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Vertical profiles of primary productivity, biomass and physico-chemical properties in meromictic Big Soda Lake, Nevada, U.S.A.

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The contribution of bacteria to total primary production was estimated in Big Soda Lake and related to vertical profiles of biomass and various physical and chemical properties. The purple sulfur bacteriaThiocapsa sp. was responsible for 25% of the total primary production. Bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) distribution and DCMU sensitivity experiments confirmed this bacterial activity. High concentrations of photosynthetically inactive phytoplankton were detected in anaerobic-low redox water and were attributed to an early season algal bloom that had settled into a zone of maximal viscosity. Nutrient enrichment bioassay experiments indicated that iron was the most important nutrient controlling early season algal growth.

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Priscu, J.C., Axler, R.P., Carlton, R.G. et al. Vertical profiles of primary productivity, biomass and physico-chemical properties in meromictic Big Soda Lake, Nevada, U.S.A.. Hydrobiologia 96, 113–120 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02185426

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02185426

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