Oligotrophic: An oligotrophic lake or water body is one which has a relatively low productivity due to the low nutrient content in the lake. The waters of these lakes are usually quite clear due to the limited growth of algae in the lake. The waters of such lakes are of high-drinking quality.
What causes an oligotrophic lake?
Oligotrophic lakes are most common in cold, sparsely developed regions that are underlain by crystalline igneous, granitic bedrock. Due to their low algal production, these lakes consequently have very clear waters, with high drinking-water quality.
Is an oligotrophic lake healthy?
Oligotrophic means poorly fed, and an oligotrophic lake has a low concentration of plant nutrients in its water. With few nutrients, there are few plants, and such lakes are most likely to be deep and clear and to have a sandy bottom.
What is the healthiest type of lake?
What Does This Mean?
- Oligotrophic lakes are generally very clear, deep, and cold. …
- Mesotrophic lakes contain moderate amounts of nutrients, and contain healthy, diverse populations of aquatic plants, algae, and fish. …
- Eutrophic lakes are high in nutrients and contain large populations of aquatic plants, algae, and fish.
Do oligotrophic lakes have low oxygen?
In oligotrophic lakes, oxygen is found at high levels throughout the water column. Cold water can hold more dissolved oxygen than warm water, and the deep region of oligotrophic lakes stays very cold. In addition, low algal concentration allows deeper light penetration and less decomposition.
Are oligotrophic lakes cold?
Lakes within the Boreal Forest Ecozone are generally assumed to be oligotrophic lakes: cold, clear, relatively deep, and generally pristine. Because of limited nutrients, lakes in this region are not associated with having algal problems. … Furthermore, oligotrophic lakes are not immune to eutrophication.
What is an example of oligotrophic lake?
Lake Joseph and Skeleton Lake are good examples of oligotrophic lakes. Lakes containing between 10 – 20 µg/L of total phosphorus are termed mesotrophic. These lakes have some aquatic vegetation and can support an array of fish species.
Is lake Michigan oligotrophic?
Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior are classified as oligotrophic lakes on the basis of their biological, chemical, and physical characteristics. … Several changes commonly associated with eutrophication in small lakes have been observed in the Great Lakes.
Why is it called oligotrophic?
An oligotroph is an organism that can live in an environment that offers very low levels of nutrients. … Etymologically, the word “oligotroph” is a combination of the Greek adjective oligos (ὀλίγος) meaning “few” and the adjective trophikos (τροφικός)) meaning “feeding”.
Which of the Great lakes is the most oligotrophic?
On the basis of plankton abundance and the dominant species of phytoplankton, Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior would be considered oligotrophic and Lake Erie eutrophic. The combined biological, chemical, and physical characteristics of Lakes Huron and Superior clearly are those of oligotrophy.
Is the open ocean oligotrophic?
In vitro observations of net community production (NCP) imply that the oligotrophic subtropical gyres of the open ocean are net heterotrophic; in situ observations, in contrast, consistently imply that they are net autotrophic.
What is oligotrophic and eutrophic?
Oligotrophic refers to a lake or dam in which primary productivity is at a low level due to a reduced quantity of nutrients. Eutrophic refers to a lake or dam where primary productivity is very high because of an abundance of nutrients.
What is oligotrophic in environmental science?
The term oligotrophic is derived from the Greek term meaning “poorly nourished” and refers to an aquatic system that has low overall levels of primary production, principally because of low concentrations of the nutrients that plants require.
What is an oligotrophic microorganism?
Oligotrophic bacteria (oligotrophs) are microorganisms that grow in extremely nutritionally deficient conditions in which the concentrations of organic substances are low. Many oligotrophic bacteria were isolated from clinical materials including urine, sputum, swabbings of the throat, vaginal discharges, and others.
What best describes an oligotrophic lake?
A nutrient-poor lake within a deep, steeply-banked basin, with very clear water that is blue or green. Oligotrophic lakes have two cycles of mixing per year, and are characterized by low primary productivity, high dissolved oxygen, and low alkalinity.
What does it mean when a lake has turned over?
As the surface water cools and gets heavier it wants to sink. Eventually this cooler water layer does sink and displaces warmer water in the lower portions of the lake and the entire lake “mixes” itself. Top goes to the bottom, bottom comes to the top, henceforth the name “turnover.”
What causes a Meromictic lake?
These compounds are produced by decomposition of organic sediments in oxygen-poor environments. The monimolimnion is often rich in phosphorus and nitrogen. These factors combine to create an ideal environment for bacterial growth. The mixolimnion can have similar qualities.
What makes a lake infertile?
Basins with infertile soils release relatively little nitrogen and phosphorus leading to less productive lakes, classified as oligotrophic or mesotrophic. … The landscapes surrounding lakes were often infertile, and thus many lakes were oligotrophic.
What is the opposite of oligotrophic?
The suffix trophic refers to growth, thus a eutrophic lake has a high concentration of nutrients and plentiful plant and algae growth and is the opposite of an oligotrophic lake. … Due to the low concentration of plants and algae, oligotrophic waters are usually very clear while eutrophic waters will appear murky.
What is an infertile lake?
Young lakes, those known as oligotrophic, are “infertile” with deep with rock strewn bottoms, clear water, rich in oxygen and without significant weed growth. … They are most often the dominant species in these lakes and usually occupy deeper areas of the lakes.
Do oligotrophic lakes have warm water?
Oligotrophic lakes are generally deep and clear with little aquatic plant growth. … Therefore, these lakes can only support warm-water fish such as bass and pike. Lakes that fall between the two extremes of oligotrophic and eutrophic are called mesotrophic lakes.
Is there more oxygen in cold water?
Dissolved oxygen, temperature, and aquatic life
Cold water can hold more dissolved oxygen than warm water. … In summer and fall, when the water temperature is high, the dissolved-oxygen concentration is often lower.
What is the difference between a lake and a pond?
Lakes are normally much deeper than ponds and have a larger surface area. All the water in a pond is in the photic zone, meaning ponds are shallow enough to allow sunlight to reach the bottom. … Lakes have aphotic zones, which are deep areas of water that receive no sunlight, preventing plants from growing.