Abstract
North-temperate lakes have been shown to progress through a general cycle of chlorophyll-a phenology. Because estimates of seasonal means are often based on only a few samples collected against this variable background, these estimates can be biased or uncertain. Our goal was to reduce the seasonal uncertainty and thereby produce more accurate estimates of chlorophyll concentration by defining a correction for phenological development. Time-series data from 149 lake-years were used to develop equations from which chlorophyll values could be “corrected” to the seasonal mean in relation to their particular date of measurement. However, we found the seasonal correction to be ineffectual in reducing uncertainty about nutrient-response regressions. After reviewing a number of hypotheses, we conclude that the correction derived from the average response for many lakes will be inadequate to adjust for the seasonal pattern occurring within any particular lake. This occurs because the temporal weighting correction, generated through repeated averaging, underestimates the seasonal variability which exists among individual lakes. An effective correction, if it is developed will have to be based on patterns within single lakes or possibly different lakes within a single region.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bailey-Watts, A. E., A. Kirika, L. May and D. H. Jones, 1990. Changes in phytoplankton over various time scales in a shallow, eutrophic: the Loch Leven experience with a special reference to the influence of flushing rate. Freshw. Biol. 23:85–111.
Carpenter, S. R. and J. F. Kitchell, 1987. The temporal scale of variance in limnetic primary production. Am. Natur. 129:417–433.
Depinto, J. V., T. C. Young and D. K. Salisbury, 1986. Impact of phosphorus availability on modelling phytoplankton dynamics. Hydrobiol. Bull. 20:225–243.
Dillon, P. J. and others, 1987. Lakeshore capacity study, trophic status component summary report. Ont. Min. Housing 300 p.
Dodson, H. F. H., M. Gibbertson and P. G. Sly, 1974. A summary and comparison of nutrients and related water quality in lakes Erie, Ontario, Huron, and Superior. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 31:731–738.
Fee, E. J., 1976. The vertical and seasonal distribution of chlorophyll in lakes of the Experimental Lakes Area, northwestern Ontario: implications for primary production estimates. Limnol. Oceanogr. 21:767–783.
France, R. L., 1992. Climatic governance of the latitudinal trend in seasonality of freshwater phytoplankton production. Internat. J. Biometeor. 36:243–244.
France, R. L. and R. H. Peters, 1992. Temporal variance function for total phosphorus concentration. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 49:975–977.
Glooschenko, W. A., J. E. Moore and R. A. Vollenweider, 1974. Spatial and temporal distribution of chlorophyll a and pheopigments in surface waters of Lake Erie. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 31:265–274.
Griesbach, S. J. and R. H. Peters, 1991. The effects of analytical variations on estimates of phosphorus concentration in surface waters. Lake Reserv. Manag. 7:97–106.
Hanna, M. and R. H. Peters, 1991. Effect of sampling protocol on estimates of phosphorus and chlorophyll concentrations in lakes of low to moderate trophic status. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 48:1979–1986.
Heyman, U., S. Ryding and C. Forsberg, 1984. Frequency distributions of water quality variables. Relationships between mean and maximum values. Wat. Res. 18:787–794.
Horn, H., 1984. The effects of sampling intervals on phytoplankton growth and loss values derived from seasonal phytoplankton biomass variations in an artifical lake. Int. rev. Ges. Hydrobiol. 69:111–119.
Jones, R. A., W. Rast and C. F. Lee, 1979. Relationship between summer mean and maximum chlorophyll a concentrations in lakes. Environ. Sci. Tech. 13:869–870.
Kalff, J. and H. E. Welch, 1974. Phytoplankton production in Char Lake, a natural lake, and Meretta Lake, a polluted polar lake, Cornwallis island, Northwest Territories. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 31:621–636.
Kavvas, M. L. and J. W. Delleur, 1975. Removal of periodicities by differencing and monthly mean subtraction. J. Hydrol. 26:335–353.
Knowlton, M. F., M. V. Hoyer and J. R. Jones, 1984. Sources of variability in phosphorus and chlorophyll and their effects on use of lake survey data. Wat. Res. Bull. 20:397–407.
Kwiatkowski, R. E., 1978. Scenario for an ongoing chlorophyll a surveillance plan for Lake Ontario for non-intensive sampling years. J. Great Lakes Res. 4:19–26.
Marshall, C. T. and R. H. Peters, 1989. General patterns in the seasonal development of chlorophyll a for temperate lakes. Limnol. Oceanogr. 34:856–867.
Marshall, C. T., A Morin and R. H. Peters, 1988. Estimates of mean chlorophyll-a concentration: precision, accuracy, and sampling design. Wat. Res. Bull. 24: 1027–1034.
Megard, R. O., 1972. Phytoplankton, photosynthesis, and phosphorus in Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota. Limnol. Oceanogr. 17:68–87.
Nicholls, K. H. and P. J. Dillon, 1981. An evaluation of phosphorus-chlorophyll-phytoplankton relationships. Inter. Rev. ges. Hydrobiol. 63:141–154.
Peters, R. H., 1990. Pathologies in limnology. Mem. Ist. Ital. Idrobiol. 47:177–214.
Prairie, Y. T., C. M. Duarte and J. Kalff, 1989. Unifying nutrient-chlorophyll relationships in lakes. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 46:1176–1182.
Reynolds, C. S., 1980. Phytoplankton assemblages and their periodicity in stratifying lake systems. Holarctic Ecol. 3:141–159.
Schindler, D. W. and 1974. Eutrophication and recovery in experimental lakes: implications for lake management. Science 184:897–899.
Schindler, D. W., G. W. Comita, 1972. The dependence of primary production and chemical factors in a small, senescing lake, including the effects of complete winter oxygen depletion. Arch. Hydrobiol. 69:413–451.
Smith, V. H. and J. Shapiro, 1981. Chlorophyll-phosphorus relationships in individual lakes: their importance to lake restoration strategies. Environ. Sci. Tech. 15:444–457.
Sommer, U., 1986. The periodicity of phytoplankton in Lake Constance (Bodensee) in comparison to other deep lakes of central Europe. Hydrobiol. 138:1–7.
Sommer, U., Z. M. Gliwicz, W. Lampert and A. Duncan, 1986. The PEG-model of seasonal succession of planktonic events in fresh waters. Arch. Hydrobiol. 106:433–471.
Stauffer, R. E., 1991. Environmental factors influencing chlorophyll v. nutrient relationships in lakes. Freshw. Biol. 25:279–295.
Stockner, J. G., 1981. Whole-lake fertilization for the enhancement of sockeye salmon(Oncorhynchus nerka) in British Columbia, Canada. Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnol. 21:293–299.
Vollenweider, R. A., M. Munawar and P. Stadelmann, 1974. A comparative review of phytoplankton and primary production in the Laurentian Great Lakes. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 31:739–762.
Walker, W. W., 1985. Statistical bases for mean chlorophyll-a criteria. J. Lake Reserv. Manag. 4:57–62.
Walmsley, R. D., 1984. A chlorophyll a trophic status classification system for South African impoundments. J. Environ. Qual. 13:97–104.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
France, R.L., Peters, R.H. & Prairie, Y.T. Adjusting chlorophyll-a estimates through temporal weighting based on the seasonal development of phytobiomass. Aquatic Science 56, 106–114 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00877202
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00877202