Vadeboncoeur and Steinman: Periphyton Function in Lake Ecosystems TheScientificWorld (2002) 2, 1449–1468 Review Article TheScientificWorldJOURNAL (2002) 2, 1449–1468 ISSN 1537-744X; DOI 10.1100/tsw.2002.294 Periphyton Function in Lake Ecosystems Yvonne Vadeboncoeur1 and Alan D. Steinman2,3,* 1Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Avenue Docteur Penfield, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1B1, Canada; 2Lake Okeechobee Department, South Florida Water Management District, West Palm Beach, FL 33406; 3Current affiliation: Annis Water Resources Institute, Lake Michigan Center, 740 W. Shoreline Drive, Muskegon, MI 49441 E-mails:
[email protected],
[email protected] Received January 24, 2002; Revised April 1, 2002; Accepted April 5, 2002; Published May 29, 2002 Periphyton communities have received relatively little attention in lake ecosystems. However, evidence is increasing that they play a key role in primary productivity, nutrient cycling, and food web interactions. This review summarizes those findings and places them in a conceptual framework to evaluate the functional importance of periphyton in lakes. The role of periphyton is conceptualized based on a spatial hierarchy. At the coarsest scale, landscape properties such as lake morphometry, influence the amount of available habitat for periphyton growth. Watershed-related properties, such as loading of dissolved organic matter, nutrients, and sediments influence light availability and hence periphyton productivity. At the finer scale of within the lake, both habitat availability and habitat type affect periphyton growth and abundance. In addition, periphyton and phytoplankton compete for available resources at the within-lake scale. Our review indicates that periphyton plays an important functional role in lake nutrient cycles and food webs, especially under such conditions as relatively shallow depths, nutrient-poor conditions, or high wa- ter-column transparency.