Effects of nitrogenous compounds and phosphorus on the growth of toxic and non-toxic strains of Microcystis during cyanobacterial blooms

Davis, Timothy W.; Harke, Matthew J.; Marcoval, M. Alejandra; Goleski, Jennifer A.; Orano-Dawson, Celia; Berry, Dianna L.; Gobler, Christopher J.

doi:10.3354/ame01445

Cited by 165 publications

(128 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…As a modern analog, we observed a strong bloom of L. redekei, (particulate matter 12 mg L -1 at maximum) following weak diatom deposition in mid-May after the gradual spring warming in 2014 (warming duration = 57 days). Consistent with our findings, there is increasing evidence that organic compounds of N are important for bloom development of non-N-fixing cyanobacteria such as L. redekei (Davis et al 2010;O'Neil et al 2012;Posch et al 2012;Paerl and Otten 2013). Also the success of smaller, less silicified diatoms in warmer waters with more stable stratification (Winder et al 2009), can lead to a decrease of silica deposition simply because their biovolumes and consequently their silica contents are smaller (Conley et al 1989).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Effects of spring warming and mixing duration on diatom deposition in deep Tiefer See, NE Germany

et al. 2016

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Monitoring during three meteorologically different spring seasons in 2012, 2013, and 2014 revealed that temperature increase in spring, which influences spring lake mixing duration, markedly affected nutrient availability and diatom deposition in a sediment trap close to the bottom of deep Tiefer See, NE Germany. Deposition of Stephanodiscus taxa and small Cyclotella taxa was much higher after late ice out and a deep, short lake mixing period in spring 2013, compared to that after gradual warming and lengthy lake mixing periods in spring 2012 and 2014, when only brief or marginal ice cover occurred. Availability of dissolved Si and P was 33% and 20% higher, respectively, in 2013 compared to 2014. The observed relation between high (low) diatom deposition and short (lengthy) mixing duration in spring was applied to varved sediments deposited between AD 1924 and 2008. Low detrital Si content in trapped material and a sediment core enabled use of µXRF-counts of Si as a proxy for diatom silica. The spring mixing duration for 1951-2008 was derived from FLake-model calculations. The spring warming duration related to lake mixing was approximated from air temperatures for 1924-2008 using the dates when daily mean air temperature exceeded 5°C (start) and 10°C (end). Diatom silica deposition showed a significant (p<0.0001) inverse linear relationship with the modeled spring mixing duration (R² = 0.36) and the spring warming duration (R² = 0.28). In both cases, the relationship is strengthened when data from the period of low diatom production (1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005) is excluded (R² = 0.59 and R² = 0.35). Part of this low diatom production is related to external nutrient supply that favored growth of cyanobacteria at the expense of diatoms. This approach shows that diatom Si deposition was strongly influenced by the availability of light and nutrients, related to the duration of lake mixing and warming in spring, during most of the studied period. The remaining unexplained variability, however, indicates that additional factors influence Si deposition. Further tests in other deep, temperate lakes are necessary to verify if this relation is a common feature and consequently, if diatom Si can be used as a proxy for spring mixing duration in such lakes.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Effects of spring warming and mixing duration on diatom deposition in deep Tiefer See, NE Germany

et al. 2016

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“…' Paterson et al (2011) also state that ''we are unaware of successful programs to limit eutrophication by restricting inputs of N, either alone or in combination with P.'' We located several examples of nutrient loading reductions, including N, that resulted in improved water quality and lower phytoplankton biomass (Vant and Gilliland 1991;James et al 1994;Kö hler et al 2005). Our analyses also support other studies showing that N load reductions should be pursued in lakes where background P is naturally high (Abell et al 2010;Finlay et al 2010) or where elevated N clearly favors bloom-forming and toxic cyanobacteria that do not fix N (Davis et al 2010). Furthermore, combined N and P management strategies present the most effective means for controlling eutrophication in diverse ecosystems along the freshwater-to-marine continuum (Conley et al 2009).…”

supporting

confidence: 78%

Response to Comment: Nitrogen fixation has not offset declines in the Lake 227 nitrogen pool and shows that nitrogen control deserves consideration in aquatic ecosystems

Scott¹,

McCarthy²

2011

Limnology & Oceanography

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We thank Paterson et al. (2011) for their comment on Scott and McCarthy (2010). As stated in our original paper, we agree that Lake 227 has remained eutrophic in response to phosphorus (P) fertilization alone. However, the effect of halting nitrogen (N) fertilization cannot be fully evaluated until the N pool in Lake 227 has reached steady state. The relatively high chlorophyll a (Chl a) and phytoplankton biomasses reported for 2007and 2009(Paterson et al. 2011 were not surprising considering the tremendous variability in these measurements over the entire experimental period. However, these new data do not nullify the decreases in total N (TN) and Chl a from 1990 to 2005, determined from data in Schindler et al. (2008). Additional years of P fertilization at the current rate are needed to determine if decreasing N, but stable P, results in measurable decreases in Chl a or phytoplankton biomass.TN concentrations in Lake 227 have continued to decline, but total P (TP) concentrations have not changed since N fertilization was suspended in 1990. Furthermore, dissolved inorganic N (DIN) : total dissolved P (TDP) and total dissolved N (TDN) : TDP ratios have decreased, and heterocyte abundances have increased since 1990 (Paterson et al. 2011). Paterson et al. (2011 misinterpret the increase in heterocyte abundance as a signal that the phytoplankton have overcome N deficiency. The mere presence of heterocystous cyanobacteria does not indicate that N fixation is meeting phytoplankton N demand (Lewis and Wurtsbaugh 2008). If N-fixing cyanobacteria were supplying N at a rate proportional to P fertilization, TN concentrations would remain constant or increase relative to TP. Instead, N losses from denitrification, burial, or washout have been greater than ecosystem N gains from N fixation, which confirms that fixed N has not accumulated in Lake 227 over a multi-annual timescale (Scott and McCarthy 2010).The energetic costs of N fixation limit phytoplankton primary production and biomass accumulation. Many studies have shown that cyanobacteria differentiating heterocytes and fixing N have lower growth efficiencies and accumulate less biomass per unit N than those assimilating DIN (Rhee and Lederman 1983;Attridge and Rowell 1997;De Nobel et al. 1997). Therefore, the tradeoff associated with the high energetic costs of N fixation, compared with the relatively low energetic costs of DIN assimilation, will yield less biomass when cyanobacteria are fixing N, even at the ecosystem scale.Using a meta-analysis of almost 900 studies on freshwater and marine environments, Elser et al. (2007) showed that the combination of N + P enrichment always yielded more biomass than N or P enrichment alone. The tremendous temporal variability in Chl a and phytoplankton biomasses over the 41-yr experiment in Lake 227 masks this effect. However, when data were grouped by the seven unique combinations in P and N fertilization rates (Schindler et al. 2008;Paterson et al. 2011), average annual Chl a concentrations were strongly proportional to annua...

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“…Additional nitrogen has previously been found to facilitate Microcystis blooms (Downing et al 2005;Moisander et al 2009). A similar phenomenon was reported in a lake in eastern USA (Davis et al 2010). However, the Microcystis bloom in our study disappeared in August 2013 despite high nutrient levels (dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) D 2.05 mg/L, SRP D 0.03 mg/L).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

Differences in phytoplankton dynamics and community structure between a wet year and dry year in the Zhoucun Reservoir

Qiu

Zeng

2016

Journal of Freshwater Ecology

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Rainfall-induced nutrient fluctuations in surface water affect phytoplankton communities and cause algal blooms. To examine this influence in the Zhoucun Reservoir, China, field surveys were performed weekly or biweekly from February 2013 (a wet year) to December 2014 (a dry year). Physical conditions, nutrient levels, and phytoplankton functional groups were investigated during monitoring. Nutrient levels increased in the summer of 2013 (TN: 0.85À2.66 mg/L; TP: 0.037À0.138 mg/L), while nitrogen deficiency occurred in the summer of 2014 (TN: 0.38À0.73 mg/L, TP: 0.044À0.079 mg/L). A cyanobacteria bloom that appeared in the summer of 2013 had the dominant phytoplankton functional groups M and Tc. In the summer of 2014, algal cell density and biomass were much lower than those during the corresponding period in 2013, and the co-dominant phytoplankton groups were F, L 0 , Tc, and S2. Non-N-fixing cyanobacteria were not abundant in summer 2013 probably because of the low ratio of NO 3 ¡ to NH 4 C , although nitrogen was also deficient. In contrast to these summer trends, little difference was noted between phytoplankton dynamics and community structure in the two winters and two springs, regardless of nutrient conditions. Redundancy analysis indicated that rainfall-induced nitrogen fluctuations were the primary factor causing phytoplankton dynamics to differ between the wet and dry year. The effects of water temperature, stratification, and light on the phytoplankton community were independent of nutrient fluctuations. This study shows that rainfall fluctuations change summer nutrient conditions and that cyanobacteria blooms are likely to occur in wet years in the Zhoucun Reservoir.

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Effects of nitrogenous compounds and phosphorus on the growth of toxic and non-toxic strains of Microcystis during cyanobacterial blooms

Cited by 165 publications

References 62 publications

Effects of spring warming and mixing duration on diatom deposition in deep Tiefer See, NE Germany

Effects of spring warming and mixing duration on diatom deposition in deep Tiefer See, NE Germany

Response to Comment: Nitrogen fixation has not offset declines in the Lake 227 nitrogen pool and shows that nitrogen control deserves consideration in aquatic ecosystems

Differences in phytoplankton dynamics and community structure between a wet year and dry year in the Zhoucun Reservoir

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