Plankton: A Guide to their Ecology and Monitoring for Water Quality

273 Pages·2009·10.45 MB·English

by  David Rissik

plankton
p
Plankton is an invaluable reference for environment managers, water
authority ecologists, estuary and catchment management committees, l
coastal engineers, and students of invertebrate biology, environmental
a
impact assessment and marine biology.
n
This practical book provides a comprehensive introduction to the biology
k a guidE to thEir
and ecology of plankton and describes its use as a tool for monitoring
water quality. t Ecology and
All the major freshwater and coastal phytoplankton and zooplankton o
Monitoring for
groups are covered and their associated environmental issues are
n
discussed. A chapter on best practice in sampling and monitoring explains watEr quality
how to design, implement and conduct meaningful phytoplankton and
zooplankton monitoring programs in marine and freshwater habitats, as
well as how to analyse and interpret the results for effective management
i
a
decision-making.
i
n
Real-life case studies demonstrate the use of plankton for identifying
M
and monitoring water quality issues.
.

s
u
t
h
plankton E
r
s

a
n
d

d
a
v
i
d

r
i
s
s
i
k
Editors:
iain M. suthErs
and david rissik
PLANKTON
Plankton_FM_i-xvi.indd 1 20/4/09 11:12:13 AM
Plankton_FM_i-xvi.indd 2 20/4/09 11:12:13 AM
PLANKTON
A guide to their ecology and monitoring
for water quality
Editors: Iain M. Suthers and David Rissik
Plankton_FM_i-xvi.indd 3 20/4/09 11:12:14 AM
© CSIRO 2009
All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Australian Copyright
Act 1968 and subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, duplicating or otherwise, without the prior
permission of the copyright owner. Contact CSIRO PUBLISHING for all permission
requests.
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Plankton: a guide to their ecology and monitoring for
water quality / editors, IainM.Suthers, David Rissik.
Collingwood, Vic. : CSIRO Publishing, 2008.
9780643090583 (pbk.)
Includes index.
Bibliography.
Plankton – Ecology.
Water quality management.
Suthers, Iain M.
Rissik, David.
CSIRO Publishing.
577.76
Published by
CSIRO PUBLISHING
150 Oxford Street (PO Box 1139)
Collingwood VIC 3066
Australia
Telephone: [phone]
Local call: 1300 788 000 (Australia only)
Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
Web site: www.publish.csiro.au
Front cover image by Iain Suthers
All illustrations are by the authors unless otherwise specified.
Set in 10.5/13 Times New Roman
Edited by Peter Storer Editorial Services
Cover and text design by James Kelly
Typeset by Planman Technologies India Pvt. Ltd.
Printed in Australia by Ligare
CSIRO PUBLISHING publishes and distributes scientific, technical and health
science books, magazines and journals from Australia to a worldwide audience
and conducts these activities autonomously from the research activities of the
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not
necessarily represent those of, and should not be attributed to, the publisher or CSIRO.
Plankton_FM_i-xvi.indd 4 20/4/09 11:12:14 AM
CONTENTS
Preface xi
Acknowledgements xiii
List of contributors xv
1 The importance of plankton 1
1.1 What are plankton – and why study them? 2
Box 1.1 Red tides formed by Noctiluca 3
1.2 Water quality, nutrients and environmental
impacts 4
Box 1.2 Eutrophication and the effects of excess
nitrogen 5
Box 1.3 Climate change 6
1.3 Management plans and sampling for a purpose 7
1.4 Coastal zone management 10
1.5 Outline of this book 12
1.6 References 13
1.7 Further reading 13
2 Plankton processes and the environment 15
2.1 Plankton ecology and the effect of size 15
2.2 Plankton food webs 18
2.3 Plankton behaviour: sinking, buoyancy and
vertical migration 21
2.4 Life cycles of zooplankton 23
Box 2.1 Plankton diversity 25
2.5 Freshwater habitats of plankton 25
Box 2.2 Changing state of a freshwater lake 28
2.6 Estuarine and coastal habitats of plankton 28
2.7 An example of a classic salt-wedge estuary 34
Box 2.3 Sampling methods in the Hopkins
River Estuary 35
2.8 References 36
2.9 Further reading 38
Plankton_FM_i-xvi.indd 5 20/4/09 11:12:14 AM
vi Plankton
3 Plankton-related environmental and
water-quality issues 39
3.1 Coastal water discolouration and harmful
algal blooms 39
Box 3.1 Invasive species from ballast water 42
3.2 Geographically persistent algal blooms
in an estuary 43
3.3 Monitoring phytoplankton over the long term 45
3.4 Processes underlying blooms of freshwater
cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) 47
Box 3.2 Effects of eutrophication 48
Box 3.3 Key nutrient: phosphorus 49
Box 3.4 Key nutrient: nitrogen 50
Box 3.5 Analysis of cyanobacterial toxins 53
3.5 Phytoplankton monitoring in New Zealand
for toxic shellfish poisoning 54
Box 3.6 Depletion of phytoplankton around
New Zealand mussel farms 55
3.6 Freshwater zooplankton as integrators and
indicators of water quality 57
3.7 Grazing and assimilation of phytoplankton blooms 61
3.8 Impact of reduced freshwater inflow on
the plankton of southern African estuaries 65
Box 3.7 How sampling was conducted in the
Kasouga Estuary 66
3.9 References 69
3.10 Further reading 72
4 Sampling methods for plankton 73
4.1 Introduction to sampling methods 73
Box 4.1 The scientific method 74
4.2 Dealing with environmental variability 75
Box 4.2 Variance, patchiness and statistical power 77
Box 4.3 Where plankton variance may be expected 79
4.3 Typical sampling designs: where and when
to sample 80
4.4 Measurement of water quality 81
Box 4.4 Electronic determination of salinity 82
4.5 Sampling methods for phytoplankton 85
4.6 Analysis of phytoplankton samples 87
Plankton_FM_i-xvi.indd 6 20/4/09 11:12:14 AM
Contents vii
Box 4.5 Extraction and quantification of chlorophyll 88
4.7 Sampling methods for zooplankton 91
Box 4.6 Manufacture of a simple ring net 96
Box 4.7 Safety note 98
4.8 Preparation and quantifying zooplankton
(sub-sampling, S-trays, plankton wheels) 99
Box 4.8 Fabrication of tungsten wire probes 106
Box 4.9 Occupational health and safety 107
4.9 Automated methods for zooplankton
sampling: examples of size structure 108
4.10 Methods: analysis, quality control and
presentation 110
Box 4.10 Calculating copepods per cubic metre 111
Box 4.11 Safety and care 112
4.11 References 113
4.12 Further reading 114
5 Freshwater phytoplankton: diversity and biology 115
5.1 Identifying freshwater phytoplankton 115
5.2 Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) 116
Box 5.1 Cyanobacteria and other photosynthetic
bacteria 117
Box 5.2 Buoyancy regulation in cyanobacteria 117
Box 5.3 Heterocytes and akinetes 118
5.3 Chlorophyceae (green algae) 120
Box 5.4 Distinctive features of Chlorophyceae
(green algae) 121
5.4 Bacillariophyceae (diatoms) 122
Box 5.5 Distinctive features of diatoms 123
Box 5.6 Vegetative reproduction in diatoms 123
5.5 Pyrrhophyceae (or Dinophyceae)
(dinoflagellates) 124
Box 5.7 Distinctive features of dinoflagellates 125
5.6 Other algae 126
Box 5.8 Distinctive features of euglenoids 127
Box 5.9 Distinctive features of cryptomonads 128
Box 5.10 Distinctive features of chrysophytes 128
5.7 Conclusions 137
5.8 References 137
5.9 Further reading 139
Plankton_FM_i-xvi.indd 7 20/4/09 11:12:14 AM
viii Plankton
6 Coastal and marine phytoplankton: diversity
and ecology 141
6.1 Identifying marine phytoplankton 141
6.2 Diatoms (Division Bacillariophyceae) 145
Box 6.1 Benthic microalgae 146
6.3 Dinophyceae (dinoflagellates) 146
Box 6.2 The ‘surf diatom’: Anaulus australis 147
Box 6.3 Species in the Pseudo-nitzschia genus 148
Box 6.4 Dinophysis acuminata 150
6.4 Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) 150
Box 6.5 Trichodesmium erythraeum 152
6.5 Other marine phytoplankton 152
Box 6.6 Toxic raphidophyte blooms 153
Box 6.7 Silicoflagellate blooms 153
Box 6.8 A coccolithophorid bloom in NSW 154
6.6 References 155
6.7 Further reading 155
7 Freshwater zooplankton: diversity and biology 157
7.1 Identifying freshwater zooplankton 157
7.2 Larval fish 158
7.3 Copepods 162
7.4 Cladocerans 165
7.5 Rotifers 169
7.6 Protozoans 172
7.7 Specific issues in sampling and monitoring 172
7.8 Conclusions 174
7.9 References 176
7.10 Further reading 179
8 Coastal and marine zooplankton: diversity and
biology 181
8.1 Identifying marine zooplankton 181
8.2 Copepods and other small and abundant
animals 190
Box 8.1 Three key steps to identifying copepods 192
Box 8.2 The ecology and aquaculture of a
dominant estuarine copepod 193
8.3 Shrimp-like crustacean zooplankton: larger
eyes and limbs 194
Plankton_FM_i-xvi.indd 8 20/4/09 11:12:14 AM
Contents ix
8.4 Other large zooplankton 197
Box 8.3 Ctenophore blooms 199
Box 8.4 Salps, larvaceans and climate change 200
8.5 Other zooplankton: worms and snails 201
8.6 Small and irregular zooplankton (<0.2 mm) 203
8.7 Jellyfish and their relatives 205
Box 8.5 Jellyfish fisheries 208
Box 8.6 Jellyfish blooms 208
Box 8.7 Jellyfish symbioses 209
Box 8.8 The bluebottle, Physalia, and its relatives 211
Box 8.9 Handling jellyfish: a note on safety 212
8.8 Larval fish in estuarine and coastal waters 212
Box 8.10 Larval fish condition and deformities 213
Box 8.11 Developmental stages of larval fish 216
8.9 References 218
8.10 Further reading 221
9 Models and management 223
9.1 Introduction to models in management 223
9.2 Examples of trophic models 227
9.3 Managing phytoplankton blooms in a
reservoir by coupled models 230
Box 9.1 Ben Chifley catchment and
Ben Chifley reservoir 232
9.4 Coastal Lake Assessment and Management
(CLAM) tool 234
9.5 General comments regarding hydrodynamic
and ecological modelling 240
9.6 References 241
9.7 Further reading 242
Glossary of terms 245
Index 249
Plankton_FM_i-xvi.indd 9 20/4/09 11:12:14 AM