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Munford KE, Gilbert-Parkes S, Mykytczuk NCS, Basiliko N, Yakimovich KM, Poulain A, Watmough SA. How arsenic contamination influences downslope wetland plant and microbial community structure and function. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 876:162839. [PMID: 36921856 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Revised: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Mine tailings are prevalent worldwide and can adversely impact adjacent ecosystems, including wetlands. This study investigated the impact of gold (Au) mine tailings contamination on peatland soil and pore water geochemistry, vegetation and microbial communities, and microbial carbon (C) cycling. Maximum arsenic (As) concentrations in peat and pore water reached 20,137 mg kg-1 and 16,730 μg L-1, respectively, but decreased by two orders of magnitude along a 128 m gradient extending from the tailings into the wetland. Carbon and other macronutrient (N, P, K) concentrations in peat and pore water significantly increased with distance from contamination. Relative percent cover and species richness of vascular and non-vascular plants significantly increased with distance into the wetland, with higher non-vascular richness being found at intermediate distances before transitioning to a vascular plant dominated community. Bacterial and archaeal community composition exhibited a decreased proportion of members of the phylum Acidobacteria (notably of the order Acidobacteriales) and increased diversity and richness of methanogens across a larger range of orders farther from the tailings source, an indication of microbial C-cycling potential. Consistent with changes in microbial communities, in vitro microbial CH4 production potential significantly increased with distance from the contaminant source. This study demonstrates both the profound negative impact that metalliferous tailings contamination can have on above and belowground communities in peatlands, and the value of wetland preservation and restoration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimber E Munford
- Environmental and Life Sciences, Trent University, Peterborough, ON K9L 0G2, Canada.
| | | | - Nadia C S Mykytczuk
- School of the Environment, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, Canada
| | - Nathan Basiliko
- School of Natural Sciences and the Vale Living with Lakes Centre, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, Canada
| | - Kurt M Yakimovich
- School of Natural Sciences and the Vale Living with Lakes Centre, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, Canada
| | - Alexandre Poulain
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada
| | - Shaun A Watmough
- School of the Environment, Trent University, Peterborough, ON K9L 0G2, Canada
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Climate-related drivers of nutrient inputs and food web structure in shallow Arctic lake ecosystems. Sci Rep 2022; 12:2125. [PMID: 35136177 PMCID: PMC8825857 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06136-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
In order to predict the effects of climate change on polar ecosystems, disentangling mechanisms of nutrient transfer in food webs is crucial. We investigated sources of nutrients in tundra lakes, tracing their transfer through the food web and relating the observed patterns to runoff, snow coverage, and the presence of migratory geese in lake catchments. C and N content (elemental and isotopic) of several food web components including Lepidurus arcticus (Notostraca, at the top of the lake food webs) in 18 shallow Arctic lakes was compared. Terrestrial productivity and geese abundance were key biotic factors that interacted with abiotic variables (snow coverage, lake and catchment size) in determining the amount and origin of nutrient inputs, affecting the trophic interactions among aquatic species, food chain length and nutrient flow in Arctic lake food webs. Decreasing snow coverage, increasing abundance and expansion of the geese's range are expected across the Arctic due to climate warming. By relating nutrient inputs and food web structure to snow coverage, vegetation and geese, this study contributes to our mechanistic understanding of the cascade effects of climate change in tundra ecosystems, and may help predict the response of lakes to changes in nutrient inputs at lower latitudes.
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Yang Y, Hart SC, McCorkle EP, Stacy EM, Barnes ME, Hunsaker CT, Johnson DW, Berhe AA. Stream Water Chemistry in Mixed-Conifer Headwater Basins: Role of Water Sources, Seasonality, Watershed Characteristics, and Disturbances. Ecosystems 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-021-00620-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Chiu CY, Jones JR, Rusak JA, Lin HC, Nakayama K, Kratz TK, Liu WC, Tang SL, Tsai JW. Terrestrial loads of dissolved organic matter drive inter-annual carbon flux in subtropical lakes during times of drought. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 717:137052. [PMID: 32084680 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Revised: 01/30/2020] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Lentic ecosystems are important agents of local and global carbon cycling, but their contribution varies along gradients of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and productivity. We investigated how contrasting summer and autumn precipitation can shape annual and inter-annual variation in ecosystem carbon (C) flux (gross primary production (GPP), ecosystem respiration (ER), and CO2 efflux) in two subtropical lakes differing substantially in trophic state and water color. Instrumented buoys recorded time series of free-water DO, terrestrial DOM (tDOM), chlorophyll a, water temperature profiles, and meteorological measurements over five years (2009-2011 and 2014-2015). Reduced precipitation caused immediate and prolonged effects on C flux in both lakes. During the drought year (2014) GPP and ER declined by 60 to 80% and both lakes were either CO2 sinks or neutral. In the subsequent wet year (2015), GPP and ER increased by 40 to 110%, and both lakes shifted to strong net CO2 emitters. Higher ecosystem R resulted from larger GPP while higher tDOM contributed to a dramatic increase in dissolved inorganic carbon, which intensified CO2 emission in both lakes. C flux was more responsive in the clear mesotrophic lake, declining by approximately 40% in the cumulative GPP and ER, and increasing by >400% in CO2 efflux whereas changes in the oligotrophic colored lake were more modest (approximately 30% and 300% for metabolic declines and efflux increases, respectively). Temporal variation and magnitude of C flux were governed by tDOM-mediated changes in epilimnetic nutrient levels and hypolimnetic light availability. This study demonstrated terrestrial loads of DOM strongly influence the inter-annual response and sensitivity of ecosystem C flux to variation in inter-annual precipitation. Our findings have important implications for predicting the trend, magnitude, duration, and sensitivity of the response of C flux in subtropical lakes/reservoirs to future changes in precipitation patterns under altered climatic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chih-Yu Chiu
- Research Center for Biodiversity, Academia Sinica, 128 Academia Road, Section 2, Nankang, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.
| | - John R Jones
- School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, 103 Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
| | - James A Rusak
- Dorset Environmental Science Centre, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, 1026 Bellwood Acres Road, P.O. Box 39, Dorset, ON P0A 1E0, Canada; Department of Biology, Kingston, Queen's University, 116 Barrie Street, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada.
| | - Hao-Chi Lin
- Research Center for Biodiversity, Academia Sinica, 128 Academia Road, Section 2, Nankang, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
| | - Keisuke Nakayama
- Department of Civil Engineering, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodai-cho, Nada, Kobe, Hyogo 657-8501, Japan.
| | - Timothy K Kratz
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Trout Lake Station | 3110 Trout Lake Station Dr. Boulder Junction, WI 54512, USA
| | - Wen-Cheng Liu
- Department of Civil and Disaster Prevention Engineering, National United University, NO.2, Lien Da, Nan Shih Li, Miao-Li 36003, Taiwan.
| | - Sen-Lin Tang
- Research Center for Biodiversity, Academia Sinica, 128 Academia Road, Section 2, Nankang, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.
| | - Jeng-Wei Tsai
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, China Medical University, No.91, Hsueh-Shih Road, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
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Creed IF, Bergström AK, Trick CG, Grimm NB, Hessen DO, Karlsson J, Kidd KA, Kritzberg E, McKnight DM, Freeman EC, Senar OE, Andersson A, Ask J, Berggren M, Cherif M, Giesler R, Hotchkiss ER, Kortelainen P, Palta MM, Vrede T, Weyhenmeyer GA. Global change-driven effects on dissolved organic matter composition: Implications for food webs of northern lakes. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:3692-3714. [PMID: 29543363 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2017] [Accepted: 02/05/2018] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Northern ecosystems are experiencing some of the most dramatic impacts of global change on Earth. Rising temperatures, hydrological intensification, changes in atmospheric acid deposition and associated acidification recovery, and changes in vegetative cover are resulting in fundamental changes in terrestrial-aquatic biogeochemical linkages. The effects of global change are readily observed in alterations in the supply of dissolved organic matter (DOM)-the messenger between terrestrial and lake ecosystems-with potentially profound effects on the structure and function of lakes. Northern terrestrial ecosystems contain substantial stores of organic matter and filter or funnel DOM, affecting the timing and magnitude of DOM delivery to surface waters. This terrestrial DOM is processed in streams, rivers, and lakes, ultimately shifting its composition, stoichiometry, and bioavailability. Here, we explore the potential consequences of these global change-driven effects for lake food webs at northern latitudes. Notably, we provide evidence that increased allochthonous DOM supply to lakes is overwhelming increased autochthonous DOM supply that potentially results from earlier ice-out and a longer growing season. Furthermore, we assess the potential implications of this shift for the nutritional quality of autotrophs in terms of their stoichiometry, fatty acid composition, toxin production, and methylmercury concentration, and therefore, contaminant transfer through the food web. We conclude that global change in northern regions leads not only to reduced primary productivity but also to nutritionally poorer lake food webs, with discernible consequences for the trophic web to fish and humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irena F Creed
- School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | | | - Charles G Trick
- Interfaculty Program on Public Health & Department of Biology, Western University, London, ON, Canada
| | - Nancy B Grimm
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Dag O Hessen
- Section for Aquatic Biology and Toxicology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Jan Karlsson
- Climate Impacts Research Centre, Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Karen A Kidd
- Department of Biology and Canadian Rivers Institute, University of New Brunswick, Saint John, NB, Canada
| | | | | | - Erika C Freeman
- Department of Geography, Western University, London, ON, Canada
| | - Oscar E Senar
- Department of Geography, Western University, London, ON, Canada
| | - Agneta Andersson
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Jenny Ask
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Martin Berggren
- Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Mehdi Cherif
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Reiner Giesler
- Climate Impacts Research Centre, Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Erin R Hotchkiss
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | | | - Monica M Palta
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Tobias Vrede
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Gesa A Weyhenmeyer
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Limnology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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