• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.293-305
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• 2015

In order to understand the mechanisms of conversion between different algal dominance, an experiment was performed in a greenhouse from 22 June to 10 July 2011. The experiment included a treatment group subjected to three instances of nutrient enrichment and a control with no nutrient enrichment. The initial water was dominated by Ankistrodesmus of Chlorophyta. The average water temperature at 08:30 h and 14:00 h during the experiment was $31.6^{\circ}C$ and $34.6^{\circ}C$, respectively. The results showed that the total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), dissolved total nitrogen (DTN), dissolved total phosphorus (DTP), and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentrations in the treatment were significantly higher than in the control (P < 0.05). However, the TN/TP and DTN/DTP in the control was higher than in the treatment (P < 0.05). The dominant algae in the control did not change during the experiment, while the dominant algae in the treatment switched to Planktothrix of Cyanophyta on day 9. The chlorophyll a (Chl-a), wet weight of all algae, wet weight of Cyanophyta, and percentage of Cyanophyta in the control were all significantly lower than in the treatment (P < 0.05). Amounts of zooplankton, especially rotifers, were present at the end of the experimental period. The density of rotifers between the control and treatment was not significantly different (P > 0.05), while the copepod density in the treatment was higher than in the control (P < 0.05). We conclude that green algae dominance quickly switches to cyanobacteria dominance after nutrient enrichment in a greenhouse with elevated temperature.