ISSN:
1573-5117
Keywords:
Mysidacea
;
Mysis relicta
;
Lake Michigan
;
phosphorus
;
nitrogen
;
nutrient cycling
;
urea
;
ammonia
;
vertical migration
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Abstract Rates of nutrient release byMysis relicta in Lake Michigan were measured on five nights at a 45-m station near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A., in the summer of 1977. Nocturnal vertical migrations of the mysids were monitored with both echosounder tracings and vertical net tows. Estimates of the total areal dry mass of the mysids ranged from 600 to 1 820 mg m−2. Rates of release of dissolved reactive phosphorus, total phosphorus, ammonia, and urea were measured in dark incubations on shipboard. Excretion experiments were initiated immediately after mysids were collected from each of several vertical net hauls. The depths of maximum mysid densities corresponded approximately with a deep phytoplankton peak located in the vicinity of the thermocline. Semiquantitative ‘demands’ for N and P by phytoplankton within this peak were obtained from14C estimates of primary production from a previous study, assuming a constant C:N:P ratio for the algae. These algal nutrient ‘demands’ were compared to potential N and P release by the mysids to obtain a first approximation of the relative rates of nutrient supply and demand for the field phytoplankton populations. Our analysis indicates that mysids may directly supply about 1–10% of the daily N and P ‘demands’ of the phytoplankton in the deep peak. However, indirect interactions betweenMysis relicta and other organisms, such as small zooplankton and fishes, could be major factors in nutrient recycling within the metalimnion and subthermocline region of Lake Michigan.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00008107
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