Metabolic changes and the resistance and resilience of a subtropical heterotrophic lake to typhoon disturbance

Abstract

We studied how typhoon strength affects the daily dynamics of ecosystem metabolism of a subtropical alpine lake in Taiwan. We identified proximal agents of typhoon disturbance and assessed the resistance (the extent of change induced by a disturbance) and resilience (the rate of recovery after a disturbance) of lake metabolism to them. Gross primary production (GPP), ecosystem respiration (ER), and net ecosystem production were estimated from high-frequency dissolved oxygen data provided by an instrumented buoy. Typhoons resulted in significantly lower GPP (3%–81% decrease), and higher ER (7%–828% increase) compared with immediately before the events, and thus the lake became more heterotrophic (28%–852% increase in heterotrophy). The resistance and resilience of lake metabolism depended on the intensity of the typhoon. Smaller typhoons (with average daily accumulated precipitation (ADAP) < 200 mm·day–1) had greater effects on lake metabolism than medium (ADAP = 200–350 mm·day–1) and large (ADAP > 350 mm·day–1) typhoons. However, metabolism also recovered more quickly after smaller typhoons than after medium or larger typhoons. Typhoon effects on ecosystem metabolism is likely mediated by the magnitude and duration of typhoon-induced changes in lake mixing, the quantity and quality of dissolved organic carbon, and the biomass of primary producers.

Resistance, Resilience and Restoration

“…; Tsai et al . ). In all of these examples, the definition has been conceptually valuable in elucidating changes in ecological structure and functioning.…”

Contribution of extreme meteorological forcing to vertical mixing in a small, shallow subtropical lake

“…For mixing events, the weak, negative correlation between the DO conc. ratio and S t ratio could result from the balance among several mechanisms, such as the aeration of water by wind-induced turbulence (Melack, 1984), the cooling process in the surface water due to increasing oxygen solubility (Connell and Miller, 1984), the intrusion of inflow water with high DO concentration and the entrainment of anoxic hypolimnetic water to the surface layer (Tsai et al, 2008(Tsai et al, , 2011. The relation between the DO conc.…”

“…Vertical mixing is an important physical process in a small, shallow, stratified lake during the summer and it affects aquatic bio-chemical processes both before and after mixing (Jones et al, 2008;Tsai et al, 2008Tsai et al, , 2011. Vertical mixing is normally caused by wind-driven circulation (Kullenberg, 1976), cooling-related convection (Read et al, 2012), and inflow from heavy rainfall inputs (Laborde et al, 2010).…”

Networked lake science: how the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) works to understand, predict, and communicate lake ecosystem response to global change

“…GLEON has been opportunistic about "natural experiments," such as quantifying the response of lakes to typhoons and tropical storms (Jones et al 2008, Tsai et al 2011, Klug et al 2012. Recognition of the importance of such events on lake ecosystems has inspired new sampling campaigns, such as "Blitzs."…”