The Qu'Appelle Long‐Term Ecological Research Program: A 26‐Yr Hierarchical Platform to Study Freshwater Ecosystems of the Northern Great Plains

Haig, Heather A.; Leavitt, Peter R.

doi:10.1002/lob.10337

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…These findings are consistent with over 25 years of trophic studies in the QU-LTER, ,,, as well as with persistent but unexplained Hg consumption advisories that exist for regional recreational fishes; , however, we recognize that our approach is only a snapshot of trophic interactions affecting food-web contamination with MeHg. Zooplankton MeHg concentrations tend to respond quickly (within 10 days; see ref for an example) to changes in MeHg in water.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Depth-integrated water for particulate organic matter (POM) was collected at a standard geo-referenced station near the center of Katepwa Lake using standard protocols of the Qu’Appelle long-term ecological research program (QU-LTER). ,, POM samples were prescreened (153 μm mesh), filtered onto precombusted (500 °C, 1 h) Whatman GF/C glass fiber filters, and stored at −20 °C until analysis. Prescreening was effective at removing crustaceans and rotifers, while maintaining a representative algal assemblage characteristic of each lake…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mercury Elevator in Lakes: A Novel Vector of Methylmercury Transfer to Fish via Migratory Invertebrates

Hall

Cobb

Graham

et al. 2020

Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett.

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Fisheries in highly productive prairie lakes of Canada and the USA frequently have fish consumption advisories due to elevated mercury concentrations. This occurrence is unexpected because such alkaline lakes often exhibit lower methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations in basal trophic levels than those expected in less productive basins with circumneutral pH. As sources of MeHg to fish are largely dietary, components of the food web are expected to be critical controls of the transfer of MeHg to fish. Here we investigated how Leptodora kindtii, a large (1.5 cm) translucent predatory invertebrate that exhibits pronounced diel vertical migration (in sediments by day, upper water column by night) plays a key role in regulating the contamination of fish with MeHg in a well-studied, eutrophic, prairie lake in western Canada. Estimates of diel fluxes of invertebrate biomass and MeHg revealed that migratory adult Leptodora, but not other adult zooplankton or juvenile Leptodora, acted as a vector, uniquely transferring MeHg from presumptive deepwater sites of methylation to pelagic fish communities. This cryptic process suggests that piscivorous fish may experience greatly elevated exposure to MeHg even in circumstances when biogeochemical features, MeHg sources, and daytime food-web configuration suggest that trophic transfers should be minimal.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury Elevator in Lakes: A Novel Vector of Methylmercury Transfer to Fish via Migratory Invertebrates

Hall

Cobb

Graham

et al. 2020

Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett.

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“…Briefly, filters were completely extracted with either HPLC‐grade acetone (trichromatic Chl a ) or acetone, methanol, and water in a ratio of 80:15:5 by volume (all pigments and derivatives) for 24 h at −20°C, then filtered (0.2‐ μ m pore membrane) before further processing. HPLC was completed following the standard methods of Leavitt and Hodgson (2001) and following the standard procedures of the Qu'Appelle Valley Long Term Ecological Research (QU‐LTER) program (Leavitt et al 2006; Vogt et al 2011; Haig and Leavitt 2019). Trichromatic Chl a was expressed as μ g Chl a L −1 or μ g Chl a cm −2 , following QU‐LTER protocols (Vogt et al 2011).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unexpected shift from phytoplankton to periphyton in eutrophic streams due to wastewater influx

Bergbusch

Hayes

Simpson

et al. 2021

Limnology & Oceanography

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Pollution with nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) impairs streams by favoring suspended algae and cyanobacteria over diatom-rich periphyton. Recently, wastewater treatment plants have been upgraded to biological nutrient removal to eliminate both P and N (mainly NH 4 +), although little is known of the effects of this effluent on flowing waters. Here, we used high performance liquid chromatography to quantify how the abundance and composition of phytoplankton and periphyton varied in response to both influx of effluent produced by biological nutrient removal and physico-chemical conditions in small, turbid, P-rich streams of the northern Great Plains. At the catchment scale, analysis with generalized additive models (GAMs) explained 40.5-62.6% of deviance in total phototroph abundance (as Chl a) and 72.5-82.5% of deviance in community composition (as biomarker carotenoids) in both planktonic and benthic habitats when date-and site-specific physico-chemical parameters were used as predictors. In contrast, GAMs using wastewater input (as aqueous δ 15 N) as a predictor explained up to 50% of deviance in Chl a, and~60% of deviance in community composition, in both suspended (51.6% of Chl a, 67.1% of composition) and attached communities (21.5% of Chl a, 58.8% of composition). Phytoplankton was replaced by periphyton within a 60-km wastewater-impacted reach due to dilution of streams by transparent effluent and addition of urban NO 3 À , although predominance of phytoplankton was re-established after confluence with higher-order streams. Overall, influx of effluent shifted turbid, phytoplankton-rich streams to clear ecosystems with abundant epilithon by improving water transparency and providing NO 3 À to favor benthic diatoms and chlorophytes.

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Marked blue discoloration of late winter ice and water due to autumn blooms of cyanobacteria

Haig

Chegoonian

Davies

et al. 2021

Lake and Reservoir Management

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The Qu'Appelle Long‐Term Ecological Research Program: A 26‐Yr Hierarchical Platform to Study Freshwater Ecosystems of the Northern Great Plains

Cited by 3 publications

References 28 publications

Mercury Elevator in Lakes: A Novel Vector of Methylmercury Transfer to Fish via Migratory Invertebrates

Mercury Elevator in Lakes: A Novel Vector of Methylmercury Transfer to Fish via Migratory Invertebrates

Unexpected shift from phytoplankton to periphyton in eutrophic streams due to wastewater influx

Marked blue discoloration of late winter ice and water due to autumn blooms of cyanobacteria

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