Effect of phytoplankton community composition and cell size on absorption properties in eutrophic shallow lakes: field and experimental evidence

Abstract

We investigated phytoplankton absorption properties of Lake Taihu, in the spring and summer of 2005 and 2006, and for 17 days studied laboratory cultures of Scenedesmus obliquus (chlorophyta) and Microcystis aeruginosa (cyanophyta) to determine the effect of phytoplankton community composition and cell size on the absorption properties. There were significant seasonal differences in phytoplankton community composition and absorption coefficients. In spring, the phytoplankton community was dominated by chlorophyta with large cells, whereas in summer was dominated by cyanophyta with small cells. Phytoplankton absorption coefficients increased significantly from spring to summer, with the increase in chlorophyll a (Chla) concentration. In addition, Chla-specific absorption coefficients increased with the phytoplankton community succession from chlorophyta to cyanophyta. In culture, the cells density of S. obliquus was generally lower than that of M. aeruginosa, and Chla concentrations of S. obliquus were significantly higher than those of M. aeruginosa. Correspondingly, the Chla-specific absorption coefficients of S. obliquus were significantly lower than those of M. aeruginosa. Significant exponential correlations were found between absorption and Chla-specific absorption coefficients and Chla concentration for S. obliquus and M. aeruginosa. In addition, we developed a model to predict absorption and Chla-specific absorption coefficients using Chla concentration and cell size when data from two species was grouped together. Field and experimental results both showed that the Chla-specific absorption coefficients of cyanophyta were significantly higher than those of chlorophyta. The variability in specific absorption can attributed to phytoplankton community composition, cell size and pigment composition. As phytoplankton community composition changed significantly with season in the lake, and as variation in the cell sizes and accessory pigments of the phytoplankton community influenced the Chla-specific absorption coefficient, these factors may be considered explicitly in future improvements to bio-optical algorithms to more accurately estimate Chla concentration, primary production and phytoplankton community composition.