Comparative Limnology of Lakes in the Southern Rocky Mountain Trench, British Columbia

Abstract

Within a restricted geographical area of British Columbia, detailed examination in 1960 and 1961 of nine lakes having similar morphometric and climatic characteristics but exhibiting a wide range in dissolved nutrients (50 to 1463 ppm) suggested that, standing crops of plankton were related to oxygen deficits and perimeter-to-area ratios of the lakes. Total dissolved solid contents of the lakes were not closely correlated to standing crops of plankton, bottom fauna, or fish. Ranking by selected physical or chemical indices of productivity failed to agree with ranking based on standing crops or various biological measurements of productivity. Water level fluctuation, perimeter-to-area ratios, lake basin shape, and the size and nature of the drainage area are discussed as some of the possible factors which interact to modify the expression of the primary factors in productivity.