2001, Time: 12:15:00 PM

Location: Dona Ana

Muscio, C, M, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, USA, cmuscio@odu.edu

VARIATION IN SEASONAL COMMUNITY STRUCTURE OF LAKE PRINCE AND THE WESTERN BRANCH RESERVOIR, SUFFOLK VIRGINIA

Lake Prince and the Western Branch are eutrophic reservoir lakes, connected by a spillway, which provide the region with drinking water, recreational boating, and fishing. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has an interest in the quantity and quality of phytoplankton production in the lake, especially regarding the health of fish populations. A year-long examination of the phytoplankton community structure has been conducted. Duplicate surface water samples were collected monthly from six stations, along with physical and chemical baseline data. Community structure, diversity and dominance were examined with regard to the physical and chemical parameters, as well as seasonal climate changes. Three hurricane events in autumn, and a period of snowstorm activity in January were major contributors to variations in populations from typical temperate dimictic lakes. These events influenced the extreme peaks and troughs in phytoplankton community biomass and periodicity of species.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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