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Stratification in Lakes and Ponds PDF
Stratification in Lakes and Ponds PDF
Microbiology
Course code- MB
Stratification in Lakes
and Ponds
BY
Ms. JAWAIRIA KIRAN
Lakes can be described by their productivity
– amount of nutrients available in a lake
Identified tropic levels are:
• Oligotrophic:
– low nutrient concentrations
– low plant growth (e.g., Lake Superior).
– low productivity
Eutrophic:
– high nutrient concentrations
– high plant growth. (e.g., Lake Erie).
– high productivity
• Mesotrophic
– In between eutrophic and oligotrophic lakes
– Have average productivity
• In deep lake zonation or stratification may be
according to the need of light.
Littoral Zone
– Shore area of the lake or pond
– From the dry land sloping to the open water
– Can be very narrow or very wide
– Typically oligotrophic have narrow littoral zones
– Eutrophic or old ponds have wide littoral zones
– The littoral zone is shallow
– lot of nutrients from runoff and non-point source
pollution.
– Abundance of aquatic plant and algae growth.
Limnetic Zone
– Classified as the open water area of the lake or pond
– larger section of water in Oligotrophic than Eutrophic
– The upper portion of the limnetic zone near the
surface of the water is the Euphotic Zone or
Epilimnion
– Portion of water that receives sunlight
– The zone ends where the sunlight fails to penetrate
the water.
– Algae and other aquatic plants thrive
– Area of dense fish populations
Profundal Zone
– Below the euphotic zone is the Profundal Zone or
Hypolimnion (cold water region).
– Located below the thermocline where the sunlight
does not penetrate
– Size of this zone depends on the age and water
clarity of the pond or lake.
– lower fish populations because of the lack of
oxygen
Benthic Zone
– This is the bottom of the pond or lake
– consists of organic sediments and soil
– Bacteria decompose organic matter from dead
algae, aquatic plants, and fish and animal waste.
– Decomposition can take place either aerobically
(in the presence of oxygen) or anaerobically
(without oxygen).
– The benthic zone increases as the pond or lake
ages.
Thermal Stratification
• Lake stratification is the separation
of lakes into three layers:
– Epilimnion: the top of the lake.
– Metalimnio (or thermocline): the middle layer,
which may change depth throughout the day.
– Hypolimnion: the bottom layer.
• Since the lake does not mix during the summer, the
Hypolimnion is completely cut off from the Epilimnion
and does not receive a fresh supply of oxygen.