The Ecology of Phytoplankton

Rib bulk Richardson number, being the
ratio between the driving forces of
motion in a water body and the
buoyant resistance to entrainment of
deep waters
S supply or concentration of a resource
Sh Sherwood number, being the ratio
between the total flux of a nutrient
solute arriving at the surface of a cell
in motion and the wholly diffusive
flux
U wind velocity
V volume of a lake or other defined
body of water
VU rate of uptake of a given nutrient
VUmax nutrient-saturated uptake rate of a
given nutrient
W Wedderburn number, being the ratio
between the Richardson number of a
structure and its aspect ratio (see
Eq. 2.34)
Wb dry mass of a zooplankter
Wc dry mass of an algal cell
a factor of increased diameter, used in
Eq. (2.17)
a area term used in Fick’s equation
(3.19)
b number of beads in a chain as a
variable in sinking rate (see Eq. 2.18)
bi biomass of the ith of s species present
in a community or sample
c speed of light
cd coefficient of frictional drag
d diameter of a spherical cell
dc diameter of a cylindrical cell
ds diameter of a sphere of equal volume
to an irregularly shaped particle
g gravitational acceleration (here taken
as a constant 9.8081 m s −2 )
h ′ Planck’s constant, having the value
hc
hm
hp
hs
6.63 × 10−34 Js
height of a cylidrical cell
height of the mixed layer, from its
base to the water surface
height of the photic layer, being from
the depth of IP=R to the water surface
height of the water layer from the
surface to the depth of Secchi-disk
extinction (zs)
UNITS, SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS 443
hw height of a theoretically static water
layer
i,j identifiers in a multiple component
list of variables
k exponential coefficient of heat
absorption (see Eq. 2.27)
k ′ exponent of invasiveness of dispersing
organisms (see Eq. 7.3)
ka area-specific light interception of an
alga
kn rate of population change in a
horizontal patch (see Eq. 2.37)
la length dimension available for the
dissipation of the energy, usually the
depth of the flowing water layer
le length dimension of the largest
turbulent eddies
lm smallest eddy size supported by the
available mechanical energy before
it is overwhelmed by viscous
forces
m number of mixing events
(Section 2.6.2)
m maximum cell dimension
m ′ maximum size of particle that is
available to a given filter-feeder
n number of moles of a solute that will
diffuse across an area
n(t) number of exploitable niches in the
location at a time t
ñ number of occupied niches when
t =∞
nsp number of species to be found in a
defined area, A, asinfluenced by
arrivals and extinction rates
p wetted perimeter of a vertical
section through a stream
channel
q cell-specific content of a given
nutrient (or quota) (see Eq. 4.12)
q0 minimum cell quota of a given
nutrient, below which it is deemed to
be no longer viable
qmax replete cell content of a given
nutrient
qi the inflow rate, or inflow volume per
unit time (usually) to a lake
qs discharge, or outflow volume per unit
time (usually) from a lake