This study describes, for the first time, the water chemistry and microbial diversity in Dziani Dzaha, a tropical crater lake located on Mayotte Island (Comoros archipelago, Western Indian Ocean). The lake water had a high level of dissolved matter and high alkalinity (10.6–14.5 g L-1 eq. CO32-, i.e. 160–220 mM compare to around 2–2.5 in seawater), with salinity up to 52 psu, 1.5 higher than seawater. Hierarchical clustering discriminated Dziani Dzaha water from other alkaline, saline lakes, highlighting its thalassohaline nature. The phytoplankton biomass was very high, with a total chlorophyll a concentration of 524 to 875 μg chl a L-1 depending on the survey, homogeneously distributed from surface to bottom (4 m). Throughout the whole water column the photosynthetic biomass was dominated (>97% of total biovolume) by the filamentous cyanobacteria Arthrospira sp. with a straight morphotype. In situ daily photosynthetic oxygen production ranged from 17.3 to 22.2 g O2 m-2 d-1, consistent with experimental production / irradiance measurements and modeling. Heterotrophic bacterioplankton was extremely abundant, with cell densities up to 1.5 108 cells mL-1 in the whole water column. Isolation and culture of 59 Eubacteria strains revealed the prevalence of alkaliphilic and halophilic organisms together with taxa unknown to date, based on 16S rRNA gene analysis. A single cloning-sequencing approach using archaeal 16S rDNA gene primers unveiled the presence of diverse extremophilic Euryarchaeota. The water chemistry of Dziani Dzaha Lake supports the hypothesis that it was derived from seawater and strongly modified by geological conditions and microbial activities that increased the alkalinity. Dziani Dzaha has a unique consortium of cyanobacteria, phytoplankton, heterotrophic Eubacteria and Archaea, with very few unicellular protozoa, that will deserve further deep analysis to unravel its uncommon diversity. A single taxon, belonging to the genus Arthrospira, was found responsible for almost all photosynthetic primary production.
Regions of Restricted Exchange (RREs) are an important feature of the European coastline. They are historically preferred sites for human settlement and aquaculture and their ecosystems, and consequent human use, may be at risk from eutrophication. The OAERRE project (EVK3-CT1999-0002) concerns 'Oceanographic Applications to Eutrophication in Regions of Restricted Exchange'. It began in July 2000, and studies six sites. Four of these sites are fjords: Kongsfjorden (west coast of Spitzbergen); Gullmaren (Skagerrak coast of Sweden); Himmerfjärden (Baltic coast of Sweden); and the Firth of Clyde (west coast of Scotland). Two are bays sheltered by sand bars: Golfe de Fos (French Mediterranean); and Ria Formosa (Portuguese Algarve). Together they exemplify a range of hydrographic and enrichment conditions. The project aims to understand the physical, biogeochemical and biological processes, and their interactions, that determine the trophic status of these coastal marine RRE through the development of simple screening models to define, predict and assess eutrophication. This paper introduces the sites and describes the component parts of a basic screening model and its application to each site using historical data. The model forms the starting point for the OAERRE project and views an RRE as a well-mixed box, exchanging with the sea at a daily rate E determined by physical processes, and converting nutrient to phytoplankton chlorophyll at a fixed yield q. It thus uses nutrient levels to estimate maximum biomass; these preliminary results are discussed in relation to objective criteria used to assess trophic status. The influence of factors such as grazing and vertical mixing on key parameters in the screening model are further studied using simulations of a complex 'research' model for the Firth of Clyde. The future development of screening models in general and within OAERRE in particular is discussed. In addition, the paper looks ahead with a broad discussion of progress in the scientific understanding of eutrophication and the legal and socio-economic issues that need to be taken into account in managing the trophic status of RREs
The responses of the plankton food web to increases in temperature and ultraviolet B radiation (UVBR, were experimentally investigated at a coastal Mediterranean site during spring. Eight moored mesocosms were used to compare natural plankton food web responses (control mesocosms) with three treatments simulating expected future local temperature and UVBR increases, as follows: (1) 3uC increase in water temperature, (2) 20% increase in incident UVBR, and (3) simultaneous 3uC increase in water temperature and 20% increase in incident UVBR. The plankton food web was resistant to elevated UVBR, having only moderate effects on plankton abundances and structure. In contrast, warming induced significant shifts in the plankton food web structure and function. Specifically, the abundance of protozooplankton (ciliates and flagellates) increased and the development time of copepods from nauplii to adults decreased. In the warm mesocosms, the emergence of copepod adult stages midway through the experiment resulted in a decrease in ciliates and consequently in an increase in heterotrophic flagellates. One unexpected result was that warming reduced the abundance of heterotrophic bacteria midway through the experiment. These results indicate a trophic-cascade effect under warming. The increase in adult copepods diminishes ciliates and in turn favors heterotrophic flagellates that consume bacteria. Warming also induced an increase in net oxygen production, indicating an increase in net primary production.
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