Phytoplankton distribution and primary productivity in Donner Lake, California

Abstract

Donner Lake is an unenriched system in the Lake Tahoe basin of the Sierra Nevada of California. The lake has a surface area of 1.5 square miles (3.9 square kilometres) and a drainage area of 14 mi 2 (36 km 2 ). The maximum depth is about 200 feet (60 metres). Between May and December 1973, the phytoplankton in Donner Lake was represented by 6 classes and at least 25 genera. The dominant green alga was the desmid Cosmarium staurastroides , which comprised about 25 percent of the total phytoplankton collected. The dominant diatom was Asterionella formosa , which comprised about 13 percent of the total phytoplankton. Blue-green algae were represented by Chroococcus sp., but were never abundant and constituted only 1.5 percent of the total organisms sampled. The depth of the euphotic zone from May through September ranged from 35 to 93 feet (11 to 28 metres). Thermal stratification was strong throughout the summer with a maximum temperature difference between the surface and bottom water of 17° Celsius in July. Average phytoplankton concentrations were often greater below the euphotic zone than in the euphotic zone. This pattern of phytoplankton distribution is similar to nearby Lake Tahoe and other oligotrophic lakes. Three primary productivity measurements were made during the study using the carbon-14 method. The primary productivity values were 93, 64, and 56 milligrams of carbon per cubic metre per day for May 17, August 13, and October 16, respectively. The productivity profile in May was shallow and unimodal, whereas the August and October profiles were deeper and biomodal. Dissolved-oxygen concentrations were maximum at the same depths as maximum primary productivity. On the basis of phytoplankton types and their vertical distribution patterns, and upon primary productivity measurements, Donner Lake is considered oligotrophic.