Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Science (MS)
Major/Program
Biology
First Advisor's Name
Evelyn Gaiser
First Advisor's Committee Title
Committee chair
Second Advisor's Name
Anna Wachnicka
Second Advisor's Committee Title
Committee member
Third Advisor's Name
Schonna Manning
Third Advisor's Committee Title
Committee member
Fourth Advisor's Name
Jayantha Obeysekera
Fourth Advisor's Committee Title
Committee member
Keywords
Lake Okeechobee, diatoms, microalgae, eutrophication, TN:TP ratios, nutrients, HAB, harmful algae blooms
Date of Defense
11-15-2024
Abstract
There has been little research on how variations in TN:TP, caused by eutrophication, affect algal communities. I wanted to understand how the planktonic and benthic diatom communities in Lake Okeechobee, Florida respond to different TN:TP ratios within the lake. I chose sites in three habitats with differing TN:TP ratios; the C-38 canal, the Northern pelagic zone, and the Indian Prairie Marsh. To determine how algal productivity and biomass changed throughout the lake I compared chlorophyll a measurements from the benthic and planktonic communities at sites within these three habitats. To examine how diatom assemblages differed between the three habitats, I conducted a non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis on the relative abundances of diatoms for benthic and planktonic communities. Lake Okeechobee showed a strong TN:TP gradient among sites. Results suggest that the diatom communities among these three habitats are regulated by N and P differently.
Identifier
FIDC121426
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6971-7032
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Innocent, Hanna, "The Contrasting Responses of Phytoplankton and Periphyton to Spatially Variable N:P Ratios in a Large, Shallow Hypereutrophic Lake" (2024). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5466.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/5466
Included in
Biodiversity Commons, Biogeochemistry Commons, Biology Commons, Environmental Health and Protection Commons, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, Fresh Water Studies Commons, Hydrology Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons, Water Resource Management Commons
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