New Zealand Journal of Botany abstracts

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Chlorophyll a as an indicator of phytoplankton cell volume in 12 lakes, North Island, New Zealand

R. D. PRIDMORE
J. E. HEWITT

Water Quality Centre
Ministry of Works and Development
Private Bag, Hamilton, New Zealand

Abstract The relationship between measure- ments of phytoplankton cell volume (CV) and chlorophyll a (Chla) in the near surface waters (1 m) of 12 North Island lakes was investigated between January and December 1982 to determine the use- fulness of Chla as a biomass indicator. A strong linear relationship was obtained between the two parameters (F = 262, n = 131) which explained 66% of the variation. There was a distinct seasonal trend, however, in the amount of chlorophyll a measured per unit algal cell volume (Chla/CV). Values of Chla/CV ranged between 1.9 and 12.4 ug.mm 3, and were generally high during the winter (interquartile range 6.6-10.5, n = 33) and low during the summer (interquartile range 2.8-3.9, n = 47). When this effect was taken into account, the explanatory power of the Chla-CV relationship increased to 78%. This relationship was not signifi- cantly affected by changes in phytoplankton tax- onomic composition (i.e., Bacillariophyceae Chlorophyceae, Dinophyceae), and reliably pre- dicts either Chla or CV in other North Island lakes. Application of the predictive relation is discussed and further corroboration of the relation is encouraged.

Keywords chlorophyll a; cell volume; phytoplankton; freshwater; lakes; limnology

Received 7 November 1983; accepted 12 December 1983
New Zealand Journal of Botany, 1984, Vol. 22: 295-301
0028-825X/84/2202-0295$2.50/0 © Crown copyright 1984

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