Relationships between Zooplankton Abundance and Chlorophyll a Concentrations in Florida Lakes

ABSTRACT

Data collected during a limnological survey of 165 Florida lakes were used to examine statistical relations between chlorophyll a concentrations and the abundance of total zooplankton, cladocerans, copepods, crustaceans, and rotifers. Abundances of the different groupings of zooplankton were positively correlated with chlorophyll a concentrations, but all correlation coefficients were less than 0.72. Rotifers were most strongly correlated with chlorophyll a concentrations during the summer (r=0.71). No major changes in community composition could be demonstrated with increasing chlorophyll levels. Empirical models derived from regression analyses were developed to predict zooplankton abundance from measures of chlorophyll a concentrations.