Natural lake level fluctuation and associated concordance with water quality and aquatic communities within small lakes of the Laurentian Great Lakes region

Abstract

Long-term (*20 year) data on water level, water quality and aquatic biota from four remote research areas in the Laurentian Great Lakes region were compiled to reveal patterns of natural water-level fluctuation (WLF) and associated effects on water quality and aquatic communities. Of the 16 natural lakes (no dam impoundment and lowest possible anthropogenic disturbance) yearly amplitude in water level did not exceed 1.27 m (x = 0.26 ± 0.15 m) and yearly average water levels did not deviate greater than 0.75 m (x = 0.10 ± 0.11 m) from the long-term mean. Linear and waveform regression analyses revealed a significant (P B 0.05) decreasing trend in water levels and a 10-year oscillation in WLFs.Similarly, linear regression analysis demonstrated a significant reduction in yearly amplitude WLF over time. Correlation analyses revealed significant correlations with water quality parameters (DOC, Ca 2+ , Conductivity, pH, SO 4 2-) and WLFs in Boreal Shield research areas. Of the long-term biotic information available (periphyton, macrophytes, macroinvertebrates and fish) only macroinvertebrates demonstrated a significant relationship with natural WLFs. Species richness followed a unimodal response (P = 0.002, r 2 = 0.66) with richness decreasing in years when water levels were either higher or lower than the long-term mean. The novel results of this study demonstrate patterns in natural WLF and associated correlations with water quality and biota across multiple lakes within the Laurentian Great Lakes region. The results are congruent with the intermediate disturbance hypothesis and have direct implications for reservoir management and climate change modeling.

Ecological impacts of winter water level drawdowns on lake littoral zones: a review

“…Significant environmental factors that influence littoral zone invertebrate distribution and abundance include lake morphometry (Palomaki and Hellsten 1996;Scheifhacken et al 2007), benthic algae distribution and availability (Devlin et al 2013), macrophyte density/biomass, substrate physical characteristics (e.g., texture, stability, physical complexity), and organic matter (Weatherhead and James 2001;Brauns et al 2008;Free et al 2009). Winter drawdowns interact with these lake-wide and local environmental parameters to indirectly structure benthic invertebrate assemblages (Scheifhacken et al 2007;White et al 2008White et al , 2010Evtimova and Donohue 2016). For example, the coarsening of exposed substrates and associated declines in macrophyte biomass and changes in macrophyte composition can respectively decrease and alter benthic and phytophilous invertebrate density and composition (Wilcox and Meeker 1992).…”

“…Seasonal and inter-annual water level fluctuations influence the survival of numerous flora and fauna in the littoral zone (Hill et al 1998;Riis and Hawes 2002;White et al 2008). High flows and flooding release nutrients from riparian areas (Baldwin and Mitchell 2000) and provide spawning habitat for numerous fish species (Kahl et al 2008;Gertzen et al 2012).…”

Response of the Phytoplankton Community in an Alpine Lake to Drought Conditions: Colorado Rocky Mountain Front Range, U.S.A

“…Differences from the long term mean (DLTM) were estimated as proposed by White et al (2008). In brief, DLTM for water depth (DLTM depth ) and for all water quality variables were calculated by determining the mean value of each variable from 1986 to 2006 and then subtracting the mean value for each particular year.…”

“…Cooke et al, 1993). More recently, Turner et al (2005) and White et al (2008) have found contrasting effects of WLFs on water quality, community structure, and biodiversity. While Turner et al (2005) did not find significant change in either nutrient (N and P) concentrations or phytoplankton biomass, White et al (2008) observed significant effects on water quality parameters such as dissolved organic carbon and major ions concentrations in addition to macrophyte species richness.…”

Developing water level regulation strategies for macrophytes restoration of a large river-disconnected lake, China

“…WLF mainly depend on regional climate conditions and human activities (Coops et al, 2003;White et al, 2008). The construction of dams and reservoirs has changed the natural patterns of WLF in many freshwater systems worldwide (Dynesius and Nilsson, 1994;Tharme, 2003;Aroviita and Hämäläinen, 2008), leading to a great change in diversity (Hill et al, 1998;New and Xie, 2008;Hammersmark et al, 2009;Raulings et al, 2010) and coverage (Jansson et al, 2000;Van Geest et al, 2007) of macrophytes.…”