The Photosynthetic Activities of the Aquatic Plants of Little John Lake, Vilas County, Wisconsin

Abstract

The fundamental organic matter produced by a lake is manufactured by the aquatic chlorophyll-bearing organisms from carbon dioxide, water and various other substances dissolved in the water and the manufacuring process is energized by the subsurface solar radiation. It represents the primary anabolic activity on which all aquatic life depends, either directly or indirectly, for its sustenance. Both the large aquatic plants and the microscopic forms of the phytoplankton contribute to the production of this organic material; generally speaking however, the phytoplankton plays a more important role in the manufacuring process than the large aquatics, especially in lakes that are deep enough to become thermally stratified in summer. The latter are usually confined to the shallow water where light and soil conditions are more favorable for their growth. The phytoplankton, on the other hand, is free floating and is distributed throughout the epilimnion due to the wind circulation of that stratum; it is present even in the lower water where conditions are not so favorable for photosynthesis.