Interactions of inorganic carbon and light availability as controlling factors in aquatic macrophyte distribution and productivity

Hough, R. Anton; Fornwall, Mark D.

doi:10.4319/lo.1988.33.5.1202

Cited by 26 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…High levels of photosynthesis by either algae or macrophytes within a lake will tend to shift the equilibrium towards a bicarbonate dominated system, at least in daytime when photosynthesis is occurring. N. flexilis is an obligate CO 2 user and cannot utilise bicarbonate (Hough & Fornwall, 1988).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing and predicting the success of Najas flexilis (Willd.) Rostk. & Schmidt, a rare European aquatic macrophyte, in relation to lake environmental conditions

2006

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Najas flexilis (Willd.) Rostk. & Schmidt is a submerged annual macrophyte, rare in Europe, which is protected under the EC Habitats Directive. N. flexilis appears to be decreasing in the British Isles, its main stronghold in Europe. We outline the environmental conditions required for N. flexilis growth, comparing between present and recentlyextinct sites for the plant. Plant traits (leaf area /shoot length; and reproductive number /shoot length) can be used to assess N. flexilis population success, and models are produced that can predict this. Both the comparison between present and extinct sites, and the models, suggest that eutrophication and acidification of lakes are the main threats to N. flexilis. Acidification appears to reduce the ability of N. flexilis to produce seeds (potentially fatal for an annual). On the other hand, eutrophication leads to conditions where N.flexilis, an obligate carbon dioxide utiliser, cannot photosynthesise due to the predominance of bicarbonate rather than dissolved carbon dioxide in lake water.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…flexilis grows in mesotrophic lakes and is an obligate dissolvedcarbon dioxide utiliser (Hough & Fornwall, 1988;Hough & Wetzel, 1978). It has been reported from depths of 0.2 -14.0 m (Pip and Simmons, 1986).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing and predicting the success of Najas flexilis (Willd.) Rostk. & Schmidt, a rare European aquatic macrophyte, in relation to lake environmental conditions

2006

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“…Downstream in East Graham Lake the abundance of phytoplankton, periphyton, and non-rooted macrophytes is lower than in Shoe Lake, whereas the productivity and diversity of rooted macrophytes is higher than in Shoe Lake . Experiments (Hough & Fornwall, 1988 ;Hough et al, 1989) indicated that macrophytes in Shoe Lake are primarily light limited, whereas in East Graham Lake non-rooted macrophytes such as Ceratophyllum are nitrogen-limited ; free CO2 availability influences species composition in both lakes . A preliminary survey of phytoplankton species abundance in the two lakes (Table 2 ; data obtained by microscopy of cells and colonies collected by quantitative filtration) revealed the usual inverse relationship between diversity and productivity (see chlorophyll a, Table 1) .…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Free CO2 differences between the two lakes (Table 1) were shown to influence some macrophyte species there (Hough & Fornwall, 1988), and some of the phytoplankton species may be similarly sensitive to this .…”

Section: Species Responsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of a dissolved inorganic nitrogen gradient on phytoplankton community dynamics in a chain of lakes

Hough

Thompson

1996

Hydrobiologia

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In a chain of lakes along which nutrient availability varies in a gradient, we performed factorial nutrient enrichment experiments to determine if nitrogen limitation was the principal factor controlling the differences in phytoplankton biomass, photosynthetic productivity, diversity, and species composition among two of the lakes in the chain . In the least productive lake, East Graham Lake, P and C enrichments (in the absence of N enrichment) had no effect on biomass and diversity, whereas within two weeks the N enrichments (alone or in any combination with P and/or C) increased the biomass and decreased the diversity of East Graham Lake phytoplankton to levels similar or identical to those in more productive Shoe Lake. Short-term 14 C photosynthetic rates in East Graham Lake water also responded only to N in the third week . However, photosynthesis was stimulated by P in the first week, and a few species did increase in numbers with P enrichment, suggesting that some degree of P limitation remains in addition to the strong N limitation in East Graham Lake . A number of species responded individually to the enrichments in a manner similar to that of the overall community, and a strong overlapping of discriminant analysis scores for N-enriched East Graham Lake with those of Shoe Lake was consistent with our prediction that the community structure of N-enriched East Graham Lake water would shift toward that of Shoe Lake . However, many species did not respond consistently with these results, and the nutrients tested were clearly not a major factor in the differences in abundance of those species among the two lakes .The results support the argument that overall biomass production and diversity of the phytoplankton community in a lake can be a relatively simple function of a single most-limiting nutrient . However, many of the species responses also confirm that, while nutrient availability is an important factor in the control of the species composition of the community, other factors are likely to prevent reliable predictions of all species effects on the basis of nutrient availability alone .

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“…flexilis appears to be unsuccessful in sites where eutrophication has occurred due to a lack of available carbon dioxide, which reduces the photosynthetic capacity of the plant. This is because N. flexilis is an obligate carbon dioxide user and cannot utilize bicarbonate (often the predominant form of carbon in eutrophic waters: Hough and Wetzel, 1978;Hough and Fornwall, 1988). In contrast to eutrophication, acidification appears to affect the reproductive capacity of the plant, not the photosynthetic capacity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lake habitat suitability for the rare European macrophyte Najas flexilis (Willd.) Rostk. & Schmidt

Wingfield

Murphy

Gaywood

2005

Aquatic Conservation

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ABSTRACT1. Najas flexilis (Willd.) Rostk. & Schmidt is a submerged annual macrophyte, rare in Europe, which is protected under the EC Habitats Directive.2. N. flexilis grows in deep, often coloured or turbid water in mesotrophic lakes. Because of this habitat preference it is difficult to locate and assess the ecological state of populations of the species for conservation monitoring purposes.3. A method is described based on plant community information that can be used to determine the baseline probability that conditions in a lake are suitable for supporting N. flexilis growth. This can be applied to conservation management decisions, such as whether a detailed underwater survey is justified for monitoring the integrity of existing populations of N. flexilis, or whether the lake may be a suitable site for introduction, or reintroduction, of populations of the plant.4. Two methods of plant community description are compared: a quantitative micro-habitat scale approach and a whole-lake-scale qualitative approach. Plant community data collected using each method were grouped using TWINSPAN, and environmental descriptors of the sites comprising each plant community group were compared statistically.5. Micro-habitat-scale community groups differed significantly only in the light extinction coefficient, indicating the zone within the lake in which N. flexilis occurred.6. The whole-lake-scale community groups differed in a number of environmental variables indicative of eutrophication and acidification, two major environmental threats to N. flexilis survival.7. This study suggests that a lake-scale qualitative plant community description would be a better indicator of site suitability for N. flexilis growth than a quantitative micro-habitat plant community description. This is because the whole-lake-scale approach could detect a difference in the environmental factors that affect N. flexilis growth, which the micro-habitat scale approach could not.

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Interactions of inorganic carbon and light availability as controlling factors in aquatic macrophyte distribution and productivity

Cited by 26 publications

References 2 publications

Assessing and predicting the success of Najas flexilis (Willd.) Rostk. & Schmidt, a rare European aquatic macrophyte, in relation to lake environmental conditions

Assessing and predicting the success of Najas flexilis (Willd.) Rostk. & Schmidt, a rare European aquatic macrophyte, in relation to lake environmental conditions

The influence of a dissolved inorganic nitrogen gradient on phytoplankton community dynamics in a chain of lakes

Lake habitat suitability for the rare European macrophyte Najas flexilis (Willd.) Rostk. & Schmidt

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