Chlorophyll-a distribution in the shallow lake Mikri Prespa, Greece

A study on the fluctuations of chlorophyll-a concentrations was carried out in Lake Mikri Prespa during the period May 1990 - September 1992. The rang e of chlorophyll-a concentrations (5.0 to 53.8 mug L-1) as well as the esti mated mean value (20.6 mug L-1) lie within the limits characterizing eutrop hic lakes. Relative chlorophyll-a content of phytoplankton biomass varied b etween 0.11 and 1.16% and is considered to lie among the common values give n in the literature for temperate lakes. Chlorophyll-a concentrations corre lated positively with total phytoplankton biomass whereas chlorophyll-a con tent per unit biomass correlated negatively with it. Nanoplankton cells see med to contain more chlorophyll-a than cells of net plankton. The chlorophy ll-a content per unit phytoplankton biomass in Lake Mikri Prespa, seemed to be affected mainly by light intensity and phytoplankton cell sizes.