Acid precipitation effects on algal productivity and biomass in Adirondack Mountain lakes

Technical Report · Wed Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1982

OSTI ID:6062910

Hendrey, G R

Relationships between phytoplankton communities and lake acidity in three Adirondack Mountain lakes were studied at Woods Lake (pH ca. 4.9), Sagamore Lake (pH ca. 5.5), and Panther Lake (pH ca. 7.0). Species numbers decrease with increasing acidity. Patterns of increasing biomass and productivity in Woods Lake may be atypical of similar oligotrophic lakes in that they develop rather slowly to maxima six weeks after ice-out, instead of occurring very close to ice-out. Contributions of netplankton, nannoplankton and ultraplankton to productivity per m/sup 2/ show that the smaller plankton are relatively more important in the more acid lakes. This pattern could be determined by nutrient availability (lake acidification is suspected of leading to decreased availability of phosphorus). This was consistent with a hypothesis that microbial heterotrophic activity is reduced with increasing acidity, but the smaller phytoplankton may be more leaky at low pH. 11 references, 2 tables.

• Research Organization: Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (USA). Center for Environmental Research
• OSTI ID: 6062910
• Report Number(s): PB-83-173203; OWRT-A-078-NY(1)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560303* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology-- Plants-- (-1987)
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ACID RAIN
ADIRONDACK MOUNTAINS
ALGAE
APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
BIOLOGICAL AVAILABILITY
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
ECOSYSTEMS
GROWTH
LAKES
MOUNTAINS
NUTRIENTS
PLANT GROWTH
PLANTS
POPULATION DYNAMICS
POPULATIONS
RAIN
SPECIES DIVERSITY
SURFACE WATERS