Biomass size spectra and plankton diversity in a shallow eutrophic lake

Biomass size spectra collate structural and functional attributes of plankton communities enabling standardised temporal and cross-system comparisons and may be rapidly obtained by automated particle counters. To examine how differences in plankton communities from highly eutrophic and more oligotrophic lakes are reflected in size spectra, a three-year time series of biomass size spectra was established for polymictic, eutrophic Lake Maggelsee, based on approximately weekly sampling and microscopic enumeration. The continuous but often bumpy size spectra reflected appropriately the seasonal and trophy-related variations in the plankton composition and growth conditions and the potential impact of daphnids on smaller plankton. We tested the hypothesis that more diverse plankton communities have smoother size spectra than impoverished ones. The spectra of Lake Muggelsee and other more or less eutrophic lakes covaried roughly with the functional diversity in total plankton composition but were unrelated to taxonomical diversity within the phyto- or mesozooplankton. The slopes of the normalised size spectra of Lake Muggelsee were generally more negative than -1, exhibited a recurrent seasonal pattern and were strongly correlated with crustacean biomass. In contrast to less eutrophic systems, slopes could not be used to quantify energy fluxes within the food web due to highly variable algal P/B ratios and frequently bumpy size distributions. The latter indicated stronger deviations from the ideal concept of a steady energy flow along the size gradient than found in e.g. large, mesotrophic Lake Constance.