Small-scale patchiness of the phytoplankton in a lentic oxbow

Horizontal sampling within a lentic oxbow demonstrated the uneven distribution of algae at both large and small scales. An index of heterogeneity is proposed to characterize the fine-scale horizontal patchiness, which is defined as the ratio of the coefficient of variation among samples and the erro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of plankton research 2011-06, Vol.33 (6), p.973-981
Main Authors: BORICS, Gábor, ABONYI, András, KRASZNAI, Enikő, VARBIRO, Gábor, GRIGORSZKY, István, SZABO, Sándor, DEAK, Csaba, TOTHMERESZ, Béla
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Cyanobacteria
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
Synecology
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Summary:Horizontal sampling within a lentic oxbow demonstrated the uneven distribution of algae at both large and small scales. An index of heterogeneity is proposed to characterize the fine-scale horizontal patchiness, which is defined as the ratio of the coefficient of variation among samples and the error in counting the algae. Applying a vertical grid sampling strategy, a distinct patchy distribution of several algal species was observed. Most of the patches were formed by those species that have good buoyancy-regulating mechanisms (blue-green algae, dinoflagellates). Atelomixis caused by surface cooling may be the explanation of the heterogeneity. We have shown that the anisotropic horizontal distribution of the phytoplankton could cause high uncertainty in lake quality assessment. Therefore, to improve accuracy composite sampling is needed.
ISSN:0142-7873
1464-3774
DOI:10.1093/plankt/fbq166