Empirical Relationships Between Phytoplankton and Zooplankton Biomass in Lakes

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Abstract
Empirical models based on regression analysis were derived using published values of phytoplankton and crustacean zooplankton biomass from lakes. Equations presented predict crustacean zooplankton biomass from measures of phytoplankton biomass. Zooplankton biomass was shown to be positively related to phytoplankton biomass based on an inter-lake comparison. Analyses of functional regression equations suggest that the ratio of zooplankton to phytoplankton biomass decreases as phytoplankton biomass increases among lakes. It is hypothesized that variation in the biomass of nannoplankton, representing the principal food source for crustaceans present in the phytoplankton community, can account for the variation in the biomass of the crustacean zooplankton community.Key words: phytoplankton, zooplankton, biomass, nannoplankton