Historical record of human impact in a lake of northern China: Magnetic susceptibility,nutrients, heavy metals and OCPs

The historical record (1859–2011) of magnetic susceptibility, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, δ¹³C_org, δ¹⁵N, As, Cd, Hg, Pb, and organochlorine pesticide (OCP) signatures in Baiyangdian Lake was used to analyze the water environmental changes due to human activities. The results indicate the following: the status of the lake approaches the background condition in 1859–1950s; the lake suffered increasing anthropogenic effects from the 1950s because of increasing human activities such as coal-fired power plant operations since 1958, fertilizer use in the agriculture and land transformation since the 1950s, steelmaking between the 1960s and 1970s, machinery manufacturing since the 1970s, use of petrol containing alky-lead since 1990; the lake has been in a contaminated condition since the 2000s. This study confirms that OCPs have been effectively controlled in the area, the level of nutrient and heavy metal pollution is increasing, coal-fired power plants are an important source of Hg, and the use of petrol containing alky-lead has accelerated the accumulation of Pb in the environment. The study indicates that magnetic susceptibility can be used as a rapid, simple, and non-destructive tool for assessment of organic and heavy metal pollution in the lake.     

Role of atelomixis in replacement of phytoplankton assemblages in Dom Helvécio Lake, South-East Brazil

Scale and frequency of changes in a lake’s physical structure, light dynamics, and availability of nutrients are closely related to phytoplankton ecology. Since phytoplankton assemblages were first described, phytoplankton ecologists concluded that these assemblages provide insight into phytoplankton responses to environmental changes. Objectives of this study were to investigate ecology of phytoplankton during a complete hydrological cycle in the deepest natural lake in Brazil, Dom Helvécio, and to sort species into the list of assemblages, checking its accordance with environmental changes in a tropical system within the middle Rio Doce Lake district, South-East Brazil. Canonical Correspondence Analysis, t-test, Mann–Whitney U-test, and Kruskal–Wallis test were used to analyze climatological, environmental, and plankton data, which were obtained monthly in 2002. A new phytoplankton assemblage, N_A (atelomixis-dependent desmids), is suggested because atelomixis (robust movement of water occurring once a day) contributed to replacement of species in Dom Helvécio Lake. Stability of stratification, water chemistry, and composition of phytoplankton assemblages characterized two periods. The first period occurred in six rainy months (Jan–Mar and Oct–Dec) when the lake was stratified and phytoplankton was dominated by two assemblages: N_A and F. The second period occurred in six dry months (Apr–Sep) when the lake was nonstratified and phytoplankton was dominated by four assemblages: S2, X1, A, and L_O. Results suggest that phytoplankton in Dom Helvécio Lake was shaped by seasonal and daily changes of water temperature, even with its lower amplitude of variation within 2002 (El Niño year). These changes promoted water column stratification or mixing, reduced light, and increased nutrient availability. Temperature, therefore, is similarly important to phytoplankton ecology in tropical regions as it is in temperate ones. Sorting phytoplankton species into assemblages matched well with environmental changes and periods identified so it is also suggested that this can be further used as an appropriate tool to manage water quality when evaluating tropical lakes.     

The pH regime sediments underlying acidified waters

The pH of sediments underlying acidified lake waters does not necessarily reflect the acidification of the water. Profiles of sediments in Lake Anna, Virginia showed interstitial pH values between 6.0 and 7.0 within the top 4 cm, even though the sediments are constantly exposed to overlying waters with pH values as low as 3.5. The amount of acidity neutralized by sediment processes is 2 orders of magnitude greater than previously reported observations. The results indicate that caution must be used in drawing conclusions about sediments biogeochemical processes based on the pH of overlying waters. This article originally appeared in an incorrect form in Biogeochemistry, Vol. 2, No. 1., pages 95–99     

Seasonality of Melosira-plankton of the great northern lakes

The paper discusses the seasonality of Melosira-plankton in Ladoga and Onega Lakes and its comparison with that in other large northern lakes. The periodicity of Melosira in dimictic temperate lakes is mainly connected with periods of turbulence of the lake water in spring and autumn. The role of Melosira in the primary productivity of great northern lakes is important both for the oligotrophic phase and in the case of eutrophication. In very advanced states of eutrophication the spring crop of Melosira-plankton may be the cause of oxygen depletion in the hypolimnion.     

Reversed trends in the benthic community structure in two confluent streams; one spring-fed,the other lake-fed

The community structure of two confluent streams in southern Sweden was investigated, one stream was spring-fed and the other lake-fed. There was a downstream decrease in the number of species present in the lake outlet stream, no such change being discernible in the spring-fed stream. Taking the sampling site nearest the source of the spring-fed stream as the reference point, there was a downstream increase in dissimilarity and this increase was maintained upstream from the confluence in the lake-fed stream. Apart from generalists, all functional feeding groups showed decreased numbers from the lake outlet to the confluence in the lake-fed stream. In the spring-fed stream, densities of functional groups increased downstream, with the exception of grazers and generalists. There were indications of more predictable changes along the lake-fed stream compared to the spring-fed one, which seemed more influenced by site-specific factors.     

Cumulative consumption of the lake macrophyte Elodea by abundant generalist invertebrate herbivores

Previous investigations have shown that macrophyte biomass can be substantially reduced by invertebrate herbivores but have not provided evidence for the links between the magnitude of the observed damage and the densities of herbivores. The results of this study support the hypothesis that the abundant occurrence of the epiphytic generalist herbivores may result in their cumulative consumption which, in turn, can be regarded as the mechanism responsible for often observed relatively high level of herbivory on freshwater macrophytes. The percentage of Elodea sp. biomass consumed by invertebrates was estimated for six European lakes, based on analysis of gut contents, daily rations and the density of epiphytic herbivores. Although the daily ration of these invertebrates when feeding upon Elodea averaged only 14.6% of their dry mass, their biomass was relatively high (from 0.163 to 1.161 g DW per 100 g DW plant). The estimated percentage of Elodea biomass consumed during one summer month by epiphytic invertebrates ranged from 0.5 to 5.9%. These values, after extrapolating to the whole growing season would mean that the biomass of Elodea lost to herbivory was between about 2 and 23%, an estimate which are within the range of consumption reported by other authors.     

Ribosomal Tag Pyrosequencing of DNA and RNA Reveals “Rare” Taxa with High Protein Synthesis Potential in the Sediment of a Hypersaline Lake in Western Australia

Little is known about the potential activity of microbial communities in hypersaline sediment ecosystems. Ribosomal tag libraries of DNA and RNA extracted from the sediment of Lake Strawbridge (Western Australia) revealed bacterial and archaeal operational taxonomic units (OTUs) with high RNA/DNA ratios providing evidence for the presence of ‘rare’ but potentially “active” taxa. Among the ‘rare’ bacterial taxa Halomonas, Salinivibrio and Idiomarina showed the highest protein synthesis potential. Rare but ‘active’ archaeal OTUs were related to the KTK 4A cluster and the Marine-Benthic-Groups B and D. We present the first molecular analysis of the microbial diversity and protein synthesis potential of rare microbial taxa in a hypersaline sediment ecosystem.     

Turbulence increases the risk of microcystin exposure in a eutrophic lake (Lake Taihu) during cyanobacterial bloom periods

Toxic cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs) have posed serious water use and public health threats because of the toxins they produce, such as the microcystins (MCs). The direct physical effects of turbulence on MCs, however, have not yet been addressed and is still poorly elucidated. In this study, a 6-day mesocosm experiment was carried out to evaluate the effects of wind wave turbulence on the competition of toxic Microcystis and MCs production in highly eutrophicated and turbulent Lake Taihu, China. Under turbulent conditions, MCs concentrations (both total and extracellular) significantly increased and reached a maximum level 3.4 times higher than in calm water. Specifically, short term (∼3 days) turbulence favored the growth of toxic Microcystis species, allowing for the accumulation of biomass which also triggered the increase in MCs toxicity. Moreover, intense turbulence raises the shear stress and could cause cell mechanical damage or cellular lysis resulting in cell breakage and leakage of intracellular materials including the toxins. The results indicate that short term (∼3 days) turbulence is beneficial for MCs production and release, which increase the potential exposure of aquatic organisms and humans. This study suggests that the importance of water turbulence in the competition of toxic Microcystis and MCs production, and provides new perspectives for control of toxin in CyanoHABs-infested lakes.     

Is coexistence mediated by microhabitat segregation? An in-depth exploration of a fish invasion

Vendace Coregonus albula has invaded the subarctic Pasvik hydrosystem, northern Norway and Russia, after being translocated from its native Finnish range into Lake Inari (Finland), upstream of Pasvik. The development of the invader and the effects on two native lake communities in the upstream and downstream part of the hydrosystem, respectively, have been monitored since 1991. In the upstream lake location, the invader relegated the native whitefish Coregonus lavaretus from the pelagic habitat within a few years. An expected similar development in the downstream location was, however, not observed. Data are presented on the diet and microhabitat use (vertical pelagic zone) for three types of replicated situation: (1) the invader v. the native species, (2) upstream v . downstream lakes and (3) early and late invasion stages, to explore the outcome of the competitive interactions. The use of different microhabitats available within the deeper pelagic zone in the downstream location was observed to have delayed the negative effects on native whitefish, possibly enabling a persistent coexistence between the two species in the pelagic zone of this lake.