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Interaction of water quantity with water quality: the Lake Chapala example

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Abstract

Water quality may be significantly determined by water quantity. Lake Chapala, México is a large lake beset with numerous water quality problems. The decline in water volume over the past 20 years, a serious problem itself, is associated with causing or enhancing several problems of quality. Five such problems are explored herein. These are: extensive infestations of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), a declining native fishery, light limitation of phytoplankton production at the base of the food chain, shallow-water algal blooms resulting in water supply treatment problems, and the presence of toxic metals in the harvested and sold fishes.

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Lind, O.T., Dávalos-Lind, L. Interaction of water quantity with water quality: the Lake Chapala example. Hydrobiologia 467, 159–167 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014902630410

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