Spatial and temporal patterns in the phytoplankton of Crater Lake (1985-1987)
Debacon MK and McIntire CD. 1990. Spatial and temporal patterns in the phytoplankton of Crater Lake (1985-1987). Pages 167-183. In Debacon MK and McIntire CD (ed): Crater Lake: An ecosystem study. Corvallis, Oregon. June 18-22, 1988. San Francisco. 69th Annual Meeting of the Pacific Division/American Association for the Advancement of Science
"The temporal and spatial distribution and abundance of phytoplankton populations in Crater Lake were investigated between June 1985 and April 1987. Phytoplankton samples processed during this study contained a total of 131 taxa, which included 49 diatoms, 45 chrysophytes, 2 xanthophytes, 19 chlorophytes, 3 blue-green algae, 10 dinoflagellates, and 4 cryptomonads. Total cell biovolume integrated to a depth of 250 m ranged from a minimum of 3,151 mm3m-2 in January 1987 to a maximum of 33,706 mm3m-2 in April 1987. From a community perspective, the phytoplankton of Crater Lake can be described as a sparse but diverse assemblage, which is spatially and temporally modified periodically by local variations in the abundance of the more dominant species. Lowest species diversity and highest dominance were found in the upper 10 m of the water column during the summer months when Nitzschia gracilis was the dominant organism. In contrast, species diversity was relatively high throughout the water column to a depth of 200 m during the winter and spring months when there was no evidence of thermal stratification. The dominant taxa at this time of year included Stephanodiscus hantzschii and Gymnodinium inversum."
- Type
- Conference Proceeding Paper
- Authors
- Debacon, Mary; McIntire, C
- Units
- CRLA
- Keywords
- Abundance (Biodiversity), Aquatic Ecology, Aquatic Sciences, Checklist, Distribution, Distribution (Biodiversity), Ecology, Fresh Water, Limnology, Observations, Phytoplankton, Presence (Biodiversity), Species Composition