Recovery of Acidified Lakes: Lessons From Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

Keller, W.; Yan, Norman D.; Gunn, John M.; Heneberry, Jocelyne

doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-5885-1_35

Cited by 39 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Lake acidification, largely from industrial emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides, caused the loss of thousands of invertebrate populations in boreal lakes and resulted in widespread changes in crustacean zooplankton community structure (Keller et al 1990;Minns et al 1990;Schindler 1998). Despite the extensive chemical recovery of lake waters that has since occurred, biological recovery has been slower than expected (Keller et al 2007). In light of this, questions about what controls crustacean zooplankton distributions and dispersal become particularly important for predicting the recovery trajectories of damaged communities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Portage connectivity does not predict establishment success of canoe-mediated dispersal for crustacean zooplankton

et al. 2011

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Although community structure may be largely determined by local abiotic and biotic conditions under moderate levels of dispersal, anthropogenic activities can enhance dispersal rates far beyond what would otherwise occur in natural systems. We investigated the potential impact of recreational canoeing on crustacean zooplankton community structure in Killarney Provincial Park, Canada, where canoes that are transported between lakes via portage routes may enhance zooplankton community connectivity by providing a dispersal ''short-cut.'' We conducted a study to (1) quantify zooplankton attachment to canoe hulls after paddling through a lake and assess the importance of canoes to overall seasonal dispersal within a lake relative to other means of dispersal, (2) test the prediction that zooplankton survivorship is negatively correlated with portage duration using a mesocosm experiment, and (3) test whether variation in lake community composition was better explained by models based on reduced portagecorrected distances or true edge-to-edge distances between lakes along popular canoe routes. Here, we report the findings that canoes have the potential to act as frequent dispersal vectors, but appear to have little impact on community structure in portage-connected lakes. Substantial numbers of adult zooplankton became attached to canoe hulls and were able to establish viable populations even after exposure to portage conditions for 30 min. However, canoe-mediated dispersal only accounted for a very small proportion (\1% in this case) of overall seasonal dispersal. Moreover, environmental variables explained the greatest amount of variation in community composition among park lakes. Nevertheless, this study indicates that canoe dispersal could be more effective for specific species such as Sida crystallina than is evident by analysis of entire communities and could facilitate the spread of invasive species amenable to attaching to boat hulls. Thus, the debate about whether community composition is more strongly influenced by local environmental conditions or Handling Editor: Piet Spaak.Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (regional dispersal may vary depending on the scale of consideration (i.e., individual species vs. whole community).

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Portage connectivity does not predict establishment success of canoe-mediated dispersal for crustacean zooplankton

et al. 2011

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“…We believe that biological recovery in Sudbury area lakes is being impeded by multiple stressors such as residual metal contamination, climate warming, and an environmental legacy associated with the loss of watershed soils (Findlay 2003;Keller et al 2007). Recovery to preindustrial assemblages may no longer be a tangible management target for algal assemblages in this region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Accordingly, many studies have documented chemical recovery (increased pH and decreased concentrations of SO 4 2− and metals) in terrestrial McCall et al 1995) and aquatic systems (Hutchinson and Havas 1986;Smol et al 1998;Keller et al 1999). However, some systems have not yet clearly responded to decreased anthropogenic inputs Dudka et al 1995;Keller et al 2007). Nevertheless, conditions of aquatic systems in the Sudbury area continue to improve, with further emission reductions implemented in the 1990s as a result of the Countdown Acid Rain Program (Keller et al 2004).…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Sudbury Sediments Revisited: Evaluating Limnological Recovery in a Multiple-Stressor Environment

Tropea¹,

Paterson²,

Keller³

et al. 2009

Water Air Soil Pollut

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Paleolimnological techniques were utilized to determine whether diatom and scaled chrysophyte assemblages in Daisy, Swan, and Tilton lakes (Sudbury, Ontario) have recovered toward their preimpact conditions as a result of reduced inputs of anthropogenic pollutants (SO 4 2− and metals) or whether other environmental stressors have affected recovery trajectories. In addition, geochemical analysis was used to track trends in sedimentary nickel and copper concentrations through time. Preindustrial algal assemblages were primarily dominated by circumneutral to alkaline and pH-indifferent taxa. However, with the onset of open-pit roasting and smelting operations, there was a stratigraphic shift toward acid-tolerant species. With wide-scale smelter emission reductions commencing in the 1970s, scaled chrysophyte assemblages in Swan and Daisy lakes have started to show signs of biological recovery in ∼1984 and ∼1991, respectively. Although the scaled chrysophyte assemblage in Tilton Lake has not recovered toward the predisturbance assemblage, the decline in acidophilic taxa and increase in circumneutral taxa in recently deposited lake sediments indicate that the community is responding to increased lake water pH. Conversely, diatom assemblages within each of the study lakes have not begun to recover, despite well-documented chemical recovery. It is suspected that biological recovery in Sudbury area lakes may be impeded by other environmental stressors such as climate warming. Copper and nickel concentrations in lake sediments increased with the onset of mining activities and subsequently declined with emission controls. However, metal concentrations in lake sediments remain elevated compared to preindustrial concentrations. Together, biological and geochemical evidence demonstrates the clear environmental benefits associated with smelter emission controls.

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“…The Sudbury area, which suffered severe industrial damage, lies approximately 250 km northwest of the reference area located near the town of Dorset, Ontario. In general, the Sudbury lakes were chosen to represent typical lakes close to Sudbury, which recovered chemically (i.e., pH [6) in recent decades (Keller et al, 2007). The reference lakes were from an area that is geographically and geologically similar to Sudbury, and where the biota should represent potential endpoints for recovering systems in Sudbury.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomass of benthic invertebrates unaffected by industrial damage to lakes despite effects on species composition

2014

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Historic metal mining and smelting in the area of Sudbury, Ontario, has resulted in lakes with elevated levels of metals in the sediment, low inputs of terrestrial organic material, and unusual fish communities which led to severe changes in the benthic invertebrate community. Using broad-scale surveys of lakes from Sudbury and an undisturbed reference area, we used multivariate methods to tease apart potential influences of predation by fish, habitat availability, and toxicity of the environment on the biomass of benthic invertebrates. In contrast to many other studies, our response variable is benthic invertebrate biomass-a more relevant factor in food web processes than the numeric densities that are more typically studied. Despite differences in species composition, we observed very similar total benthic invertebrate biomass in Sudbury lakes and reference lakes. Redundancy analysis revealed that different factors shaped invertebrate biomass in the two study areas. Sudbury benthos was strongly influenced by the fish community and metal toxicity with only slight effects of habitat quality. Overall, the fact that benthic invertebrate biomass was similar to reference systems suggests that Sudbury communities may be able to function normally despite the strong direct and indirect effects of multiple stressors.

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Recovery of Acidified Lakes: Lessons From Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

Cited by 39 publications

References 24 publications

Portage connectivity does not predict establishment success of canoe-mediated dispersal for crustacean zooplankton

Portage connectivity does not predict establishment success of canoe-mediated dispersal for crustacean zooplankton

Sudbury Sediments Revisited: Evaluating Limnological Recovery in a Multiple-Stressor Environment

Biomass of benthic invertebrates unaffected by industrial damage to lakes despite effects on species composition

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