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Diel changes in plankton and water chemistry in Wicken brickpit

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Abstract

In a flooded Fenland brickpit 3 metres deep a 24-hr study (supplemented by other observations in the field and in the laboratory) revealed marked changes with depth and time in oxygen concentration, pH, total carbon dioxide, ammonium, oxidised nitrogen, phosphate and silica; as well as changes in the rate of cell-division and the vertical distribution of phytoplankton (Dinobryon and Peridinium), and the feeding and vertical movement of zooplankton (copepods, Bosmina, Ceriodaphnia, Polyarthra and Keratella). Directional trapping of zooplankton revealed relationships between population density and the intensity of locomotory activity (a relationship subsequently supported by laboratory experiments), and between the rate of change of light intensity and the direction of swimming. Significant temporal segregation of the occupancy of a given level by zooplankters implies interspecific competition. Transient peaks in the concentrations of some nutrients near the surface are tentatively attributed to nutrient release by zooplankters that have fed at depth. Small-scale temporal and spatial heterogeneity of the type described here may help to explain the ‘paradox of the plankton’.

These marked diel changes in water chemistry suggest that conclusions based on the analysis of single water samples should be viewed with caution.[/p]

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Biology, University of Cambridge, Pembroke Street, CB2 3DX, Cambridge

    S. A. Corbet, R. M. S. Perrin, D. R. Hartley, P. D. Lancashire, H. A. F. Mace, J. R. Morton, R. E. Parfitt, D. G. Reid, R. H. H. Tomiak & R. I. Willows

  2. Department of Zoology, Downing Street, Cambridge

    A. S. McClay, K. Wheatley & P. G. Willmer

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  1. S. A. Corbet
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  2. R. M. S. Perrin
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  3. D. R. Hartley
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  4. P. D. Lancashire
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  5. H. A. F. Mace
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  6. A. S. McClay
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  7. J. R. Morton
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  8. R. E. Parfitt
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  9. D. G. Reid
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  10. R. H. H. Tomiak
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  11. K. Wheatley
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  12. P. G. Willmer
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  13. R. I. Willows
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Corbet, S.A., Perrin, R.M.S., Hartley, D.R. et al. Diel changes in plankton and water chemistry in Wicken brickpit. Hydrobiologia 74, 249–271 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00008758

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