Abstract
A study of the phytoplankton community dynamics in Navigation Pool No. 7 of the Upper Mississippi River was conducted from May through October, 1982. The objectives of this study were to estimate total standing crops, determine the taxonomic composition and examine the seasonal succession of the phytoplankton community. Four sampling sites were established: two in Lake Onalaska, a large backwater lake on the Wisconsin side of the main channel; one in the main channel near Dakota, Minnesota; and one in the main channel just upstream from Lock and Dam No. 7.
The phytoplankton communities at all sampling sites were dominated by diatoms except during July and August when a bloom of blue-green algae was observed. The dominant diatoms from May through mid-July were Melosira italica, Stephanodiscus niagarae, Stephanodiscus hantzschii, Stephanodiscus astrea, and Synedra ulna. Aphanizomenon flos-aquae and Microcystis aeruginosa were the most prevalent blue-green algae during the mid-summer bloom. The diatoms Melosira italica and Melosira granulata were dominant in September and October. Lesser amounts of green algae, cryptomonads and euglenoids were also observed at various times of the sampling period.
Total standing crops based on cell volume were usually greatest at the Lock and Dam No. 7 site. The maximum standing crop (10.4 mm3 1−1) was observed at the Lock and Dam No. 7 site on 4 September; the minimum standing crop (0.4 mm3 1−1) was observed at the eastern Lake Onalaska site on the same date. Concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, and silica remained at high levels throughout the study period and did not appear to limit phytoplankton standing crops.
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Huff, D.R. Phytoplankton communities in navigation pool no. 7 of the Upper Mississippi River. Hydrobiologia 136, 47–56 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00051503
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00051503