Spatial distribution of phytoplankton in Lake Baikal, Spring 1991

Abstract

S U M M A R Y1. Studies carried out in Lake Baikal in late spring (late May-early June) 1991 showed marked differences in the species composition and abundance of phytoplankton in different regions of the lake. The south and north basins were characterized by small forms of algae. The middle basin, Maloe More and the shallow waters of the Selenga had species with large cells including Aulacoseira islundicu subsp. helveticu, Dinobryon cylindricurn and D. divergens. 2. Areas of high biomass were correlated with shallow waters and river inputs. This was especially apparent in the region of the Selenga delta. The vertical distribution of phytoplankton indicated the non-synchronous start of the spring homothenny throughout the lake. Phytoplankton were concentrated in the upper 100 m layer with subsurface maxima resulting from the sinking of large algae. 3. The concentration of phytoplankton biomass in general at this time characterized the lake as moderately productive.

Distribution and development of under-ice phytoplankton in 90-m deep water column of Lake Päijänne (Finland) during spring convection

“…However, more than half a century ago, Rodhe (1955) found that phytoplankton could be abundant under the snow and ice of lakes. Later, many other studies have supported Rodhe's findings, including factors controlling phytoplankton production (Tulonen et al 1994;Richardson et al 2000), horizontal patchiness of chlorophyll a (Chl-a) (Cloern et al 1992), mass occurrences of certain species (e.g., ''Melosirayears'', Bondarenko et al 1996) and competition between species under ice (Rengefors and Legrand 2001).…”

1000 years of climate variability in central Asia: assessing the evidence using Lake Baikal (Russia) diatom assemblages and the application of a diatom-inferred model of snow cover on the lake

“…For a detailed account of dissolution processes in Lake Baikal, readers are referred to Ryves et al (2003). Importantly, Nitzschia acicularis is absent from the recent lake sediment record despite significant increases in the species recorded during phytoplankton-monitoring studies in the south basin (e.g., see Rychkov et al, 1989;Bondarenko et al, 1996;Bondarenko, 1999;Popovskaya, 2000;Ryves et al, 2003). Comparisons of Synedra acus in the water column and in the sediment record provide the greatest difference between counts, with S. acus underrepresented in Lake Baikal sediments by a factor of almost 680 (Battarbee et al, 2005-this volume; Table 1).…”

Nutrient limitation of the primary production of phytoplankton in Lake Baikal

“…The vernal maximum biomass of phytoplankton in a Melosira year is about tenfold greater than that in a non-Melosira year (Bondarenko and Evstafyev 2002). Another characteristic of Lake Baikal is the dominance of very small phytoplankton, called picoplankton (formerly called ultrananoplankton) in the biomass and primary productivity of the phytoplankton assemblage (Votintsev et al 1972;Back et al 1991;Nagata et al 1994;Bondarenko et al 1996;Watanabe and Drucker 1999;Belykh and Sorokovikova 2003;Yoshida et al 2003;Katano et al 2005).…”