The nutritional value of several planktonic algae was tested by means of feeding trials with three cladoceran zooplankters. The algae were monocultures and included two blue-greens, four greens and four flagellates with a size range of 5-48 u,m. The specific growth rates of the zooplankters were chosen as the measure of the nutritional value of the algae. The three cladocerans showed large differences in growth rate in the different algae, but the two cryptomonads were without doubt best suited as food for all. The fatty acid composition for the cryptomonads were different from the other algae. They contained high percentages of the polyunsaturated fatty acids 20:5u)3 (EPA) and 22:6w3 (DHA), which also are common in fish. It is suggested that the lipid composition is a probable factor determining the nutritional quality of the algae.
A large-scale increase in the discharge of humic material in rivers, as well as a darkening of Swedish lakes during the last 15 years, are illustrated and discussed. Increased precipitation was responsible for the greatest changes, but a marked part (10-40%) of the increase in river transport of coloured material was independent of discharge. Possible explanations for this increase may be: increased ground water level leading to increased runoff in superficial soil levels, a flow in direct contact with the organic soils; humus fractions in these layers may also be rich in iron resulting in more coloured water; increased primary production giving rise to increased amounts of litter and humic material; reduced capacity of soils to absorb organic matter because of acidification; and effects of modern forest management.Models of global climate predict a doubling of atmospheric-CO 2 , an increase in mean annual temperature of up to 1.5 to 4.5 C, and in Fennoscandia possibly an increase in precipitation. The factors responsible for the observed large-scale change in humus flux may be strengthened by the increasing greenhouse impacts, and may result in more humic and coloured lakes in Fennoscandia during the next century.
Inorganic and organic nutrients are continuously transported to lake bottoms by sedimentation . By various biological, physical, chemical and mechanical processes quantities of certain nutrients can be brought back to the free water again . This cycling between the sediments and water may occur according to various schemes dependent on lake type and bottom conditions . Lake morphology, temperature regimes, trophic level and sediment type can all strongly influence the size of nutrient pools and rates of turnover .The various activities of bacteria, benthic algae, macrophytes, benthic invertebrates and fish, in conjunction with influences of temperature, pH-values, Eh-values, water content, organic matter and elemental sediment composition, lead to the extremely complex nature of nutrient cycling . Three essential components of aquatic ecosystems are discussed, namely carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus .The objective of this paper is to illustrate in condensed form the heterogeneous nature of nutrient cycling processes . In addition, the importance of sediments in understanding nutrient cycling is discussed from a water management perspective .
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