Suttle, C.A., J.G. Stockner and P.J. Harrison. 1987. Effects of nutrient pulses on community structure and cell size of a freshwater phytoplankton assemblage in culture. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 44:1768-1774.
A natural assemblage of phytoplankton was removed from an oligotrophic lake and grown in semicontinuous culture under three nutrient addition frequencies, ranging from one addition every 4 d to one addition every 16 d. Changes in community structure, cell size, and nutrient chemistry were determined at several times during the 35 d experiment. Under the least frequent nutrient addition regime, cultures were dominated by Tabellaria fenestrata ; in contrast, when nutrients were added more often, Synedra radians was dominant. As well as causing a shift in species composition, under the once per 16 d nutrient addition frequency the average cell volume increased from approximately 500 to 1300 µm3.