Ref ID : 1870
Ben K. Basu and Frances R. Pick; Factors regulating phytoplankton and zooplankton biomass in temperate rivers. Limnol.Oceanogr. 41(7):1572-1577, 1996
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By measuring Chl-a, zooplankton biomass, nutrient concentrations, and water residence time in 31 rivers in eastern Canada, we tested the following hypotheses: Chl-a is positively related to nutrient concentrations and water residence time, and zooplankton biomass is positively related to Chl-a and water residence time. Chl-a ranged from 1.8 to 27.6 µg liter-1, total phosphorus (TP) from 7.3 to 212.3 µg liter-1, water residence time from 3.3 to 19.4 day. There was a positive relationship between Chl-a and TP (R(2)=0.76) and no relationship between Chl-a and residence time. In contrast, zooplankton biomass was positively related to water residence time (R(2)=0.33). There was only a weak positive relationship between Chl-a and zooplankton biomass. Mean river zooplankton biomass was low (11.3 µg liter-1 dry mass) compared to lakes of similar Chl-a concentration.