Abstract

The Chilean north Patagonian lakes are characterized by their marked oligotrophic or oligome-sotrophic status and low abundance of zooplankton species; many of the lakes with oligomesotrophic status are associated with human intervention due to towns on their shores. The aim of the present study was to determine the relations between spectral properties (LANDSAT OLI), chlorophyll and plankton abundances in two north Patagonian lakes: Villarrica, which has two towns on its shores, and Lake Caburgua, which has native forest on its shores. The results revealed that Lake Villarrica has high reflectance in the near infrared, red and green bands, high concentrations of chlorophyll a, the absence of mixotrophic protozoa, and a high abundance of bacterial and plankton, mainly phy-toplankton (Chlophyceae and diatoms) and zooplankton. Lake Caburgua, on the other hand, has low reflectance in the same bands, and low chlorophyll concentrations, low bacterial and zooplankton abundances, with the exception of high mixotrophic ciliates and small phytoplankton, and Volvox colonies. The obtained results agree with limnological observations on both lakes, and observations agrees with similar observations of the spectral properties of glacial north Patagonian lakes and of the zooplankton community, and in this scenario, the use of remote-sensing techniques would be a good tool to predict the plankton community in Patagonian lakes.