Comparison of in situ Estimates of Chlorophyll a Obtained with Whatman GF/F and GF/C Glass-Fiber Filters in Mesotrophic to Hypereutrophic Lakes
In response to the recent attention given to picoplankton, many researchers have switched from GF/C to GF/F glass-fiber filters for chlorophyll a (Chl a) analyses; GF/F filters have a smaller pore size and are more expensive than GF/C filters. In this study, Chl a was measured with both Whatman GF/F and GF/C glass-fiber filters on euphotic zone water from 28 mesotrophic to hypereutrophic lakes (Chl a ranged from 2 to 175 μg∙L−1) in central Alberta. The differences between paired Chl a estimates with the two grades of filter paper were remarkably small; there was no evidence that GF/F filters collected more Chl a than GF/C filters (P > 0.2). Hence there is no justification for switching from GF/C to GF/F filters for routine Chl a analyses on productive lakes.