Plant community dynamics in a chain of lakes: principal factors in the decline of rooted macrophytes with eutrophication

Hough, R. Anton; Fornwall, Mark D.; Negele, Brian J.; Thompson, Robert L.; Putt, David A.

doi:10.1007/bf00008968

Cited by 83 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 34 publications

(51 reference statements)

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“…Several recent investigations (Irvine et al 1989;Hansson et al 1998;Hough et al 1989;James et al 2000) have extensively demonstrated that the presence of a well developed system of zoobenthos-aquatic vegetation plays a basic role in the maintenance of good water quality due to its influence on the food chain and on the recycling of nutrients, partly stored in the macrophyte tissues and continuously recycled by the grazing activity on the periphyton of some benthic invertebrates (mainly microcrustaceans, gastropods and some others). Moreover, the littoral community, owing to its high species richness, represents a fundamental resource of biodiversity, which gives the lakes a degree of resilience increasing their recovery capability.…”

Section: Use Of Planktonic and Benthic Communities In Lake Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Classification of the ecological status of volcanic lakes in Central Italy

Margaritora¹,

Bazzanti²,

Ferrara³

et al. 2003

J Limnol

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Section: Use Of Planktonic and Benthic Communities In Lake Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Classification of the ecological status of volcanic lakes in Central Italy

Margaritora¹,

Bazzanti²,

Ferrara³

et al. 2003

J Limnol

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“…Thus, areas of dense submerged plants in shallow lakes typically have very clear water and low concentrations of nutrients as well as phytoplankton (Jeppesen et al 1998;Blindow et al 2002). However declines of submerged macrophytes have been observed in many eutrophic lakes throughout the world (Hough et al 1989;Touchette & Burkholder 2000;Ansari et al 2011) and the declines are often associated with anthropogenic nutrient loading (Duarte 2002;Hauxwell et al 2003;Orth et al 2006;Waycott et al 2009;Ruhl & Rybicki 2010;Xu et al 2010). At present, the problem of lake eutrophication is still serious (Qin et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some researchers hold that high N and P concentrations have a directly adverse effect on submerged macrophytes (Burkholder et al 1992;Chen et al 2002;Cao et al 2004, Nimptsch & Pflugmacher 2007. Others suggest that high N and P concentrations in shallow lakes have an indirect adverse effect on submerged macrophytes through stimulating overgrowth of the epiphytic algae and/or phytoplankton (Phillips et al 1978, Hough et al 1989, Havens et al 1999Jones et al 2002;Li , Zhang & Jeppesen 2008). Basically, plants are easily affected by the environment and have a series of mechanisms for responding to environmental changes ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of chlorophyll and MDA ofVallisneria natansto nitrogen and phosphorus availability and epiphytic algae

Song

Kong

Xue

et al. 2014

Journal of Freshwater Ecology

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It is common for submerged plants to become less abundant and disappear in eutrophic lakes in the world. To explore degradation mechanisms of submerged plants during the growing season, we determined chlorophyll and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations in Vallisneria natans (Lour.) Hara cultivated under four different nutrient concentrations (N/P, mg/L): T1 D 0.5/0.05, T2 D 2.5/0.25, T3 D 4.5/0.45, and T4 D 12.5/1.25) and under low and high density of epiphytic algae. With the increase in nutrients, the content of chlorophyll in the leaves of V. natans varied in the order T3 > T2 > T1 (T4) at low density (grazed) of epiphytic algae and varied in the order T3 > T2 > T1 > T4 in the high density (ungrazed) of epiphytic algae. With the increase in nutrients, the content of MDA in the leaves of V. natans varied in the order T4 >T1 (T2, T3) at the low density (grazed) of epiphytic algae and varied as T4 > T3 > T2 > T1 at the high density of epiphytic algae. At the same time, chlorophyll content of V. natans was significantly higher (p < 0.01 and the content of MDA was significantly lower (p < 0.01) in the grazed treatment than in the non-grazed treatment under the same nutrient concentrations. During the growing season, total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations were low (N < 4.5 mg N/L, P < 0.45 mg P/L) in Lake Taihu, a large shallow eutrophic lake in China; consequently water column nutrient loading benefited the growth of V. natans, but the high biomass of epiphytic algae and planktonic algae caused by the high nutrient loading of water column inhibited the growth of V. natans.

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“…Submerged plants may provide a good habitat for snails feeding on periphyton, and both the density and biomass of snails are larger where plants are abundant (Wang et al, 2006). When snails are absent, the growth of submerged plants is also adversely affected by overgrowth of periphyton (Hough et al, 1989;Pinowska, 2002). The presence of snails then increase the growth of submerged plants due to their grazing on organic detritus and periphyton.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of snails, submerged plants and their coexistence on eutrophication in aquatic ecosystems

Zhang

Tang

et al. 2017

Knowl. Manag. Aquat. Ecosyst.

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-Eutrophication resulting from nutrient loading to freshwater habitats is a severe problem, leading to degradation of ecosystems, including deterioration of water quality, water clarity and loss of biodiversity. Measures enacted to restore degraded freshwater ecosystems often involve the reintroduction of submerged plants and aquatic animals with beneficial ecological functions. In a mesocosm experiment, three treatments (planting with Vallisneria natans, introduction of the snail Bellamya aeruginosa and a combined treatment with both plants and snails) were compared with controls to evaluate their effects on trophic state. The total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) and chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentrations of planktonic and benthic algal samples were determined every two weeks, along with light intensity at the sediment surface. The plant-only treatment significantly reduced the TN levels and planktonic and benthic algal biomass and increased the light intensity at the sediment surface. The snail-only treatment reduced the concentrations of TN and reduced planktonic and benthic algal biomass. The combined treatment decreased the concentrations of TN and TP, reduced planktonic algal biomass and increased the light intensity on the sediment surface. The results indicate that while submerged plants and snails can both improve water quality, the most pronounced effect in aquatic ecosystems is achieved by their presence in combination. A combined reintroduction approach may provide enhanced benefits in restoring the eutrophic ecosystems, following the reduction of external nutrient loading.Keywords: submerged plant / snail / coexistence / planktonic algae / benthic algae Résumé -Effets des escargots, des plantes submergées et de leur coexistence sur l'eutrophisation dans les écosystèmes aquatiques. L'eutrophisation résultant de la charge nutritive dans les habitats d'eau douce est un problème grave, entraînant une dégradation des écosystèmes, y compris la détérioration de la qualité de l'eau, de la clarté de l'eau et la perte de biodiversité. Les mesures adoptées pour restaurer les écosystèmes d'eau douce dégradés impliquent souvent la réintroduction de plantes submergées et d'animaux aquatiques ayant des fonctions écologiques bénéfiques. Dans une expérience en mésocosme, trois traitements (plantation avec Vallisneria natans, introduction de l'escargot Bellamya aeruginosa et traitement combiné avec les plantes et les escargots) ont été comparés aux témoins pour évaluer leurs effets sur l'état trophique. Les concentrations d'azote total (TN), de phosphore total (TP) et de chlorophylle a (Chl a), des échantillons d'algues planctoniques et benthiques ont été déterminées toutes les deux semaines, ainsi que l'intensité de la lumière à la surface des sédiments. Le traitement aux plantes seules a réduit significativement les niveaux de TN et la biomasse d'algues planctoniques et benthiques et a augmenté l'intensité lumineuse à la surface des sédiments. Le traitement avec l'escargot seul a réduit les concentrati...

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Plant community dynamics in a chain of lakes: principal factors in the decline of rooted macrophytes with eutrophication

Cited by 83 publications

References 34 publications

Classification of the ecological status of volcanic lakes in Central Italy

Classification of the ecological status of volcanic lakes in Central Italy

Responses of chlorophyll and MDA ofVallisneria natansto nitrogen and phosphorus availability and epiphytic algae

Effects of snails, submerged plants and their coexistence on eutrophication in aquatic ecosystems

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