Relative Importance of Phosphorus Supply to Phytoplankton Production: Fish Excretion versus External Loading

Abstract

In laboratory tanks with bream (Abramis brama), perch (Perca fluviatilis), and roach (Rutilus rutilus) concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen increased with time. Phosphorus was mainly released as soluble molybdate-reactive phosphorus (SRP); nitrogen almost exclusively as ammonium. The release increased with the species' tendency to forage on littoral sediments and with a smaller fish size. Bioassays with the test algae Selenastrum capricornutum showed that released phosphorus was readily available to algal growth. The total supply of phosphorus to the epilimnion of Lake Gjersjøen was calculated from the external supply from the tributaries and the estimated phosphorus release from total roach biomass. From May to October 1980 phosphorus release from the roach population contributed about the same order of magnitude as the total phosphorus loading from the watershed. During the period with the most serious phosphorus depletion to the phytoplankton (July, August, and September), the phosphorus supply from fish was about double that of the external phosphorus supply, confirming the important role of sediment-feeding fish populations in the eutrophication processes of lakes.