Effects of water velocity on algal carbon isotope ratios: Implications for river food web studies

Finlay, Jacques C.; Power, Mary E.; Cabana, Gilbert

doi:10.4319/lo.1999.44.5.1198

Cited by 249 publications

(344 citation statements)

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“…In a comparative study, Finlay et al (1999) found a strong negative relationship between water velocity and herbivore ␦ 13 C signatures, which reflect algal ␦ 13 C signatures, in productive rivers. This result supports the idea that boundary-layer thickness has a strong influence on the supply rate of inorganic carbon, namely CO 2 , which diffuses slowly in water, affecting the baseline signature that is passed along to consumers in the community.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of water velocity on stable carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures of periphyton

Trudeau

Rasmussen

2003

Limnology & Oceanography

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Water movement affects carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures of algae, possibly through effects on boundarylayer thickness. We describe a laboratory experiment carried out in artificial streams, which supports this hypothesis. Periphyton ␦ 13 C and ␦ 15 N signatures were significantly depleted in 13 C and 15 N when grown at higher water velocity over the range of 5-62 cm s Ϫ1 , the normal range found in small streams. ␦ 13 C signatures ranged between Ϫ16.7‰ and Ϫ28.1‰ from the lowest to the highest water velocity, respectively. Similarly, ␦ 15 N signatures ranged between 7.2‰ and 2.3‰ from the lowest to the highest water velocity, respectively. This pattern was found for algal communities growing on glass (mainly diatoms) as well as for those growing on rock (mainly filamentous green algae). For both C and N, the slopes of the responses were not different between the periphyton communities growing on each substrate, although the effect was statistically weaker for the communities on rocks. The intercept for ␦ 13 C was significantly higher for the communities on rocks, but not different for ␦ 15 N. Thus, while both isotopes are fractionated to a greater extent as velocity increases, the diatom communities growing on glass appeared to fractionate C isotopes more than the filamentous green algae growing on rock. This relationship between the stable isotopic signatures of aquatic plants and water velocity will hopefully allow a better understanding of the differences in isotopic signatures of fish in different habitats.Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes (␦ 13 C and ␦ 15 N) are increasingly used in ecology to study food-web structure and functions. The influence of abiotic factors, such as water velocity, on the isotopic signatures of algae is of particular interest because algae are at the base of the food web, and such factors can indirectly influence the signatures of primary and secondary consumers. In order to properly interpret isotopic signatures of invertebrates and fish, it is therefore necessary to understand how physical factors affect the signatures of primary producers.Field studies on aquatic plants have generally reported ␦ 13 C values enriched in 13 C (lower degree of isotopic fractionation) in low-energy lentic systems than in high-energy lotic systems (Keely and Sandquist 1992;Hecky and Hesslein 1995). In low-energy environments, boundary layers of aquatic plants are thicker due to more stagnant water. This results in lower diffusion rates and reduced isotopic discrimination against the heavier 13 C. Moreover, phytoplankton, which normally live in open-water turbulent environments, generally exhibit ␦ 13 C values depleted in 13 C (higher degree of isotopic fractionation) than littoral benthic algae (Hecky and Hesslein 1995). Laboratory experiments have shown that ␦ 13 C values for individual algal species were decreased under conditions of high turbulence (Degens et al. 1968;France and Holmquist 1997). Osmond et al. (1981) also found that freshwater macrophytes from low-energy lake-1 Pres...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of water velocity on stable carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures of periphyton

Trudeau

Rasmussen

2003

Limnology & Oceanography

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“…Numerous studies in the field and laboratory have confirmed that d 13 C values enriched in 13 C, in low-energy lentic systems than in high-energy lotic systems (Finlay et al, 1999;Trudeau and Rasmussen, 2003). In highenergy lotic systems, the discrimination is increased due to easy uptake of nutrients, through reduced diffusion boundary layer around the plants (Trudeau and Rasmussen, 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…However, the influence of abiotic factors on stable isotope signatures of the plants and algae were studied later (Finlay et al, 1999;Trudeau and Rasmussen, 2003). Field studies on aquatic plants have generally reported that d 13 C values are to be enriched in 13 C, in low-energy lentic systems than in high-energy lotic systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of flow turbulence on growth, nutrient uptake and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures inChara fibrosa

Ellawala

Asaeda

Kawamura

2012

Ann. Limnol. - Int. J. Lim.

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-Exposure to water movement has been observed to alter various processes in the plants including growth, hormone concentration and nutrient uptake. In the current study, Chara fibrosa was exposed to three different turbulence conditions and compared with a control. Turbulence was generated in the laboratory by using a vertically oscillating grid setup. Exposure to turbulence caused a reduction in shoot length and nutrient uptake in C. fibrosa. Variation of stable isotope composition was measured as a surrogate variable that is able to integrate variations of many physiological processes. It was initially hypothesized that the reduction of diffusion boundary layer around the plant will increase isotopic discrimination against 13 C and 15 N, when exposed to increasing turbulence. Although the results generally agree with the hypothesis, a trend of increment was observed in d 13 C in the plants exposed to turbulent velocities from 0.46 to 1.93 cm s x1 , against the hypothesis. Mechanical stress induced reduction of carbon uptake and lipid peroxidation due to the development of oxidative stress may be the reasons behind the above-mentioned trend. The study exhibits that the net effect of physical and physiochemical changes of the plants was displayed in d 13 C signatures and it is important to consider physical conditions of the local environment, in using stable isotope signatures for ecosystem studies.

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“…En los sistemas acuáticos la señal isotópica del carbono de los productores primarios depende de una multitud de factores como, la clorofila a, el contenido en fósforo, las concentraciones de CO 2 (Yamamuro et al, 1995;Gu et al, 1996;Legget et al, 1999), la intensidad de la luz y la velocidad del agua (Finlay et al, 1999), el carbono orgánico disuelto (France, 1999;2000); el carbono inorgánico disuelto (Keough et al, 1998), y recursos de carbono bacterianos (Hall & Meyer, 1998).…”

Section: Características Generales De Los Sistemas Acuáticos Reveladaunclassified

Técnicas Y Aplicaciones Multidisciplinares De Los Isótopos Ambientales

Pagés¹,

Ortega²,

Fernández³

2008

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Todos los derechos reservados. De conformidad con lo dispuesto en la legislación vigente, podrán ser castigados con penas de multa y privación de libertad quienes reproduzcan o plagien, en todo o en parte, una obra literaria, artística o científica fijada en cualquier tipo de soporte, sin la preceptiva autorización. © Ediciones PREFACIOEste libro es fruto de la recopilación de los trabajos presentados en las Jornadas sobre "Nuevas técnicas metodológicas aplicadas al estudio de los sistemas ambientales: los isótopos estables" celebradas en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid a finales de noviembre de 2005 y en las cuales participaron más de ciento cincuenta investigadores y estudiantes.La obra reúne diecinueve capítulos, cada uno de los cuales presenta un resumen de las principales aplicaciones de los isótopos estables en un área determinada y, en la mayoría de los casos, los resultados obtenidos por los propios autores en su ámbito de especialización.El objetivo principal de esta publicación es contribuir al conocimiento de los isótopos estables como herramienta de estudio moderna y resolutiva, cuya utilización se encuentra en creciente desarrollo en nuestro país. La versatilidad de estos métodos se refleja en el amplio abanico de aplicaciones desarrolladas y la diversidad de áreas de conocimiento de las que proceden los autores. En este sentido cabe destacar que las aplicaciones isotópicas incluidas en este volumen constituyen solamente una muestra, si bien pretende ser representativa, de las múltiples posibilidades que en la actualidad ofrecen estas técnicas. Es por ello que, atendiendo a las limitaciones de espacio y a un cierto enfoque temático ambiental, se ha debido renunciar a la incorporación de algunos temas en los que el empleo de los isótopos es importante o posee un gran potencial, como por ejemplo en los estudios metabólicos en animales y humanos o en el campo de los análisis clínicos.Los editores desean expresar su profundo agradecimiento a todos los autores que han participado en este proyecto. También queremos destacar el apoyo recibido por parte de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid y especialmente desde su Servicio de Publicaciones, cuya magnífica labor editorial ha hecho posible la publicación de este libro. AbstractSince the 1970 decade, stable isotope techniques have been widely employed to trace global processes in ecosystems. Concerning freshwater ecosystems, these techniques are currently applied to the study of the structure and functioning of several kinds of continental aquatic systems such as lagoons, lakes, ponds, streams and rivers, and even ecotonal ecosystems as estuaries. The present chapter is focused on a review of how stable isotopes, mainly δ 13 C, δ 15

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Effects of water velocity on algal carbon isotope ratios: Implications for river food web studies

Cited by 249 publications

References 31 publications

The effect of water velocity on stable carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures of periphyton

The effect of water velocity on stable carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures of periphyton

The effect of flow turbulence on growth, nutrient uptake and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures inChara fibrosa

Técnicas Y Aplicaciones Multidisciplinares De Los Isótopos Ambientales

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