title: Green algal over cyanobacterial dominance promoted with nitrogen and phosphorus additions in a mesocosm study at Lake Taihu, China.
abstract: Enrichment of waterways with nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) has accelerated eutrophication and promoted cyanobacterial blooms worldwide. An understanding of whether cyanobacteria maintain their dominance under accelerated eutrophication will help predict trends and provide rational control measures. A mesocosm experiment was conducted under natural light and temperature conditions in Lake Taihu, China. It revealed that only N added to lake water promoted growth of colonial and filamentous cyanobacteria (Microcystis, Pseudoanabaena and Planktothrix) and single-cell green algae (Cosmarium, Chlorella, and Scenedesmus). Adding P alone promoted neither cyanobacteria nor green algae significantly. N plus P additions promoted cyanobacteria and green algae growth greatly. The higher growth rates of green algae vs. cyanobacteria in N plus P additions resulted in the biomass of green algae exceeding that of cyanobacteria. This indicates that further enrichment with N plus P in eutrophic water will enhance green algae over cyanobacterial dominance. However, it does not mean that eutrophication problems will cease. On the contrary, the risk will increase due to increasing total phytoplankton biomass.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing, 400714, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jianrong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Boqiang
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Hans W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Paerl
authors.forename: Justin D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Brookes
authors.forename: Pan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jianming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Jinsong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Zhe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D002681:China; D000460:Chlorophyta / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005068:Eutrophication; D060106:Lakes / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D046931:Microcystis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis*; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis*; D010839:Phytoplankton / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D044444:Scenedesmus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D010758:Phosphorus; D009584:Nitrogen