Phytoplankton Nutrient Status in Lake Erie in 1997

Guildford, Stephanie J.; Hecky, Robert E.; Smith, Ralph E. H.; Taylor, William D.; Charlton, Murray N.; Barlow-Busch, Lisa; North, Rebecca L.

doi:10.1016/s0380-1330(05)70306-3

Cited by 43 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…This finding is consistent with previous evaluations of nutrient status in Lake Erie that were based on phosphate turnover rate measurements (Lean et al 1983, Allen & Smith 2002, Guildford et al 2005) and bioassay experiments (e.g. Hartig & Wallen 1984, Twiss et al 2000.…”

Section: Phytoplankton-phosphorus Dynamics In Lake Eriesupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Hartig & Wallen 1984, Twiss et al 2000. These results are important, because they indicate, along with several other recent studies (Wilhelm et al 2003, Guildford et al 2005, that Lake Erie phytoplankton is P-limited despite the many changes in nutrient cycling that have occurred in the lake over the past 20 yr. For instance, municipal point sources of P (annual) have been reduced several-fold since 1980 (Dolan 1993), and invasive dreissenid mussels (zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha and quagga mussel D. bugensis) appear to have had direct (Holland 1993, Nichols et al 1999) and indirect (Heath et al 1995, Arnott & Vanni 1996 impacts on P cycling.The activity of planktivores can alter nutrient supply rates to the phytoplankton, thereby influencing their nutrient status (Vanni 1995). In the case of Lake Erie, dreissenid mussels (both zebra and quagga mussels) have colonized a considerable portion of the lake bottom (~70%), including both hard and soft substrata (Dermott & Munawar 1993, Haltuch et al 2000.…”

supporting

confidence: 62%

“…While there is a historical record of seasonal chl a and nutrient chemistry for Lake Erie (Charlton 1999), there is limited current work characterizing the seasonal dynamics of nutrient limitation in Lake Erie (Guildford et al 2005). To our knowledge, all but two of the pre-dreissenid studies (Lean et al 1983, Hartig & Wallen 1984 and all but two of the post-dreissenid mussel studies (Guildford et al 2005, North et al 2007) have focused only on the summer stratification period, which could overlook the seasonality of nutrient limitation. …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conversely, Lake Erie has a short hydraulic residence time (~2.5 yr, Beeton et al 2004), large inflow of Si-rich waters from Lake Huron through the Detroit River (95% of total inflow into Lake Erie; Schelske & Stoermer 1971), and a shallow western basin that regenerates Si from sediments through wind-driven mixing (Schelske & Stoermer 1971). Thus one might expect the reversal of seasonal Si-depletion to occur much more rapidly in Lake Erie than in Lake Michigan.Evidence for relief of Si-depletion has been inferred from ambient Si concentrations both lake-wide (Makarewicz et al 2000) and within the central basin (Rockwell & Warren 2003, Guildford et al 2005) as well as from concurrent shifts in diatoms from eutrophic species to mesotrophic (Makarewicz 1993) and oligotrophic species (Stoermer et al 1996). Despite the rise in Si levels and shift in diatom species in Lake Erie, ambient Si levels measured here (2002 to 2003) were still well below the 400 µg Si l -1 level, at which diatoms become growth limited (e.g.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seasonal variation of phytoplankton nutrient limitation in Lake Erie

Moon¹,

Carrick²

2007

Aquat. Microb. Ecol.

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Phosphorus (P) has been identified as the primary nutrient limiting phytoplankton biomass in the Laurentian Great Lakes, and thus phytoplankton biomass varies as a function of P loading. While management efforts have reduced point sources of P, a recent rise in non-point source loadings and the introduction of dreissenid mussels to the Great Lakes are factors suspected to have direct and indirect impacts on nutrient cycling. We re-evaluated nutrient limitation of phytoplankton in the central basin of Lake Erie over spatial (i.e. 3 offshore stations) and temporal (i.e. monthly from June to October) scales. The nutrient limitation of the phytoplankton was evaluated using biomass response measurements to nutrient enrichment bioassays in a complete factorial of P, nitrogen (N), and silicon (Si). Nutrient additions yielded classic growth curves after 7 to 12 d of incubation. Treatments with added P had higher final biomass yields than treatments without P at all stations and during all months. During spring overturn, P+ Si yielded higher phytoplankton biomass than did P additions without Si at 2 of the 3 stations. During the late stratification to autumn overturn (August to October), P+N promoted higher phytoplankton biomass than did P additions without N; this was true at all stations. A quantitative assessment of the bioassays indicated that 63 to 94% of the biomass yield during spring overturn could be attributed to Si, while 48 to 68% of the biomass yield during late stratification and autumn overturn could be attributed to N. Water chemistry data collected in 2002 and 2003 predicted similar seasonal trends in nutrient limitation. These results suggest that seasonal variation in phytoplankton nutrient limitation is a probable factor in predicting changes in phytoplankton biomass and taxonomic composition in the central basin of Lake Erie. KEY WORDS: Phytoplankton · Lake Erie · Nutrient status Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherAquat Microb Ecol 48: [61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71] 2007 important for effective management initiatives, an area of research where effort has been limited in the past (Elser et al. 1990). Moreover, the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission (GLFC) recognizes that, since the enactment of TP controls and the introduction of non-native dreissenids, many of the changes at the lower trophic levels appear to have influenced both the composition and productivity of the fish communities in the lake, yet little is known about the response at lower trophic levels (GLFC 1998).Nutrient enrichment bioassays have been widely used to evaluate nutrient limitations of phytoplankton (Lin & Schelske 1981). Therefore, we implemented 2 × 3 factorial nutrient enrichment bioassays (NEB) experiments using natural phytoplankton assemblages from Lake Erie to achieve 3 objectives. First, we evaluated the main and interactive effects of P, N, and Si in regulating phytoplankton biomass. Second, we characterized the seasonal and spatial variation of phytop...

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Section: Phytoplankton-phosphorus Dynamics In Lake Eriesupporting

confidence: 92%

supporting

confidence: 62%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Seasonal variation of phytoplankton nutrient limitation in Lake Erie

Moon¹,

Carrick²

2007

Aquat. Microb. Ecol.

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“…C supply usually exceeds the demand in open ecological systems, while N and P often become the limiting elements (Guildford et al, 2007). It has been suggested that in closed ecological systems without addition of inorganic carbon or exchange with the atmosphere, algae would eventually degrade into chemical equilibrium (Morowitz et al, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Possible nutrient limiting factor in long term operation of closed aquatic ecosystem

Hao

Cai

et al. 2012

Advances in Space Research

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Using a Bayesian hierarchical model to improve Lake Erie cyanobacteria bloom forecasts

Obenour

Gronewold

Stow

et al. 2014

Water Resources Research

154

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The last decade has seen a dramatic increase in the size of western Lake Erie cyanobacteria blooms, renewing concerns over phosphorus loading, a common driver of freshwater productivity. However, there is considerable uncertainty in the phosphorus load-bloom relationship, because of other biophysical factors that influence bloom size, and because the observed bloom size is not necessarily the true bloom size, owing to measurement error. In this study, we address these uncertainties by relating latesummer bloom observations to spring phosphorus load within a Bayesian modeling framework. This flexible framework allows us to evaluate three different forms of the load-bloom relationship, each with a particular combination of statistical error distribution and response transformation. We find that a novel implementation of a gamma error distribution, along with an untransformed response, results in a model with relatively high predictive skill and realistic uncertainty characterization, when compared to models based on more common statistical formulations. Our results also underscore the benefits of a hierarchical approach that enables assimilation of multiple sets of bloom observations within the calibration processes, allowing for more thorough uncertainty quantification and explicit differentiation between measurement and model error. Finally, in addition to phosphorus loading, the model includes a temporal trend component indicating that Lake Erie has become increasingly susceptible to large cyanobacteria blooms over the study period (2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013). Results suggest that current phosphorus loading targets will be insufficient for reducing the intensity of cyanobacteria blooms to desired levels, so long as the lake remains in a heightened state of bloom susceptibility.

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Phytoplankton Nutrient Status in Lake Erie in 1997

Cited by 43 publications

References 25 publications

Seasonal variation of phytoplankton nutrient limitation in Lake Erie

Seasonal variation of phytoplankton nutrient limitation in Lake Erie

Possible nutrient limiting factor in long term operation of closed aquatic ecosystem

Using a Bayesian hierarchical model to improve Lake Erie cyanobacteria bloom forecasts

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