Comparative study of the planktonic communities of three lakes of contrasting trophic status at Hope Bay (Antarctic Peninsula)

Abstract

A first characterization of the lakes and ponds at Hope Bay (Izaguirre et al., 1998) revealed important differences in their trophic status, which are associated with natural eutrophication caused by seabird activities. In this typology, a description of the main features of the phytoplanktonic communities was provided. Based on the results of this survey, three lakes with very distinct trophic status were selected in order to conduct a comparative study on all of the planktonic components: zooplankton, phytoplankton and bacterioplankton.