lower Bolton lake consultant report
To print the report below from George Knoecklein, Lake Consultant hired by the Town of Bolton,
click here.
In the Summary Report below, the Bolton Town consultant, George Knoecklein, presents a graph on page 3 showing the monthly variation in density of three types of phytoplankton - blue-greens, greens and diatoms. Phytoplankton is the term used to describe small, often microscopic, plant life in the water. The word algae is often used as a synonym for phytoplankton, but strictly speaking the blue-greens are bacteria not algae. These phytoplankton all contribute to the turbidity, or lack of clarity, of the lake water but they are different.
Blue-greens refers to the cyanobacteria such as the anabaena which bloomed in the lake last August. As we learned then they are often toxic. They are also able to combine gaseous nitrogen dissolved in the lake with carbon (nitrogen fixation) to provide organic nitrogen which is food for aquatic plants. Cyanobacteria tend to be more numerous later in the summer.
Greens refers to a class of larger freshwater vegetation which is visible to the naked eye an d can clump together to form dense floating algae beds. They often appear earlier in the growing season.
Diatoms are mostly single cell algae although they can also colonize to form filaments. They are an important part of aquatic food chain for zooplankton (small and microscopic animal life).
Peter Van Dine
click here.
In the Summary Report below, the Bolton Town consultant, George Knoecklein, presents a graph on page 3 showing the monthly variation in density of three types of phytoplankton - blue-greens, greens and diatoms. Phytoplankton is the term used to describe small, often microscopic, plant life in the water. The word algae is often used as a synonym for phytoplankton, but strictly speaking the blue-greens are bacteria not algae. These phytoplankton all contribute to the turbidity, or lack of clarity, of the lake water but they are different.
Blue-greens refers to the cyanobacteria such as the anabaena which bloomed in the lake last August. As we learned then they are often toxic. They are also able to combine gaseous nitrogen dissolved in the lake with carbon (nitrogen fixation) to provide organic nitrogen which is food for aquatic plants. Cyanobacteria tend to be more numerous later in the summer.
Greens refers to a class of larger freshwater vegetation which is visible to the naked eye an d can clump together to form dense floating algae beds. They often appear earlier in the growing season.
Diatoms are mostly single cell algae although they can also colonize to form filaments. They are an important part of aquatic food chain for zooplankton (small and microscopic animal life).
Peter Van Dine