Variation in chlorophyll a to total phosphorus ratio across 94 UK and Irish lakes: Implications for lake management

Spears, Bryan M.; Carvalho, Laurence; Dudley, Bernard; May, Linda

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.10.011

Cited by 39 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…151-161). Furthermore, the ratio of the increase in total phytoplankton biomass to the increase in TP from the two weeks before the first mixing to the two weeks afterwards was 0.36, which corresponds closely with chlorophyll-a:TP ratios for water bodies similar to FCR [48].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Whole-Ecosystem Experiments Reveal Varying Responses of Phytoplankton Functional Groups to Epilimnetic Mixing in a Eutrophic Reservoir

Lofton

McClure

Chen

et al. 2019

Water

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Water column mixing can influence community composition of pelagic phytoplankton in lakes and reservoirs. Previous studies suggest that low mixing favors cyanobacteria, while increased mixing favors green algae and diatoms. However, this shift in community dominance is not consistently achieved when epilimnetic mixers are activated at the whole-ecosystem scale, possibly because phytoplankton community responses are mediated by mixing effects on other ecosystem processes. We conducted two epilimnetic mixing experiments in a small drinking water reservoir using a bubble-plume diffuser system. We measured physical, chemical, and biological variables before, during, and after mixing and compared the results to an unmixed reference reservoir. We observed significant increases in the biomass of cyanobacteria (from 0.8 ± 0.2 to 2.4 ± 1.1 μg L−1, p = 0.008), cryptophytes (from 0.7 ± 0.1 to 1.9 ± 0.6 μg L−1, p = 0.003), and green algae (from 3.8 to 4.4 μg L−1, p = 0.15) after our first mixing event, likely due to increased total phosphorus from entrainment of upstream sediments. After the second mixing event, phytoplankton biomass did not change but phytoplankton community composition shifted from taxa with filamentous morphology to smaller, rounder taxa. Our results suggest that whole-ecosystem dynamics and phytoplankton morphological traits should be considered when predicting phytoplankton community responses to epilimnetic mixing.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Whole-Ecosystem Experiments Reveal Varying Responses of Phytoplankton Functional Groups to Epilimnetic Mixing in a Eutrophic Reservoir

Lofton

McClure

Chen

et al. 2019

Water

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“…The current model increased the accuracy of predictions of TP based on Chl, addressing a long‐standing issue with TP‐Chl models in which relationships within individual lakes have varied substantially from a cross‐system relationship based on mean values of TP and Chl from different lakes (Smith and Shapiro ; Spears et al ). As described in the Introduction, previous studies have accounted for differences in observed Chl by examining covariates, whereas this analysis suggests that a primary source of variability in TP–Chl relationships derives from differences in SS np , which alters the concentration of TP measured in a sample.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Vertical line segments show the standard deviation of proportions among samples collected from each lake. (Smith and Shapiro 1981;Spears et al 2013). As described in the Introduction, previous studies have accounted for differences in observed Chl by examining covariates, whereas this analysis suggests that a primary source of variability in TP-Chl relationships derives from differences in SS np , which alters the concentration of TP measured in a sample.…”

Section: Fig 8 Mean Proportion Of Tp Associated With Different Compamentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Variations in the relationship have been attributed to differences in lake depth (Pridmore et al 1985), TN:TP ratio (Smith 1982;Prairie et al 1989;Molot and Dillon 1991), grazing by zooplankton and mussels (Mazumder 1994;Mellina et al 1995), landscape characteristics (Wagner et al 2011), and light limitation (Hoyer and Jones 1983;Knowlton and Jones 2000;Havens and Nürnberg 2004). Regional studies have evaluated the relationship as influenced by edaphic and climatic factors in locations such as Canada (Prepas and Trew 1983), Argentina, (Quirós 1990), the United Kingdom (Spears et al 2013), and Europe (Phillips et al 2008). Recently, lake classifications have improved the precision and accuracy of this relationship (Yuan and Pollard 2014).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Rethinking phosphorus–chlorophyll relationships in lakes

Yuan

Jones

2020

Limnology & Oceanography

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The empirical relationship between total phosphorus and chlorophyll has guided lake management decisions for decades, but imprecision in this relationship in individual lakes limits the utility of these models. Many environmental factors that potentially affect the total phosphorus-chlorophyll relationship have been studied, but here we hypothesize that imprecision can be reduced by considering differences in the proportions of phosphorus bound to three different "compartments" in the water column: phosphorus bound in phytoplankton, phosphorus bound to suspended sediment that is not associated with phytoplankton, and dissolved phosphorus. We specify a hierarchical Bayesian network model that estimates phosphorus associated with each compartment using field measurements of chlorophyll, total suspended solids, and total phosphorus collected from reservoirs in Missouri, United States. We then demonstrate that accounting for these different compartments yields accurate predictions of total phosphorus in individual lakes. Results from this model also yield insights into the mechanisms by which lake morphometric and watershed characteristics affect observed relationships between total phosphorus and chlorophyll.

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“…High concentration of phosphorus is a major problem in many lakes and reservoirs [8] [89] [110]. This can lead to a host of detrimental effects with the most notable being increased productivity and biomass of phytoplankton, including algae [97] [101]. This can result in other adverse effects such as reduced oxygen levels in the water once the algae die, deaths of other organisms such as fish due to the reduced oxygen levels, taste and odor problems with drinking water, and re-blooms (FHABs) anywhere is the reduction of the external loading of nutrients, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Management of Eutrophic Lakes and Reservoirs

Wagner¹,

Erickson²

2017

JEP

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Eutrophication of lakes and reservoirs is a major water quality problem that poses significant environmental, economic and social threats around the world. Monitoring and managing lakes and reservoirs to prevent or limit eutrophication, therefore, has significant value. The literature has been reviewed to study ecological engineering and management methods that have been and can be applied to improve water quality. Ecological engineering has the potential to be utilized to improve the design and operation of lakes and reservoirs through monitoring and active management of biological, chemical and physical components. Phosphorus concentrations can be reduced by effective and sustainable management practices to improve water quality.

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Variation in chlorophyll a to total phosphorus ratio across 94 UK and Irish lakes: Implications for lake management

Cited by 39 publications

References 38 publications

Whole-Ecosystem Experiments Reveal Varying Responses of Phytoplankton Functional Groups to Epilimnetic Mixing in a Eutrophic Reservoir

Whole-Ecosystem Experiments Reveal Varying Responses of Phytoplankton Functional Groups to Epilimnetic Mixing in a Eutrophic Reservoir

Rethinking phosphorus–chlorophyll relationships in lakes

Sustainable Management of Eutrophic Lakes and Reservoirs

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