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Plankton communities of three Central Florida lakes

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Abstract

A study of planktonic primary productivity and community structure was carried out on three lakes of varying morphometric and chemical features, but which were within a single watershed in Central Florida. Primary productivity in these lakes was evaluated by means of in situ light and dark bottle determinations as well as by calculations based upon chlorophyll and light data. Lake Mize, a deep sinkhole lake containing highly colored waters of low pH, proved to be a very unproductive lake, while Biven's Arm, a shallow-basin lake with alkaline waters and Newnan's lake, a shallow-basin like with highly colored waters both showed relatively high productivities. Phytoplankton components of the two productive lakes were quite similar to one another in being composed of bloom-forming blue-green and green algae, while the predominant forms in Lake Mize were chrysophytes, dinoflagellates and a diatom. Zooplanktonic forms were more uniform among the lakes than were the phytoplankton, though population levels reflected relative productivities among the lakes. Rotifers predominated in the Lake Mize plankton while cladocerans were relatively inabundant. This was opposite to the condition in Biven's Arm and Newnan's Lake. It is suggested that the constant presence of larval Chaoborus in the water column in Lake Mize may be partially responsible for the paucity of cladocera.

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  1. Department of Zoology, University of Florida, 32611, Gainesville, Florida, U.S.A.

    Frank G. Nordlie

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  1. Frank G. Nordlie
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Nordlie, F.G. Plankton communities of three Central Florida lakes. Hydrobiologia 48, 65–78 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00033492

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