Abstract
The abundance and biomass of ciliates, rotifers, cladocerans and copepods were studied in Lake Peipsi and Lake Võrtsjärv, both of which are shallow, turbid and large. Our hypothesis was that in a large shallow eutrophic lake, the ciliates could be the most important zooplankton group. The mean metazooplankton biomass was higher in Peipsi than in Võrtsjärv (mean values and SD, 1.8 ± 0.7 and 1.3 ± 0.6 mg WM l−1). In Peipsi, the metazooplankton biomass was dominated by filtrators that feed on large-sized phytoplankton and are characteristic of oligo-mesotrophic waters. In Võrtsjärv, the metazooplankton was dominated by species characteristic of eutrophic waters. The planktonic ciliates in both lakes were dominated by oligotrichs. The biomass of ciliates was much greater in Võrtsjärv (mean 2.3 ± 1.4 mg WM l−1) than in Peipsi (0.1 ± 0.08 mg WM l−1). Ciliates formed about 60% of the total zooplankton biomass in Võrtsjärv but only 6% in Peipsi. Thus, the food chains in the two lakes differ: a grazing food chain in Peipsi and a detrital food-chain in Võrtsjärv. Consequently, top-down control of phytoplankton can be assumed to be much more important in Peipsi than in Võrtsjärv. When the detrital food chain prevails, the planktonic ciliates become the most important zooplankton group in shallow, eutrophic and large lake. Neglecting protozooplankton can result in serious underestimates of total zooplankton biomass since two-thirds of the zooplankton biomass in Võrtsjärv comprises ciliates.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Azam, F., T. Fenchel, J. G. Field, J. S. Gray, L. A. Meyer-Reill & F. Thingstad, 1983. The ecological role of water-column microbes in the sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 10: 257–263.
Balushkina, E. V. & G. G. Winberg, 1979. Relation between body mass and length in planktonic animals. In Winberg, G. G. (ed.), Obshchie Osnovy Izucheniya Vodnykh Ekosistem. Nauka, Leningrad: 169–172. (In Russian).
Beaver, J. R. & T. L. Crisman, 1982. The trophic response of ciliated protozoans in freshwater lakes. Limnology and Oceanography 27: 246–253.
Callieri, C. & S. Heinimaa, 1997. Microbial loop in the large subalpine lakes. Memorie dell’Istituto Italiano di Idrobiologia 56: 143–156.
Carrick, H. J. & G. L. Fahnenstiel, 1990. Planktonic protozoa in Lakes Huron and Michigan: seasonal abundance and composition of ciliates and dinoflagellates. Journal of Great Lakes Research 16: 319–329.
Finlay, B. J., 1982. Procedures for the isolation, cultivation and identification of protozoa. In Burns, R. G. & J. H. Slater (eds.), Experimental Microbial Ecology. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford: 44–65.
Gates, M. A. & U. T. Lewg, 1984. Contribution of ciliated protozoa to the planktonic biomass in a series of Ontario lakes, quantitative estimates and dynamical relationships. Journal of Plankton Research 6: 443–456.
Gifford, D. J., 1991. The protozoan-metazoan trophic link in pelagic ecosystems. Journal of Protozoology 38: 81–86.
Haberman, J., 1998. Zooplankton of Lake Võrtsjärv. Limnologica 28: 49–65.
Haberman, J., 2001. Zooplankton. In Pihu, E. & J. Haberman (eds), Lake Peipsi: Flora and Fauna. Sulemees, Tartu: 50–68.
Jeppesen, E., J. P. Jensen, M. Sondergaard, T. Lauridsen & F. Landkildehus, 2000. Trophic structure, species richness and biodiversity in Danish lakes: changes along phosphorus gradient. Freshwater Biology 45: 201–218.
Järvalt, A., A. Kangur, K. Kangur, P. Kangur & E. Pihu, 2004. Fishes and fisheries management. In Haberman, J., E. Pihu & A. Raukas (eds.), Lake Võrtsjärv. Estonian Encyclopaedia Publishers Ltd, Tallinn: 335–345.
Karabin, A., 1985. Pelagic zooplankton (Rotatoria, Crustacea) variation in the process of lake eutrophication. I. Structural and quantitative features. Ekologia Polska 33: 567–616.
Laybourn-Parry, J., 1992. Protozoan Plankton Ecology. Chapman & Hall, Ltd., London: 231.
Müller, H., A. Schöne, R. M. Pinto-Coelho, A. Schweizer & T. Weisse, 1991. Seasonal succession of ciliates in Lake Constance. Microbial Ecology 21: 119–138.
Nõges, T., J. Haberman, H. Tammert, M. Timm, I. Ott & P. Nõges, 1992. Ecological relations of main plankton components in the pelagial of Lake Peipsi (Peipus). Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences. Ecology 2: 137–155.
Nõges, T., J. Haberman, M. Timm & P. Nõges, 1993. The seasonal dynamics and trophic relations of the plankton components in lake Peipsi (Peipus). Internationale Revue der gesamten Hydrobiologie 78: 513–519.
Nõges, T., V. Kisand, P. Nõges, A. Põllumäe, L. Tuvikene, & P. Zingel, 1998. Plankton seasonal dynamics and its controlling factors in shallow polymictic eutrophic lake Võrtsjärv, Estonia. Internationale Revue der gesamten Hydrobiologie 83: 279–296.
Nõges, T., J. Haberman, A. Kangur, K. Kangur, P. Kangur, H. Künnap, H. Timm, P. Zingel & P. Nõges, 2004. Food webs in Lake Võrtsjärv. In Haberman, J., E. Pihu & A. Raukas (eds), Lake Võrtsjärv. Estonian Encyclopaedia Publishers Ltd, Tallinn: 335–345.
Pihu, E. & A. Kangur, 2001. Fishes and fisheries management. In Pihu, E. & J. Haberman (eds), Lake Peipsi: Flora and Fauna. Sulemees, Tartu: 100–111.
Ruttner-Kolisko, A., 1977. Suggestion for biomass calculation of planktonic rotifers. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 8: 71–76.
Sanders, R. W., K. G. Porter, S. J. Bennett & A. E. DeBiase, 1989. Seasonal patterns of bacterivory by flagellates, ciliates, rotifers, and cladocerans in a freshwater planktonic community. Limnology and Oceanography 34: 673–687.
Schönberger, M., 1994. Planktonic ciliated protozoa of Neusiedler See (Austria/Hungary)—a comparison between the turbid open lake and a reedless brown-water pond. Marine Microbial Food Webs 8: 251–263.
Sherr, E. B., & B. F. Sherr, 1984. Role of heterotrophic protozoa in carbon, energy flow in aquatic ecosystems. In Klug, M. J. & C. A. Reddy (eds), Current Perspectives in Microbial Ecology. American Society for Microbiology, Washington: 412–423.
Starast, H., A. Milius, T. Möls & A. Lindpere, 2001. Hydrochemistry of lake peipsi. In Nõges, T. (ed), Lake Peipsi: Meteorology, Hydrology, Hydrochemistry. Sulemees, Tartu: 97–131.
Taylor, W. D. & M. L. Heynen, 1987. Seasonal and vertical distribution of Ciliophora in Lake Ontario. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 44: 2185–2191.
Utermöhl, H., 1958. Zur Vervollkommung der quaatitativen Phytoplanktonmethodik. Mitteilung internationale Vereinigung für Limnologie 9: 1–38.
Vinni, M., J. Lappalainen, T. Malinen & H. Peltonen, 2004. Seasonal bottlenecks in diet shifts and growth of smelt in a large eutrophic lake. Journal of Fish Biology 64: 567–579.
Wickham, S. A. & J. J. Gilbert, 1993. The comparative importance of competition and predation by Daphnia on ciliated protists. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 126: 289–313.
Zingel, P., H. Agasild, T. Nõges & V. Kisand, 2007. Ciliates are the dominant grazers on pico-and nanoplankton in a shallow, naturally highly eutrophic lake. Microbial Ecology 53: 134–142.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Zingel, P., Haberman, J. (2007). A comparison of zooplankton densities and biomass in Lakes Peipsi and Võrtsjärv (Estonia): rotifers and crustaceans versus ciliates. In: Nõges, T., et al. European Large Lakes Ecosystem changes and their ecological and socioeconomic impacts. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 199. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8379-2_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8379-2_18
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-8378-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-8379-2
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)