Some allometric and non-allometric relationships between chlorophyll-a and abundance variables of phytoplankton

Abstract

We analysed data from three Bulgarian reservoirs, with trophic status from meso to eutrophic . Two kinds of relations (non-allometric and allometric) of chlorophyll with phytoplankton density, biovolume and surface area were investigated . The non-allometric relationships compare these phytoplankton variables with chlorophyll-a concentration, while the allometric ones include comparisons of average individual volume (AIV) of phytoplankters with chlorophyll-a content per individual (Chl .N -1 ), per unit biovolume (Chl .BV -1 ) and per unit surface area (Chl .SA-1 ) .Maximum values of the rank correlation of the three non-allometric relationships were found in the eutrophic reservoir. The highest allometric correlation coefficients were observed in the mesotrophic reservoir. Two nonallometric relationships, Chl with N and Chl ith BV calculated on unified data from all three reservoirs showed lower significance and a non-linear character . Chl-SA relationship was always statistically significant and varied from linear to slightly non-linear when calculated on weighed values . Two allometric relationships, AIV with Chl .BV -1 and AIV with Chl .N -1 seem to be linear. A third AIV and Chl .SA -1 was described by a polinomial of the second degree, indicating that the smallest and largest phytoplankton individuals have a similar chlorophyll content per unit surface area . At the highest trophy, the Chl .SA-1 seemed lowest .The frequently investigated relationship between chlorophyll-a and biovolume ranged from statistically not significant in the mesotrophic to highly significant in the eutrophic reservoir . This tendency was generalized by obtaining a statistically significant rank correlation between the levels of significance of chlorophyll-biovolume correlations and the corresponding chlorophyll-a concentrations . The non-linear character of the chlorophyllbiovolume relationship over a wide range of trophy was probably caused by changes in surface area-biovolume ratio .

Nutrient, chlorophyll, and water clarity relationships in Florida's nearshore coastal waters with comparisons to freshwater lakes

“…One possible hypothesis to explain the relatively low chlorophyll yield per unit phosphorus is that the chlorophyll per unit biomass of algal cells is less in nearshore coastal waters than in lakes of Florida. The use of chlorophyll as an indicator of algal biomass can be problematic, however, because the ratio of chlorophyll to biomass or biovolume varies among species, systems, and environmental conditions (Heyman and Lundgren 1988;White et al 1988;Kalchev et al 1996). Nevertheless, if the chlorophyll to biomass ratio in nearshore coastal waters of Florida is significantly less than the chlorophyll to biomass ratio in freshwater lakes, this may explain the low yields of chlorophyll per unit of phosphorus in nearshore coastal waters (Fig.…”

Light-limited population dynamics of phytoplankton: modeling light and depth effects

“…The linear relationship between chlorophyll and phytoplankton biovolume has been widely studied (Tolstoy 1979;Desortová 1981;Vörös and Padisák 1991;Jones et al 1996;Kalchev et al 1996), while allometric relationships have also been found between them by (Vörös and Padisák 1991). The light attenuated by phytoplankton in a water column depends on phytoplankton biomass and the extinction of light per unit biomass: extinction coefficient (EC) (Caraco et al 1997).…”

Relationship Between Total Chlorophyll and Phytoplankton Individuals of Rosetta Branch of River Nile, Egypt

“…Accordingly, estimation of algal biomass is very crucial. Chlorophyll concentration was widely used as a common predictor's technique for monitoring the reliability picture of dissolved nutrients and algal biomass in aquatic habitats (Fogg 1975, Tolstoy 1979, Desortová 1981, Vörös and Padisák 1991and Kalchev et al 1996and Halil et al 2008. Chlorophyll a is the main photosynthetic pigment in all oxygen-evolving photosynthetic algae while other algal pigments have limited distribution and considered as accessory or secondary pigments (Akpan 1994).…”