Respiration of plankton in two small,polyhumic lakes

The respiration of plankton of two polyhumic lakes was measured as production of carbon dioxide in dark bottles. The method proved to be enough sensitive for use in oligotrophic lakes with low alkalinity. The respiration of plankton followed broadly changes in temperature. However, the primary production of phytoplankton was probably the main factor governing the seasonal pattern of respiration. During summer the respiration of plankton was more than three times higher than the primary production of phytoplankton. This suggests that allochthonous humic substances are an important source of carbon and energy for organisms of polyhumic lakes.     

Patterns of seasonal phytoplankton distribution in prairie saline lakes of the northern Great Plains (U.S.A.)

Seasonal changes in freshwater phytoplankton communities have been extensively studied, but key drivers of phytoplankton in saline lakes are currently not well understood. Comparative lake studies of 19 prairie saline lakes in the northern Great Plains (USA) were conducted in spring and summer of 2004, with data gathered for a suite of limnological parameters. Nutrient enrichment assays for natural phytoplankton assemblages were also performed in spring and summer of 2006. Canonical correspondence analysis of 2004 data showed salinity (logCl), nitrogen, and phosphorus (N:P ratios) to be the main drivers of phytoplankton distribution in the spring, and phosphorus (C:P ratios), iron (logTFe), and nitrogen (logTN) as important factors in the summer. Despite major differences in nutrient limitation patterns (P-limitation in freshwater systems, N-limitation in saline systems), seasonal patterns of phytoplankton phyla changes in these saline lakes were similar to those of freshwater systems. Dominance shifted from diatoms in the spring to cyanobacteria in the summer. Nutrient enrichment assays (control, +Fe, +N, +P, +N+P) in 2006 indicated that nutrient limitation is generally more consistent within lakes than for individual taxa across systems, with widespread nitrogen and secondary phosphorus limitation. Understanding phytoplankton community structure provides insight into the overall ecology of saline lakes, and will assist in the future conservation and management of these valuable and climatically-sensitive systems.     

Growth rate of alpine phytoplankton assemblages from contrasting watersheds and N‐deposition regimes exposed to nitrogen and phosphorus enrichments

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Ecosystem-level effects of re-oligotrophication and N:P imbalances in rivers and estuaries on a global scale

Trends and ecological consequences of phosphorus (P) decline and increasing nitrogen (N) to phosphorus (N:P) ratios in rivers and estuaries are reviewed and discussed. Results suggest that re-oligotrophication is a dominant trend in rivers and estuaries of high-income countries in the last two–three decades, while in low-income countries widespread eutrophication occurs. The decline in P is well documented in hundreds of rivers of United States and the European Union, but the biotic response of rivers and estuaries besides phytoplankton decline such as trends in phytoplankton composition, changes in primary production, ecosystem shifts, cascading effects, changes in ecosystem metabolism, etc., have not been sufficiently monitored and investigated, neither the effects of N:P imbalance. N:P imbalance has significant ecological effects that need to be further investigated. There is a growing number of cases in which phytoplankton biomass have been shown to decrease due to re-oligotrophication, but the potential regime shift from phytoplankton to macrophyte dominance described in shallow lakes has been documented only in a few rivers and estuaries yet. The main reasons why regime shifts are rarely described in rivers and estuaries are, from one hand the scarcity of data on macrophyte cover trends, and from the other hand physical factors such as peak flows or high turbidity that could prevent a general spread of submerged macrophytes as observed in shallow lakes. Moreover, re-oligotrophication effects on rivers may be different compared to lakes (e.g., lower dominance of macrophytes) or estuaries (e.g., limitation of primary production by N instead of P) or may be dependent on river/estuary type. We conclude that river and estuary re-oligotrophication effects are complex, diverse and still little known, and in some cases are equivalent to those described in shallow lakes, but the regime shift is more likely to occur in mid to high-order rivers and shallow estuaries.     

太湖湖岸带浮游植物初级生产力特征及影响因素

利用高频溶解氧监测,估算了太湖梅梁湾湖岸带浮游植物初级生产力的高频变化特征。结合同步气象监测及浮游植物、浮游动物和营养盐的周年逐周观测数据,分析了气象和环境条件对富营养化湖泊浮游植物初级生产力的影响。结果发现,高频溶解氧监测估算的初级生产力变化与浮游藻类生物量的变化一致,能够反映出浮游植物生产力的昼夜变化、季节变化等规律。统计分析表明,气温对太湖这一富营养化湖泊初级生产力影响很大;氮的供给与浮游动物的选择性牧食也是影响浮游植物初级生产力的重要因素。湖岸带的水华堆积过程对初级生产力影响巨大,气象、水文过程又加剧了蓝藻水华初级生产力的变化幅度,反映出富营养化湖泊初级生产力可能存在极大的时空不均一性。研究表明,溶解氧高频监测法估算初级生产力能够捕捉到湖泊初级生产力的快速变化过程,可以用于富营养化湖泊初级生产力监测、蓝藻水华灾害预警中。     

Ecological Significance of Nitrogen Cycling by Tubificid Communities in Shallow Eutrophic Lakes of the Danube Delta

Importance of tubificid populations on nitrogen cycle in two categories of shallow eutrophic lakes in the Danube Delta was quantitatively assessed for the 1992-1993 period. The structure of the primary producers in the studied lakes was used to discriminate between the two categories:(i) lakes dominated by macrophytes (A₁) and (ii) lakes dominated by phytoplankton (A₂). In both categories tubificid worms represented important fraction of the entire benthic community (35 and 32%, respectively, as number of individuals). They influence the sediment-water exchange of nutrients. The main processes involved are excretion of nutrients and their continuous release from sediments by molecular diffusion or through channels created by bioturbation. Inorganic nitrogen released from bottom sediments may regulate nitrogen load in the water body and thus, phytoplankton production. In 1992-1993, nitrogen stocks in tubificid biomass accounted for 5.3% in A₁ lakes and 15.6% in A₂ lakes of the amount stocked in phytoplankton, and only for 1.2 and 2.9% respectively, of the nitrogen load in water body. Nitrogen excretion rates ranged between 60.52 and 153.74 mg N m^–2 year^–1, and release rates from sediments between 378.26 and 960.87 mg N m^–2 year^–1, the lowest values being recorded for A₂ category. Differences are related to tubificid biomass, structure and abundance of primary producers and to nutrient load in different ecosystems. Ratios between release rate of inorganic nitrogen by tubificid worms and sedimentation rate of organic nitrogen in the two categories of lakes were 8.3 and 6.4% respectively. Contribution of nitrogen released daily from sediments to the dissolved inorganic nitrogen load in the water column was less than 0.5%. However, in A₁ and A₂ lakes, the released nitrogen had a potential to sustain 24.74 and 8.01%, respectively, of the annual phytoplankton production. These values suggest the significance of tubificids in keeping the eutrophication process at a high level, especially during the periods when nitrogen is the main limiting factor for phytoplankton production.     

Downstream variations of phytoplankton in the St.Lawrence River (Québec, Canada)

Longitudinal variations of phytoplankton biomass and composition were assessed in a 250 km-long section of the St.Lawrence River, which alternately runs through narrow (< 2 km) river cross sections and wide (up to 10 km) fluvial lakes. In the main river stem, concentrations of suspended matter and total phosphorus increased with distance downstream, whereas light penetration decreased. Seasonal changes in plankton composition and biomass were more important than those resulting from differences in water mass (tributary) of origin. Sampling at three cross river sections and in two fluvial lakes showed a progressive downstream decrease in phytoplankton biomass and changes in size structure and taxonomic composition. River plankton was primarily composed of small (< 10 µm equivalent spherical diameter), truly planktonic cells belonging to Cryptophyceae and diatoms, with Chlorophyceae in summer. Plankton sampled in summer among rooted macrophytes in fluvial lakes exhibited a higher biomass of resuspended periphytic algae than in the main river stem, which contributed slightly to downstream phytoplankton biomass.Successive river cross sections always shared about 50% of their taxa, indicating a rapid downstream transport of algae within the main water mass. However, the proportion of species common to all cross sections was highest during the spring freshet, and lowest during summer low discharge, likely resulting from the development of a distinct flora in fluvial lakes during summer. Conversely, about 30% of the identified taxa were exclusive to a cross section and were replaced by others occurring downstream. Overall, phytoplankton composition along the St.Lawrence River is primarily controlled by advective forces, which result in a homogeneous flora in the main river stem, with a local contribution of resuspended periphyton from fluvial lakes.     

Carbon dioxide supersaturation promotes primary production in lakes

A majority of the world's lakes are supersaturated with respect to carbon dioxide (CO(2) ). By experimental manipulation of the CO(2) concentration in supersaturated boreal lakes, we demonstrate that phytoplankton primary production was up to 10 times higher in supersaturated lake water in comparison with water with CO(2) at equilibrium concentrations and that CO(2) , together with nutrients, explained most of the variation in pelagic primary production and phytoplankton biomass over a wide variety of unproductive lakes. These results suggest that phytoplankton can be co-limited by CO(2) and nutrients in unproductive lakes. As import of terrestrial organic carbon and its subsequent microbial mineralisation in lakes is a driving force of CO(2) -supersaturation our results suggest that lake productivity and carbon cycling may respond to variations in terrestrial organic carbon export, (e.g. caused by land use or climate change) in ways not described before.     

Changes in phytoplankton diversity in the Volga Basin waterbodies

On the basis of studies on phytoplankton diversity indices in nine large reservoirs and seven weakly mineralized lakes in the Volga Basin, the main patterns of temporal and spatial changes in the indices are revealed. The dependence that these indices have on biomass and some abiotic factors is demonstrated.     

Surface water CO2 concentration influences phytoplankton production but not community composition across boreal lakes

Recent experimental evidence suggests that changes in the partial pressure of CO₂ (pCO₂), in concert with nutrient fertilisation, may result in increased primary production and shifted phytoplankton community composition that favours species lacking adaptations to low CO₂ environments. It is not clear whether these results apply in ambient freshwaters, which are already often supersaturated in CO₂, and where phytoplankton structure and activity are under complex control of diverse local and regional factors. Here, we use a large‐scale comparative study of 69 boreal lakes to explore the influence of existing CO₂ gradients (c. 50–2300 μatm) on phytoplankton community composition and biomass production. While community composition did not respond to pCO₂ gradients, gross primary production was enhanced, but only in lakes already supersaturated in CO₂, demonstrating that environmental context is key in determining pCO₂–phytoplankton interactions. We further argue that increased atmospheric CO₂ is unlikely to influence phytoplanktonic composition and production in northern lakes.     

Impact of hydrology on the chemistry and phytoplankton development in floodplain lakes along the Lower Rhine and Meuse

The impact of hydrology (floods, seepage) on the chemistry of water and sediment in floodplain lakes was studied by a multivariate analysis (PCA) of physico-chemical parameters in 100 lakes within the floodplains in the lower reaches of the rivers Rhine and Meuse. In addition, seasonal fluctuations in water chemistry and chlorophyll-a development in the main channel of the Lower Rhine and five floodplain lakes along a flooding gradient were monitored. The species composition of the summer phytoplankton in these lakes was studied as well.At present very high levels of chloride, sodium, sulphate, phosphate and nitrate are found in the main channels of the rivers Rhine and Meuse, resulting from industrial, agricultural and domestic sewage. Together with the actual concentrations of major ions and nutrients in the main channel, the annual flood duration determines the physico-chemistry of the floodplain lakes. The river water influences the water chemistry of these lakes not only via inundations, but also via seepage. A comparison of recent and historical chemical data shows an increase over the years in the levels of chloride both in the main channel of the Lower Rhine and in seepage lakes along this river. Levels of alkalinity in floodplain lakes showed an inverse relationship with annual flood duration, because sulphur retention and alkalinization occurred in seepage waters and rarely-flooded lakes. The input of large quantities of nutrients (N, P) from the main channel has resulted, especially in frequently flooded lakes, in an increase in algal biomass and a shift in phytoplankton composition from a diatom dominated community towards a community dominated by chlorophytes and cyanobacteria.     

Contrasting roles of water chemistry, lake morphology, land-use, climate and spatial processes in driving phytoplankton richness in the Danish landscape

Understanding of the forces driving the structure of biotic communities has long been an important focus for ecology, with implications for applied and conservation science. To elucidate the factors driving phytoplankton genus richness in the Danish landscape, we analyzed data derived from late-summer samplings in 195 Danish lakes and ponds in a spatially-explicit framework. To account for the uneven sampling of lakes in the monitoring data, we performed 1,000 permutations. A random set of 131 lakes was assembled and a single sample was selected randomly for each lake at each draw and all the analyses were performed on permuted data 1,000 times. The local environment was described by lake water chemistry, lake morphology, land-use in lake catchments, and climate. Analysis of the effects of four groups of environmental factors on the richness of the main groups of phytoplankton revealed contrasting patterns. Lake water chemistry was the strongest predictor of phytoplankton richness for all groups, while lake morphology also had a strong influence on Bacillariophyceae, Cyanobacteria, Dinophyceae, and Euglenophyceae richness. Climate and land-use in catchments contributed only little to the explained variation in phytoplankton richness, although both factors had a significant effect on Bacillariophyceae richness. Notably, total nitrogen played a more important role for phytoplankton richness than total phosphorus. Overall, models accounted for ca. 30% of the variation in genus richness for all phytoplankton combined as well as the main groups separately. Local spatial structure (<30 km) in phytoplankton richness suggested that connectivity among lakes and catchment-scale processes might also influence phytoplankton richness in Danish lakes.     

Dynamics of phytoplankton in Finnish lakes

The studies on lake phytoplankton in Finland are reviewed and the major aspects of the phytoplankton dynamics are discussed. Special attention has been paid to the factors limiting productivity and species succession in different communities. After the early mainly taxonomical and floristic publications on phytoplankton at the end of last century, phytoplankton studies in lakes have proceeded along two different lines: 1) the species composition of communities and taxonomy, and 2) their production ecology or dynamics. Recently, both approaches have been combined, resulting in some profound ecological studies. In many lakes, phosphorus has been shown to be a limiting factor for phytoplankton productivity. However, it has also been shown that the irradiance and water temperature may effectively regulate the seasonal trend of phytoplankton productivity. This is the case especially in polyhumic forest lakes, where allochthonous material seems to play a major role also in primary production ecology.     

Nutrient limitation of phytoplankton production in Alaskan Arctic foothill lakes

We used 54 enrichment bioassays to assess nutrient limitation (N, P) of ¹⁴C uptake by natural phytoplankton assemblages in 39 lakes and ponds in the Arctic Foothills region of Alaska. Our purpose was to categorize phytoplankton nutrient status in this under-represented region of North America and to improve our ability to predict the response of primary production to anticipated anthropogenically mediated increases in nutrient loading. Experiments were performed across several watersheds and included assays on terminal lakes and lakes occupying various positions in chains (lakes in series within a watershed and connected by streams). In total, 89% (48 of 54) of the bioassays showed significant stimulation of ¹⁴C primary production by some form of nutrient addition relative to unamended controls. A significant response was observed following enrichment with N and P, N alone and P alone in 83, 35 and 22% of the bioassays, respectively. In experiments where N and P proved stimulatory, the influence of N alone was significantly greater than the influence of P alone. Overall, the data point to a greater importance for N than P in regulating phytoplankton production in this region. The degree of response to N and P enrichment declined as the summer progressed and showed no relationship to irradiance or water temperature, suggesting secondary limitation by some micronutrient such as iron as the summer advanced. Phytoplankton nutrient status was often consistent across lakes within a watershed, suggesting that watershed characteristics influence nutrient availability. Lakes in this region will clearly show increased phytoplankton production in response to anthropogenic activities and anticipated changes in climate that will increase nutrient loading.     

模拟水流条件下初级生产力及光动力学参数

为探讨水动力作用及其他物理因子改变对湖泊初级生产力的影响 ,1999年 5月 8日～ 6月 2 4日在中国科学院太湖湖泊生态系统研究站大型生态实验槽内进行模拟水动力实验 ,分 3种水流状态 2种光强测定初级生产力及其他相关参数。分析了初级生产力、光合速率的垂直分布 ,光合速率随光强的变化 ,并借助光动力学模型拟合得到光动力学参数。结果表明 ,在静止状态下 ,当水表面光强大于 5 0 0μmol/ (m2 · s)时 ,0～ 0 .4 m处存在光抑制现象 ,最大初级生产力出现在 0 .4～ 0 .6 m,此后由于动力作用使水体悬浮物增加 ,改变了水下光照条件 ,致使最大初级生产力呈向上移动的趋势 ,出现在 0～ 0 .2 m间 ;光合速率在静止状态下随深度递减缓慢 ,而到大水流状态则递减极为迅速 ,大水流状态下的平均光合速率明显低于静止状态和小水流状态 ;基于 2种类型的光动力学模型进行非线性拟合得到的 P- I曲线相关性很好 ,2种模型模拟的结果比较接近 ,基本上能够反映太湖光合速率随光强变化的实际情况 ;在太湖这种大型浅水湖泊 ,水动力的作用使得水体中悬浮物增加 ,造成光强的迅速衰减 ,这可能会大大降低湖泊的初级生产过程     

Seasonal fluctuations in the diversity and compositional stability of phytoplankton communities in small lakes in upper Bavaria

A study of diversity and compositional stability of phytoplankton communities during one vegetation period was carried out in small lakes in upper Bavaria. Shannon-Weaver diversity index was calculated on the base of number of individuals and on the base of biomass. On average, the diversity (annual mean) was highest in mesotrophic lakes. A comparison of three morphologically different (esp. exposure to wind, surface area and mean depth) lakes (Pelhamer See, Thalersee and Kautsee) sought to find out how the phytoplankton community structure reacts to events of intermediate disturbance, in terms of diversity- or biomass changes. Principal Component Analysis was used to measure the persistence of the phytoplankton association. The examples given in this paper led to these conclusions: High diversity or increase in diversity occur in compositionally instable communities, in high wind-stress events, with small algae and with high grazing. Low diversity or decrease in diversity occur in compositionally stable periods, when conditions select few species, as large forms dominate and as grazing by zooplankton takes effect. Gradual seasonal changes are observed in structurally stable lakes. In lakes exposed to frequent disturbances, seasonal changes may be dominated by intermediate responses.     

Numerical Exploration of the Planktonic to Benthic Primary Production Ratios in Lakes of the Baltic Sea Catchment

Autotrophic structure refers to the partitioning of whole-ecosystem primary production between benthic and planktonic primary producers. Autotrophic structure remains poorly understood especially because of the paucity of estimates regarding benthic primary production. We used a conceptual model for numerically exploring the autotrophic structure of 13 hemiboreal lakes situated in the Baltic Sea catchment. We also used diel variations in primary production profiles to graphically evaluate levels of light and/or nutrient limitation in lakes. The input morphometric data, light extinction coefficients and dissolved carbon parameters were mostly obtained from in situ measurements. Results revealed that cross- and within-lake autotrophic structure varied greatly: one lake was clearly dominated by benthic production, and three lakes by phytoplankton production. In the rest, phytoplankton production was generally dominant but switch to benthic dominance was possible. The modelled primary production profiles varied according to lake water clarity and bathymetry. Our results clearly indicate that the relative contribution of benthic primary production to whole-lake primary production should be taken into account in studies about hemiboreal and boreal lakes.     

Phytoplankton configuration in six deep lakes in the peri-Alpine region: are the key drivers related to eutrophication and climate?

The aim of this study was to draw a general picture of the phytoplankton community in peri-Alpine lakes, including for the first time a broad data set of six deep peri-Alpine lakes, belonging to the same geographical region. The objective was to define the main key drivers that influence the phytoplankton community composition in this particular vulnerable region, for which the impacts of climate change have been demonstrated to be stronger than on a global average. The phytoplankton was investigated with a particular focus on cyanobacteria and using a classification approach based on morpho-functional groups. We hypothesized that phytoplankton in peri-Alpine lakes is mainly driven by nutrient loads as well as by water temperatures, variables that are strongly influenced by climate change and eutrophication. Though different phytoplankton configurations among lakes were partly due to their geographical (altitude) position, assemblages were mostly linked to temperature and nutrients. Furthermore, the results confirmed the significant role of the spring fertilization on the seasonal phytoplankton development. Cyanobacteria were related to the increasing annual average of air and water temperature gradient and therefore might become more important under future warming scenario. Air temperatures have a significant impact on water temperature in the uppermost meters of the water column, with a stronger influence on warmer lakes.     

Scaling of Pelagic Metabolism to Size,Trophy and Forest Cover in Small Danish Lakes

ABSTRACT We tested whether pelagic light and nutrient availability, metabolism, organic pools and CO₂-supersaturation were related to lake size and surrounding forest cover in late summer–autumn measurements among 64 small (0.02–20 ha), shallow seepage lakes located in nutrient-rich, calcareous moraine soils in North Zealand, Denmark. We found a strong implicit scaling to lake size as light availability increased significantly with lake size while nutrient availability, phytoplankton biomass and dissolved organic matter declined. Forest lakes had significantly stronger net heterotrophic traits than open lakes as higher values were observed for light attenuation above and in the water, dissolved organic matter, pelagic community respiration (R) relative to maximum gross primary production (R/GPP) and CO₂-supersaturation. Total-phosphorus was the main predictor of phytoplankton biomass (Chl) despite a much weaker relationship than observed in previous studies of larger lakes. Maximum gross primary production increased with algal biomass and decreased with dissolved organic matter, whereas community respiration increased with dissolved organic matter and particularly with gross primary production. These results suggest that exogenous organic matter supplements primary production as an energy source to heterotrophs in these small lakes, and particularly so in forest lakes experiencing substantial shading from the forest and dissolved humic material. This suggestion is supported by 20–30-fold CO₂ supersaturation in the surface water of the smallest forest lakes and more than sixfold supersaturation in 75% of all measurements making these lakes among the most supersaturated temperate lakes examined so far.     

Some aspects of the seasonal distribution of flagellates in mountain lakes

In a larger regional survey in Tyrol, phytoplankton species composition and biovolume of mid-altitude and high-mountain lakes was studied. Results from eight lakes showed that flagellates (mainly Chrysophyceae, Dinophyceae, and Cryptophyceae) are important components of the phytoplankton.In the mid-altitude lakes a spring and an autumn maximum of Chrysophyceae as well as a summer maximum of large dinoflagellates are observed, whereas Cryptophyceae and Dinophyceae show irregular distributions. In the high-mountain lakes the seasonal variations of phytoplankton, including flagellates, are limited by the long duration of the winter situation. However similar sequences of phytoplankton assemblages as in the midaltitude lakes can be observed. Flagellates in high-mountain lakes are important to sustain phytoplankton standing crop under the winter snow and ice cover.In order to show similarities and differences of high-mountain and mid-altitude lakes, vertical profiles of phytoplankton from three lakes and seasonal patterns of Gymnodinium uberrimum from two lakes are compared. In addition the patterns of cryptomonads differing in their ecological requirements (Cryptomonas spp. and Rhodomonas minuta) are shown for a meromictic mid-altitude lake.