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Nutrient–chlorophyll relationships in tropical–subtropical lakes: do temperate models fit?

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Abstract

In tropical lakes relatively little is known about the general relationship between nutrient concentration and phytoplankton biomass. Using data from 192 lakes from tropical and subtropical regions we examine the relationship between total P (TP) and chlorophyll (Chl). The lakes are all located between 30° S to 31° N include systems in Asia, Africa, and North and South America but are dominated by Brazilian (n=79) and subtropical N. American (n=67) systems. The systems vary in morphometry (mean depth and lake area), trophic state as well total N (TN) to␣total P (TP) ratios and light extinction. Despite a nearly 500-fold range in TP concentrations (2–970 μg P l−1), there was a poorer relationship between log TP and log Chl (r 2=0.42) than is generally observed for temperate systems from either narrow or broad geographic regions. N limitation is not a likely explanation for the relatively weak TP–Chl relationship in the tropical–subtropical systems. Systems had high average TN:TP ratios and neither a multiple regression with log TP and log TN nor separating systems with high TN:TP (>17 by weight) improved the predictive power of the log TP–log Chl relationship.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by grants from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) and A.W. Mellon Foundation, USA, and by scholarship to Vera Huszar from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Brasil. The authors want to thank Dr␣Lucia H.S. Silva and Dr Denise Bicudo for unpublished data, Eduardo Welp for entering data, Dr W.M. Lewis Jr and an anonymous reviewer for providing criticism of the manuscript. This is a contribution to the Institute of Ecosystem Studies.

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  1. Depto. de Botânica, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 20940-040, Brasil

    Vera L.M. Huszar

  2. Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Box AB, Millbrook, NY, 12545, USA

    Nina F. Caraco & Jonathan Cole

  3. Laboratório de Ecologia Aquática, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, 36036-330, Brasil

    Fabio Roland

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  1. Vera L.M. Huszar
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Correspondence to Vera L.M. Huszar.

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Huszar, V.L., Caraco, N.F., Roland, F. et al. Nutrient–chlorophyll relationships in tropical–subtropical lakes: do temperate models fit?. Biogeochemistry 79, 239–250 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-006-9007-9

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