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Paltsev A, Bergström AK, Vuorio K, Creed IF, Hessen DO, Kortelainen P, Vuorenmaa J, de Wit HA, Lau DCP, Vrede T, Isles PDF, Jonsson A, Geibrink E, Kahilainen KK, Drakare S. Phytoplankton biomass in northern lakes reveals a complex response to global change. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 940:173570. [PMID: 38825201 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2024] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 05/25/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
Global change may introduce fundamental alterations in phytoplankton biomass and community structure that can alter the productivity of northern lakes. In this study, we utilized Swedish and Finnish monitoring data from lakes that are spatially (135 lakes) and temporally (1995-2019, 110 lakes) extensive to assess how phytoplankton biomass (PB) of dominant phytoplankton groups related to changes in water temperature, pH and key nutrients [total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), total organic carbon (TOC), iron (Fe)] along spatial (Fennoscandia) and temporal (25 years) gradients. Using a machine learning approach, we found that TP was the most important determinant of total PB and biomass of a specific species of Raphidophyceae - Gonyostomum semen - and Cyanobacteria (both typically with adverse impacts on food-webs and water quality) in spatial analyses, while Fe and pH were second in importance for G. semen and TN and pH were second and third in importance for Cyanobacteria. However, in temporal analyses, decreasing Fe and increasing pH and TOC were associated with a decrease in G. semen and an increase in Cyanobacteria. In addition, in many lakes increasing TOC seemed to have generated browning to an extent that significantly reduced PB. The identified discrepancy between the spatial and temporal results suggests that substitutions of data for space-for-time may not be adequate to characterize long-term effects of global change on phytoplankton. Further, we found that total PB exhibited contrasting temporal trends (increasing in northern- and decreasing in southern Fennoscandia), with the decline in total PB being more pronounced than the increase. Among phytoplankton, G. semen biomass showed the strongest decline, while cyanobacterial biomass showed the strongest increase over 25 years. Our findings suggest that progressing browning and changes in Fe and pH promote significant temporal changes in PB and shifts in phytoplankton community structures in northern lakes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksey Paltsev
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
| | | | | | - Irena F Creed
- Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Dag Olav Hessen
- Centre of Biogeochemistry in the Anthropocene and Department of Bioscience, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | | | | | - Heleen A de Wit
- Centre of Biogeochemistry in the Anthropocene and Department of Bioscience, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Oslo, Norway
| | - Danny C P Lau
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Tobias Vrede
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Peter D F Isles
- Watershed Management Division, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, Montpelier, VT, USA
| | - Anders Jonsson
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Erik Geibrink
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | | | - Stina Drakare
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
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Bergström AK, Creed IF, Paltsev A, de Wit HA, Lau DCP, Drakare S, Vrede T, Isles PDF, Jonsson A, Geibrink E, Kortelainen P, Vuorenmaa J, Vuorio K, Kahilainen KK, Hessen DO. Declining calcium concentration drives shifts toward smaller and less nutritious zooplankton in northern lakes. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17220. [PMID: 38433333 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
Zooplankton community composition of northern lakes is changing due to the interactive effects of climate change and recovery from acidification, yet limited data are available to assess these changes combined. Here, we built a database using archives of temperature, water chemistry and zooplankton data from 60 Scandinavian lakes that represent broad spatial and temporal gradients in key parameters: temperature, calcium (Ca), total phosphorus (TP), total organic carbon (TOC), and pH. Using machine learning techniques, we found that Ca was the most important determinant of the relative abundance of all zooplankton groups studied, while pH was second, and TOC third in importance. Further, we found that Ca is declining in almost all lakes, and we detected a critical Ca threshold in lake water of 1.3 mg L-1 , below which the relative abundance of zooplankton shifts toward dominance of Holopedium gibberum and small cladocerans at the expense of Daphnia and copepods. Our findings suggest that low Ca concentrations may shape zooplankton communities, and that current trajectories of Ca decline could promote widespread changes in pelagic food webs as zooplankton are important trophic links from phytoplankton to fish and different zooplankton species play different roles in this context.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Irena F Creed
- Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Aleksey Paltsev
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Heleen A de Wit
- Centre of Biogeochemistry in the Anthropocene and Department of Bioscience, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Oslo, Norway
| | - Danny C P Lau
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Stina Drakare
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Tobias Vrede
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Peter D F Isles
- Watershed Management Division, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, Montpelier, Vermont, USA
| | - Anders Jonsson
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Erik Geibrink
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | | | | | | | | | - Dag Olav Hessen
- Centre of Biogeochemistry in the Anthropocene and Department of Bioscience, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Meyer MF, Topp SN, King TV, Ladwig R, Pilla RM, Dugan HA, Eggleston JR, Hampton SE, Leech DM, Oleksy IA, Ross JC, Ross MRV, Woolway RI, Yang X, Brousil MR, Fickas KC, Padowski JC, Pollard AI, Ren J, Zwart JA. National-scale remotely sensed lake trophic state from 1984 through 2020. Sci Data 2024; 11:77. [PMID: 38228637 PMCID: PMC10791641 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-02921-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Lake trophic state is a key ecosystem property that integrates a lake's physical, chemical, and biological processes. Despite the importance of trophic state as a gauge of lake water quality, standardized and machine-readable observations are uncommon. Remote sensing presents an opportunity to detect and analyze lake trophic state with reproducible, robust methods across time and space. We used Landsat surface reflectance data to create the first compendium of annual lake trophic state for 55,662 lakes of at least 10 ha in area throughout the contiguous United States from 1984 through 2020. The dataset was constructed with FAIR data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reproducible) in mind, where data are publicly available, relational keys from parent datasets are retained, and all data wrangling and modeling routines are scripted for future reuse. Together, this resource offers critical data to address basic and applied research questions about lake water quality at a suite of spatial and temporal scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael F Meyer
- U.S. Geological Survey, Madison, WI, USA.
- University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Xiao Yang
- Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA
| | | | - Kate C Fickas
- U.S. Geological Survey, Sioux Falls, SD, USA
- University of California - Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
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Woolway RI, Sharma S, Smol JP. Lakes in Hot Water: The Impacts of a Changing Climate on Aquatic Ecosystems. Bioscience 2022; 72:1050-1061. [PMID: 36325103 PMCID: PMC9618276 DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biac052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Our planet is being subjected to unprecedented climate change, with far-reaching social and ecological repercussions. Below the waterline, aquatic ecosystems are being affected by multiple climate-related and anthropogenic stressors, the combined effects of which are poorly understood and rarely appreciated at the global stage. A striking consequence of climate change on aquatic ecosystems is that many are experiencing shorter periods of ice cover, as well as earlier and longer summer stratified seasons, which often result in a cascade of ecological and environmental consequences, such as warmer summer water temperatures, alterations in lake mixing and water levels, declines in dissolved oxygen, increased likelihood of cyanobacterial algal blooms, and the loss of habitat for native cold-water fisheries. The repercussions of a changing climate include impacts on freshwater supplies, water quality, biodiversity, and the ecosystem benefits that they provide to society.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Iestyn Woolway
- Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, England and with the School of Ocean Sciences at Bangor University in Anglesey, Wales
| | - Sapna Sharma
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - John P Smol
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
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