Patterns of seasonal phytoplankton distribution in prairie saline lakes of the northern Great Plains (U.S.A.)

Abstract

Seasonal changes in freshwater phytoplankton communities have been extensively studied, but key drivers of phytoplankton in saline lakes are currently not well understood. Comparative lake studies of 19 prairie saline lakes in the northern Great Plains (USA) were conducted in spring and summer of 2004, with data gathered for a suite of limnological parameters. Nutrient enrichment assays for natural phytoplankton assemblages were also performed in spring and summer of 2006. Canonical correspondence analysis of 2004 data showed salinity (logCl), nitrogen, and phosphorus (N:P ratios) to be the main drivers of phytoplankton distribution in the spring, and phosphorus (C:P ratios), iron (logTFe), and nitrogen (logTN) as important factors in the summer. Despite major differences in nutrient limitation patterns (P-limitation in freshwater systems, N-limitation in saline systems), seasonal patterns of phytoplankton phyla changes in these saline lakes were similar to those of freshwater systems. Dominance shifted from diatoms in the spring to cyanobacteria in the summer. Nutrient enrichment assays (control, +Fe, +N, +P, +N+P) in 2006 indicated that nutrient limitation is generally more consistent within lakes than for individual taxa across systems, with widespread nitrogen and secondary phosphorus limitation. Understanding phytoplankton community structure provides insight into the overall ecology of saline lakes, and will assist in the future conservation and management of these valuable and climatically-sensitive systems.

Controlling factors in planktonic communities over a salinity gradient in high-altitude lakes

“…The absence of Top-Down effects and predominance of Bottom-Up forces in saline water systems, have been experimentally proved by Salms et al (2009) in the US saline lakes and Rejas et al (2012) in Bolivia (South America), being this study a field evidence of the relevance of Bottom-Up as a main structuring factors of plankton abundance in these extreme environments.…”

Seasonal Dynamics of Phytoplankton and its Relationship with Environmental Factors of a Chinese Lake

“…Seasonal patterns of phytoplankton phyla changes in prairie saline lakes of the northern Great Plains (U.S.A.) were similar to those of freshwater systems [28], which these lakes were dominated by Cyanobacteria in the summer, with a shift to Bacillariophyta-dominated communities in the autumn. However, in Chagan Nur Lake were Bacillariophyta-dominated communities in the summer shift to Cyanobacteria-dominated in the autumn.…”

Spatial structure of eukaryotic ultraplankton community in the northern South China Sea

“…The relationship between the phytoplankton community and the water environmental parameters has been investigated in aquatic environments (Romo & Tongeren 1995;Gasiunaite et al 2005;Sun et al 2006;Suikkanen et al 2007;López-Flores et al 2009;Salm et al 2009;Bernardi Aubry et al 2013). Suikkanen et al (2007) reported that dissolved inorganic nitrogen was the major factor shaping the phytoplankton community structure in the open northern Baltic Sea.…”