Winter plankton dynamics in a boreal lake: community structure, vertical distribution and reproduction under ice.

ABSTRACT: Lakes are understudied during ice-covered periods; yet physical, hydrodynamical and biological processes continue under the ice. Ice cover reorganizes lake ecosystems by altering thermal stratification and solar radiation, creating conditions that support different organisms, food webs, and potential trophic cascades. We investigated seasonal shifts in biomass and vertical distribution of heterotrophic and autotrophic micro-organisms (heterotrophic bacteria, picoautotrophs, colorless and pigmented nanoflagellates) and zooplankton across winter in relation to limnological characteristics and hydrodynamics. Boreal Lake Simoncouche was sampled at five depths on six dates between autumn overturn (November 2020) and spring overturn (April 2021) for temperature, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll-

SUBMITTER: Boulianne JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12358046 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep-Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature