Investigation of road salts and biotic stressors on freshwater wetland communities

Jones, Devin K.; Mattes, Brian M.; Hintz, William D.; Schuler, Matthew S.; Stoler, Aaron B.; Lind, Lovisa; Cooper, Reilly O.; Relyea, Rick A.

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.11.060

Cited by 59 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Even in experiments that use much higher chloride concentrations, which are often well above suggested chronic and even acute chloride thresholds, there is a great deal of variability in the response of particular zooplankton groups. In contrast to changes primarily in cladocerans (e.g., this study, or Petranka & Doyle, ; Petranka & Francis, ), some studies have reported no effect of elevated salt on cladocerans at all (Hintz et al., at ~1,000 mg Cl/L), while some show declines in both cladocerans and copepods following exposure to the same chloride concentrations (e.g., Van Meter & Swan, ; at ~1067 mg Cl/L; Jones et al., at ~780 mg Cl/L), or greater vulnerability in copepods compared to cladocerans (Van Meter et al., at ~645 mg Cl/L). Part of the variation in these reported effects of elevated chloride on different zooplankton groups is likely due to differences between experiments (e.g., water chemistry, food availability) and the species involved, although the zooplankton used in these studies are rarely reported to species‐level (albeit cladocerans are often reported as being dominated by Daphnia spp.).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 62%

“…These impacts of elevated chloride can lead to top‐down and bottom‐up trophic consequences for contaminated communities. Chloride‐driven reductions in freshwater zooplankton can result in persistent increases in phytoplankton concentrations (Hintz et al., ; Jones et al., ; Van Meter, Swan, Leips, & Snodgrass, ), along with reductions in the growth of secondary consumers (Petranka & Doyle, ). This suggests that the increasing application of road salt, along with the steady accumulation of chloride in freshwater habitats, might result in an overall loss of community function.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Local context and connectivity determine the response of zooplankton communities to salt contamination

Sinclair

Arnott

2018

Freshwater Biology

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Salt, primarily NaCl, is commonly used to de‐ice winter roads. The usage of road salt is steadily increasing as the area of urbanised land expands, and chloride concentrations in many lakes and flowing waters near roads have been steadily increasing through time. In some waterbodies, these concentrations are reaching levels that are toxic to freshwater organisms, such as zooplankton which are integral to the structure and function of freshwater communities. We currently have a poor understanding of the impact of road salt contamination on zooplankton communities, and particularly the variation in response among lakes. Zooplankton communities differ in factors that could influence the impacts of elevated chloride, such as local species composition, exposure history and regional connectivity. Assessing and predicting how increasing road salt usage affects natural, freshwater zooplankton communities requires studies that investigate how communities vary in the impacts of elevated chloride, and in their response to dispersal. We conducted a field mesocosm experiment that examined the effects of salt (NaCl) addition on two different zooplankton communities, which were also subjected to repeated introductions of zooplankton dispersers from the regional species pool. These treatments allowed us to determine whether communities differed in the impacts of salt, and how the effects of salt differed between communities that did and did not receive zooplankton dispersers. We found variation in the effects of salt and dispersal between our experimental communities. For one lake community, salt drove zooplankton species composition towards dominance by littoral cladocerans. Zooplankton dispersal into this community ameliorated these impacts of salt by returning species composition to a state more similar to our “Control” communities. Conversely, for the other lake community, salt alone had minimal effects on zooplankton, while the combination of salt and dispersal led to declines in adult copepods. Our experiment found that the impacts of salt varied between two zooplankton communities, causing a range of negative, positive and neutral community effects, and that dispersal from the regional species pool could serve as an ameliorating or exacerbating influence. Efforts to understand and predict the impacts of road salt on freshwater communities would therefore benefit from an evaluation of the potential role played by local (e.g., exposure history and biotic interactions) and regional (e.g., connectivity to possible sources of immigrants) context in the response of communities to elevated chloride.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 62%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local context and connectivity determine the response of zooplankton communities to salt contamination

Sinclair

Arnott

2018

Freshwater Biology

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“…As with lake communities, road salt in experimental wetland and stormwater pond communities can trigger cascading effects by killing zooplankton, which leads to elevated phytoplankton abundance due to reduced zooplankton grazing (Dananay, Krynak, Krynak, & Benard, 2015;Jones et al, 2017;Van Meter & Swan, 2014;Van Meter et al, 2011). This can occur at similar Cl − concentrations in lakes.…”

Section: Wetland Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of the species, community, and ecosystem impacts of road salt salinisation in fresh waters

2019

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Freshwater ecosystems worldwide are threatened by salinisation caused by human activities. Scientific attention on the ecological impacts of salinisation from road deicing salts is increasing exponentially. Spanning multiple trophic levels and ecosystem types, we review and synthesise the ecological impacts of road salt in freshwater ecosystems to understand species‐, community‐, and ecosystem‐level responses. In our review, we identify knowledge gaps that we hope will motivate future research directions. We found that road salts negatively affect species at all trophic levels, from biofilms to fish. The concentration at which road salt triggered an effect varied considerably. Species‐level impacts were generally sub‐lethal, leading to reductions in growth and reproduction, which can be magnified by natural stressors such as predation. Community‐level impacts including reductions of biodiversity were common, leading to communities of salt‐tolerant species, which may have implications for disease transmission from enhanced recruitment of salt‐tolerant host species such as mosquitoes. At the ecosystem level, road salts alter nutrient and energy flow. Contaminated wetlands could see greater export of greenhouse gases, streams will probably export more nitrogen and carbon, and lakes will encounter altered hydrology and oxygen dynamics, leading to greater phosphorus release from sediments. While it is necessary to keep roads safe for humans, the costs to freshwater ecosystems may be severe if actions are not taken to mitigate road salt salinisation. Cooperation among policy makers, environmental managers, transportation professionals, scientists, and the public will be crucial to prevent a loss of ecosystem services including water clarity, drinkable water, recreation venues, and fisheries.

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“…Elevated chloride concentrations in lakes can alter the composition and function of phytoplankton, zooplankton, macroinvertebrate, and fish communities (10)(11)(12)35). As a consequence of salinization, aquatic species richness and abundance may decline, which could result in trophic cascades and altered water quality and ecosystem structure and function (36).…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

Salting our freshwater lakes

Dugan

Bartlett

Burke

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

334

244

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The highest densities of lakes on Earth are in north temperate ecosystems, where increasing urbanization and associated chloride runoff can salinize freshwaters and threaten lake water quality and the many ecosystem services lakes provide. However, the extent to which lake salinity may be changing at broad spatial scales remains unknown, leading us to first identify spatial patterns and then investigate the drivers of these patterns. Significant decadal trends in lake salinization were identified using a dataset of long-term chloride concentrations from 371 North American lakes. Landscape and climate metrics calculated for each site demonstrated that impervious land cover was a strong predictor of chloride trends in Northeast and Midwest North American lakes. As little as 1% impervious land cover surrounding a lake increased the likelihood of long-term salinization. Considering that 27% of large lakes in the United States have >1% impervious land cover around their perimeters, the potential for steady and long-term salinization of these aquatic systems is high. This study predicts that many lakes will exceed the aquatic life threshold criterion for chronic chloride exposure (230 mg L

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Investigation of road salts and biotic stressors on freshwater wetland communities

Cited by 59 publications

References 55 publications

Local context and connectivity determine the response of zooplankton communities to salt contamination

Local context and connectivity determine the response of zooplankton communities to salt contamination

A review of the species, community, and ecosystem impacts of road salt salinisation in fresh waters

Salting our freshwater lakes

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