Date of Award

2008

Document Type

Honors Thesis (Open Access)

Department

Colby College. Environmental Studies Program

Advisor(s)

D. Whitney King

Abstract

Phosphorus plays a major role in aquatic systems and the life that they support. It is a macronutrient that constitutes 0.5lf microorganisms and zooplankton by mass. Phosphorus is of great importance in terrestrial, agricultural, and plant systems as a macronutrient, and when it comes to aquatic systems, we tend to look at phosphorus in terms of its influence on lake primary productivity. Lakes are often phosphorus sinks because they are maintained by hydrological sources that are capable of causing nutrient influx. To understand phosphorus cycling in lake systems, it is important to consider the many sources and forms of phosphorus and the limnology that influences its location in a lake.

Keywords

Phosphorus, Maine Lakes, Water quality

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