In reservoirs or lakes, mixing depth affects growth and loss rates of phytoplankton. Based on data collected from Zeya Reservoir, China, we investigated the influence on phytoplankton dynamics using cluster analysis of the scaled mixing depth. According to the scaled mixing depth, a year could be divided into three different periods, including the thermally stratified period, the isothermally mixed period, and the transition period. Mixing depth had a significant correlation with phytoplankton biovolume. According to steady state assumption, a unimodal curve (mixing depth-phytoplankton biovolume) with a significant peak at the mixing depth of 2 m was observed, which is largely consistent with Diehl'prediction.
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