Limnetica 38

Hydraulic washout of lakes and reservoirs is recognized as a major regulating factor of both, phyto- and zooplankton populations. We have analysed the changes in the chlorophyll-a concentration in 21 high-mountain lakes from Sierra Nevada. Eleven lakes proved to have superficial diffuse inlets and outlets (open lakes) while the other 10 have no outlets, or no permanent outlets (closed lakes), where the plankton losses by washout are not possible. The lakes were sampled on two occasions during the ice-free season: just after the spring thaw (July) and by late August, after plankton development. In July, chlorophyll-a was quite similar between the closed and open lakes while in August the open lakes had about three-fold more chlorophyll-a than did closed ones. Model selection analysis made with 12 variables than can affect chlorophyll-a indicated that, in July, chlorophyll-a was related mainly to the maximum depth of closed lakes although the type of lake (closed or open) had no effect. However, in August, the type of lake (more chlorophyll-a in open than in closed lakes) and the ratio between dissolved inorganic nitrogen and total phosphorus (DIN:TP ratio) (higher values, lower chlorophyll-a), was related to chlorophyll-a concentration. The results of DIN, soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) and nutrient ratios did not indicate a different nutrient availability between open and closed lakes in either of the two periods considered. Nevertheless, the data available showed that the zooplankton was, on average, about two-fold more abundant in the closed lakes than in the open ones during the entire ice-free season. These results indicate that the advective losses caused by the water flow could be greater for the zooplankton than for the phytoplankton, interfering with the coupling of trophic chains. Thus, part of primary production in the open lakes could not be transferred to higher trophic levels because of the zooplankton losses.