Daily Variation of Phytoplankton and Water Quality in the Lower Nakdong River

Daily variation of phytoplankton community and environmental parameters were investigated at the lower Nakdong River (Mulgum) from January 2002 to December 2003 to investigate the dynamics of a phytoplankton community in detail. The daily results of water quality in this investigation showed pH (8.1 $\pm$ 0.7), DO (10.3 $\pm$ 2.7 $mg{\cdot}l^{-1}$), water temp. (18.8 $\pm$ 7.4°C), BOD (2.4 $\pm$ 1.0 $mg{\cdot}l^{-1}$), COD (5.3 $\pm$ 1.2 $mg{\cdot}l^{-1}$) and chl. a (43.5 $\pm$ 35.1 mg ${\cdot}m^{-3}$). The results of nutrient factors were the following: TN (3.1 $\pm$ 0.8 $mg{\cdot}l^{-1}$), NO3-N (2.5 $\pm$ 0.5 $mg{\cdot}l^{-1}$), TP (90 $\pm$ 48 ${\mu}g\;{\cdot}\;l^{-1}$), PO4-P (43 $\pm$ 30 ${\mu}g\;{\cdot}\;l^{-1}$). Dominant phytoplankton species during the study period were diatom (Stephanodiscus hantzschii, Aulacoseira granulata var. angustissima and A. italica) and cyanobacteria (Microcystis aeruginosa, Aphanizomenon flos-aquae). The small centric diatom, Stephanodiscus hantzschii, was repeatedly dominant from late fall to the following spring (mean and maximum cell density, 2.3 × 103 $\pm$ 3.8 × 103, 4.5 × 105 cells $ml^{-1}$, respectively). Pinnate diatom, Aulacoseira granulata var. angustissima and A. italica, were frequently observed all season except January to March. Cyanobacteria, Microcystis aeruginosa and Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, proliferated in summer of 2002 except in 2003 due to heavy precipitation. The dominant zooplankton species (March-early May) was rotifer (Brachionus, Keratella, Polyarthra) and cladocerans (Diaphanosoma). The daily observed dynamics of the phytoplankton community in the lower Nakdong River in this study may play an important role in increasing the detailed resolution of limnological information and serving as ecological data for future studies.