Long-term changes in phytoplankton composition in seven Canadian Shield lakes in response to multiple anthropogenic stressors

Paterson, Andrew M.; Winter, Jennifer G.; Nicholls, Kenneth H.; Clark, Bev J.; Ramcharan, Charles W.; Yan, Norman D.; Somers, Keith M.

doi:10.1139/f08-022

Cited by 61 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Based on food web theory, one might expect that herbivorous zooplankton should be more affected by top-down influences, whereas phytoplankton communities, being lower in the food chain, should be shaped more strongly by bottom-up effects (McQueen et al 1986). Indeed, this pattern has been recently demonstrated in comparative studies of boreal shield lakes (Paterson et al 2008). Our objective was to assess whether Bythotrephes induces patterns in planktonic food webs that are indicative of a trophic cascade.…”

mentioning

confidence: 73%

Direct and indirect effects of an invasive planktonic predator on pelagic food webs

Strecker

Beisner

Arnott

et al. 2010

Limnology & Oceanography

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The relative importance of top-down invader effects relative to environmental drivers was determined by sampling crustacean zooplankton, rotifer, and phytoplankton communities in a set of invaded and noninvaded reference lakes. The non-native invertebrate predator Bythotrephes had significant effects on zooplankton community size structure, rotifers, and phytoplankton taxonomic composition, but no significant effects on crustacean zooplankton taxonomic and functional group composition. Part of the variation in phytoplankton communities was explained by the presence of the invader. Because Bythotrephes is generally known to be a carnivore and to not consume phytoplankton, this effect is likely mediated by the zooplankton community's response to environmental gradients. Although Bythotrephes appears to indirectly alter phytoplankton composition in invaded lakes, there was no evidence of a trophic cascade, and edible phytoplankton biovolume did not increase in invaded lakes. These complex direct and indirect interactions suggest that effects of invaders may be highly context-dependent, and therefore pose a significant challenge for predicting wider community and ecosystem responses.

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mentioning

confidence: 73%

Direct and indirect effects of an invasive planktonic predator on pelagic food webs

Strecker

Beisner

Arnott

et al. 2010

Limnology & Oceanography

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“…We attempted to distinguish the causal processes underlying the long-term changes in daphniid and Holopedium abundances using ice-free season means from the eight longitudinal study lakes [34,36] (see electronic supplementary material, table S3). These lakes vary in acid-sensitivity [34] and have patterns of environmental change reflecting those of the broader region [17].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The jellification of north temperate lakes

et al. 2015

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Calcium (Ca) concentrations are decreasing in softwater lakes across eastern North America and western Europe. Using long-term contemporary and palaeo-environmental field data, we show that this is precipitating a dramatic change in Canadian lakes: the replacement of previously dominant pelagic herbivores (Ca-rich Daphnia species) by Holopedium glacialis, a jelly-clad, Ca-poor competitor. In some lakes, this transformation is being facilitated by increases in macro-invertebrate predation, both from native (Chaoborus spp.) and introduced (Bythotrephes longimanus) zooplanktivores, to which Holopedium, with its jelly coat, is relatively invulnerable. Greater representation by Holopedium within cladoceran zooplankton communities will reduce nutrient transfer through food webs, given their lower phosphorus content relative to daphniids, and greater absolute abundances may pose long-term problems to water users. The dominance of jelly-clad zooplankton will likely persist while lakewater Ca levels remain low.

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“…Study lakes used to develop paleolimnological inference models were selected to span a broad range of trophic state, lake size, and depth, with circumneutral pH values (Hall and Smol 1996). Fifty-four south-central Ontario lakes, including the eight intensively studied DESC lakes (i.e., "A" lakes; Paterson et al 2008), were sampled for inclusion in inference models (Hall and Smol 1996;Quinlan et al 1998), with another 32 lakes later added to expand chironomid-based inference models (Quinlan and Smol 2001).…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term assessments of ecological effects of anthropogenic stressors on aquatic ecosystems from paleoecological analyses: challenges to perspectives of lake management

Quinlan¹,

Hall²,

Paterson³

et al. 2008

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

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Paleolimnological techniques are important for determining background ecological conditions and ecosystem responses to stressors when long-term data sets are absent. Research at the Dorset Environmental Sciences Centre (Ontario, Canada) has included paleolimnological studies to determine the effects of anthropogenic stressors on shield lakes, including eutrophication, acidic deposition, and climate change. Diatom-based total phosphorus (TP) inferences suggest that [TP] has declined in some lakes, despite increased inputs from anthropogenic sources. When coupled with siliceous algae-based pH inferences that suggest landscape-scale long-term acidification, these results indicate that the ecological effects of anthropogenic P inputs are being masked by the cumulative effects of multiple stressors. Detailed stratigraphic analyses of lakes that have experienced severe anthropogenic disturbances indicate that despite measured and inferred recovery in epilimnetic [TP] to predisturbance concentrations, pelagic communities have not recovered to predisturbance community composition; profundal communities and the variables associated with water quality (e.g., hypolimnetic oxygen) have also not recorded recovery. This suggests that (i) typical modeling approaches to quantify the effects of anthropogenic inputs on lake water [TP] should be used with caution and (ii) lake management approaches that follow the paradigm of "water quality recovery = biological recovery" may not be applicable to ecosystems being affected by multiple anthropogenic stressors.Résumé : Les techniques paléolimnologiques sont importantes pour déterminer les conditions écologiques de base et les réponses des écosystèmes aux facteurs de stress lorsqu'il n'existe pas de banques de données accumulées sur de longues périodes. Des recherches faites au Dorset Environmental Sciences Centre (Ontario, Canada) comprennent des études paléolimnologiques pour déterminer les effets sur des lacs du Bouclier laurentien de facteurs anthropiques de stress, tels que l'eutrophisation, les précipitations acides et le changement climatique. Des déductions concernant le phosphore total (TP) basées sur les diatomées indiquent que [TP] a diminué dans certains lacs, malgré les apports accrus provenant des sources anthropiques. Couplés à des déductions au sujet du pH basées sur les algues siliceuses qui indiquent une acidification à long terme à l'échelle du paysage, ces résultats montrent que les effets écologiques du P anthropique sont masqués par les effets cumulatifs des facteurs multiples de stress. Des analyses stratigraphiques détaillées de lacs qui ont connu des perturbations anthropiques importantes indiquent que, bien que les mesures et les déductions montrent un rétablissement des [TP] de l'épilimnion à des valeurs d'avant la perturbation, les communautés pélagiques n'ont pas recouvré leur composition communautaire antérieure; de même, ni les communautés de la zone profonde, ni les variables associées à la qualité de l'eau (par ex., l'oxygène de l'hypolimnion) ne montr...

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Long-term changes in phytoplankton composition in seven Canadian Shield lakes in response to multiple anthropogenic stressors

Cited by 61 publications

References 51 publications

Direct and indirect effects of an invasive planktonic predator on pelagic food webs

Direct and indirect effects of an invasive planktonic predator on pelagic food webs

The jellification of north temperate lakes

Long-term assessments of ecological effects of anthropogenic stressors on aquatic ecosystems from paleoecological analyses: challenges to perspectives of lake management

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