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Results for “Limnology and Oceanography”

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At least 289 records · Page 16Linked to original sources
USGS1998

*d13C composition of primary producers and role of detritus in a freshwater coastal ecosystem

Stable-isotope ratio signatures of primary producers in a coastal wetland and in adjacent offshore waters of western Lake Superior indicated that phytoplankton are the primary source of carbon for the grazing food web of this ecosystem. This study outlines the possible roles of other autotrophs in this regard. Isotopic signatures of macrophytes reflected their life-form-associated constraints on diffusion of inorganic carbon. Data indicated that differences between wetland and lake phytoplankton may be explained by the isotopic signatures of their dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) sources. Results of an in situ experiment showed that respiration associated with macrophyte decomposition is capable of enriching surrounding water with significant amounts of *d13C-depleted DIC and lowering the net *d13C ratio of DIC in water in low-turbulence situations. The *d13C ratio for wetland phytoplankton may be depleted relative to pelagic algae because the fixed carbon is derived from decomposing detritus.

Limnology and Oceanography↗
USGS1999

Multiple stresses from a single agent: Diverse responses to the experimental acidification of Little Rock Lake, Wisconsin

A single stress, acidification with sulfuric acid, was applied to Little Rack Lake in a whole-ecosystem manipulation. We documented a wide range of responses to the acidification, including increases in the concentrations of various chemicals, shifts in microbial processes and a major increase in water clarity to UV-B radiation. Each of these changes could in itself be considered as a separate ecosystem stress that is distinct from the intended manipulation. Acidification in Little Rock Lake was accompanied by a number of substantial changes in the occurrence of organisms. A series of detailed investigations indicates that the mechanisms underlying these organismal changes are varied but cannot usually be tied to the direct effects of acidification. Overall, our results demonstrate how multiple stresses can arise from a single agent operating on an ecosystem and suggest that singly operating stresses may actually be quite rare.

Limnology and Oceanography↗
USGS2001

Unusual bacterioplankton community structure in ultra-oligotrophic Crater Lake

The bacterioplankton assemblage in Crater Lake, Oregon (U.S.A.), is different from communities found in other oxygenated lakes, as demonstrated by four small subunit ribosomal ribonucleic acid (SSU rRNA) gene clone libraries and oligonucleotide probe hybridization to RNA from lake water. Populations in the euphotic zone of this deep (589 m), oligotrophic caldera lake are dominated by two phylogenetic clusters of currently uncultivated bacteria: CL120-10, a newly identified cluster in the verrucomicrobiales, and ACK4 actinomycetes, known as a minor constituent of bacterioplankton in other lakes. Deep-water populations at 300 and 500 m are dominated by a different pair of uncultivated taxa: CL500-11, a novel cluster in the green nonsulfur bacteria, and group I marine crenarchaeota. b-Proteobacteria, dominant in most other freshwater environments, are relatively rare in Crater Lake (<=16% of nonchloroplast bacterial rRNA at all depths). Other taxa identified in Crater Lake libraries include a newly identified candidate bacterial division, ABY1, and a newly identified subcluster, CL0-1, within candidate division OP10. Probe analyses confirmed vertical stratification of several microbial groups, similar to patterns observed in open-ocean systems. Additional similarities between Crater Lake and ocean microbial populations include aphotic zone dominance of group I marine crenarchaeota and green nonsulfur bacteria. Comparison of Crater Lake to other lakes studied by rRNA methods suggests that selective factors structuring Crater Lake bacterioplankton populations may include low concentrations of available trace metals and dissolved organic matter, chemistry of infiltrating hydrothermal waters, and irradiation by high levels of ultraviolet light.

Limnology and Oceanography↗
USGS2009

Modeling lakes and reservoirs in the climate system

Modeling studies examining the effect of lakes on regional and global climate, as well as studies on the influence of climate variability and change on aquatic ecosystems, are surveyed. Fully coupled atmosphere-land surface-lake climate models that could be used for both of these types of study simultaneously do not presently exist, though there are many applications that would benefit from such models. It is argued here that current understanding of physical and biogeochemical processes in freshwater systems is sufficient to begin to construct such models, and a path forward is proposed. The largest impediment to fully representing lakes in the climate system lies in the handling of lakes that are too small to be explicitly resolved by the climate model, and that make up the majority of the lake-covered area at the resolutions currently used by global and regional climate models. Ongoing development within the hydrological sciences community and continual improvements in model resolution should help ameliorate this issue.

Limnology and Oceanography↗
USGS2008

Hydrogeomorphic features mediate the effects of land use/cover on reservoir productivity and food webs

Although effects of land use/cover on nutrient concentrations in aquatic systems are well known, half or more of the variation in nutrient concentration remains unexplained by land use/cover alone. Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) landscape features can explain much remaining variation and influence food web interactions. To explore complex linkages among land use/cover, HGM features, reservoir productivity, and food webs, we sampled 11 Ohio reservoirs, ranging broadly in agricultural catchment land use/cover, for 3 years. We hypothesized that HGM features mediate the bottom-up effects of land use/cover on reservoir productivity, chlorophyll a , zooplankton, and recruitment of gizzard shad, an omnivorous fish species common throughout southeastern U.S. reservoirs and capable of exerting strong effects on food web and nutrient dynamics. We tested specific hypotheses using a model selection approach. Percent variation explained was highest for total nitrogen ( R 2 = 0.92), moderately high for total phosphorus, chlorophyll a , and rotifer biomass ( R 2 = 0.57 to 0.67), relatively low for crustacean zooplankton biomass and larval gizzard shad hatch abundance ( R 2 = 0.43 and 0.42), and high for larval gizzard shad survivor abundance ( R 2 = 0.79). The trophic status models included agricultural land use/cover and an HGM predictor, whereas the zooplankton models had few HGM predictors. The larval gizzard shad models had the highest complexity, including more than one HGM feature and food web components. We demonstrate the importance of integrating land use/cover, HGM features, and food web interactions to investigate critical interactions and feedbacks among physical, chemical, and biological components of linked land-water ecosystems.

Limnology and Oceanography↗
USGS1983

Autotrophic processes in meromictic Big Soda Lake, Nevada.

Daily rates of oxygenic photosynthesis (OP) by phytoplankton, anoxygenic photosynthesis (AP) by purple sulfur bacteria, and chemoautotrophic productivity (CP = dark CO2 assimilation) were measured once each season. Total daily productivity and the relative importance of each autotrophic process varied with seasonal changes in vertical mixing, light availability, and the biomass of phototrophs. Daily productivity was highest (2830 mg C.m-2) and was dominated by OP in winter when the mixolimnion was isothermal, the biomass of phytoplankton was high, and the biomass of purple sulfur bacteria was low. During the summer-fall period of thermal stratification, phytoplankton biomass decreased, a plate of purple sulfur bacteria formed below the oxycline, and daily rates of dark CO2 assimilation (CP = 390-680 mg C.m-2) exceeded phototrophic productivity (OP + AP = 200-370 mg C.m-2). Total annual productivity was approx 500 g C.m-2, of which 60% was produced by phytoplankton (mostly in winter), 30% by chemoautotrophs (nitrifying and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria), and only 10% by photosynthetic bacteria. -Authors

Limnology and Oceanography↗
USGS1988

Methane cycling in the sediments of Lake Washington

About half of the methane flux from depth is oxidized to CO2 in the upper 0.7 cm of the sediments and the remainder escapes into the water column. In terms of the total carbon budget of the lake, the upward flux of methane is insignificant with only about 2% of the carbon fixed by primary production being returned as methane. The upward flux of methane, however, does represent about 20% of the organic carbon decomposed within the sediments. -from Authors

Limnology and Oceanography↗
USGS1988

The design and use of a hydraulic potentiomanometer for direct measurement of differences in hydraulic head between groundwater and surface water

The hydraulic potentiomanometer described herein consists of a potentiometer connected to a manometer by a flexible tube. The device is used to directly measure the direction of seepage as well as the hydraulic-head difference between groundwater and surface water. The device works most effectively in sandy materials. For accurate measurements the device must be free of air leaks. -Authors

Limnology and Oceanography↗
USGS1988

Rapid changes in dissolved humic substances in Spirit Lake and South Fork Castle Lake, Washington

One major effect of the eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington, was a large increase of dissolved organic material in the lakes of the area devastated near the volcano. Much of this material was aquatic fulvic acid derived from plants and soils from the surrounding watershed. During the 3 yr after the eruption, substantial chemical changes occurred in the aquatic fulvic acid. -from Authors

Limnology and Oceanography↗
USGS1986

Algal growth response to particle-bound orthophosphate and zinc

Effects of Zn (0-1 mu M total Zn(II)) and orthophosphate (8-12 mu M total P) additions on growth indices for the chlorophyte Selenastrum capricornutum were examined in a medium containing 50 mg liter-1 colloidal titania. Over the Zn(II) concentration range used, detrimental growth and yield effects were observed. Addition of P to a synthetic growth medium increased stationary phase cell density, but had minimal effect on growth rate and duration of lag phase. Presence of TiO2 particles in culture media significantly reduced Zn and P dissolved fractions.-from Authors

Limnology and Oceanography↗
USGS1991

Jellyfish Lake, Palau: early diagenesis of organic matter in sediments of an anoxic marine lake

The major postdepositional change in the sedimentary organic matter is carbohydrate biodegradation. Lignin and aliphatic substances are preserved in the sediments. Dissolved organic matter in pore waters is primarily composed of carbohydrates, reflecting the degradation of sedimentary carbohydrates. Rate constants for organic carbon degradation and sulfate reduction in sediments of the lake are about 10?? lower than in other anoxic sediments. This may reflect the vascular plant source and partly degraded nature of the organic matter reaching the sediments of the lake. -from Authors

Limnology and Oceanography↗
USGS1991

Estimating estuarine flushing and residence times in Charlotte Harbor, Florida, via salt balance and a box model

The new concept is that, over many tidal cycles, the tidally averaged "flow' (Qg) of water from the Gulf of Mexico, with a salinity of 35???, can be treated as a constant at any point in the estuary. This flow is used in a simple mixing equation to predict salinity in the estuary at different river inflows, and the predicted salinities are used to compute residence times for water in the estuary. The techniques developed to achieve optimal precision in the relation between river inflow and salinity include a newly derived equation to fit Qg by a least-squares method and a procedure to determine the optimal averaging period for river inflow. Results from Charlotte Harbor indicate that, under average (70 m3s-1) river inflow, 95% of the original water present in the harbor flushes into the gulf in 130 d. -from Authors

Limnology and Oceanography↗
USGS1991

Aquatic fulvic acids in microbially based ecosystems: results from two desert lakes in Antarctica

These lakes receive very limited input of organic material from the surrounding barren desert, but they sustain algal and bacterial populations under permanent ice cover. One lake has an extensive anoxic zone and high salinities; the other is oxic and has low salinities. Despite these differences, fulvic acids from both lakes had similar elemental compositions, carbon distributions, and amino acid contents, indicating that the chemistry of microbially derived fulvic acvids is not strongly influenced by chemical conditions in the water column. Compared to fulvic acids from other natural waters, these fulvic acids have low C:N atomic ratios (19-25) and low contents of aromatic carbons (5-7% of total carbon atoms); they are most similar to marine fulvic acids. -from Authors

Limnology and Oceanography↗
USGS1992

Trophic interactions and direct physical effects control phytoplankton biomass and production in an estuary

San Francisco Bay has recently been invaded by the suspension-feeding clam Potamocorbula amurensis. Previous work has shown that phytoplankton biomass in the upper estuary is low (2-3 mg Chl a m-3) during seasonal periods of high river flow and short residence time and it is usually high (peak >30 mg Chl a m-3) during the summer-autumn seasons of low river flow and long residence time. However since P. amurensis became widespread and abundant in 1987, the summer phytoplankton biomass maximum has disappeared, presumably because of increased grazing pressure by this newly introduced species. For 1977-1990, mean estimated primary production was only 39 g C m-2 yr-1 during years when bivalve suspension feeders were abundant (>2000 m-2), compared to 106 g C m-2 yr-1 when bivalves were absent or present in low numbers. These observations support the hypothesis that seasonal and interannual fluctuations in estuarine phytoplankton biomass and primary production can be regulated jointly by direct physical effects (eg river-driven transport) and trophic interactions (episodes of enhanced grazing pressure by immigrant populations of benthic suspension feeders). -from Authors

Limnology and Oceanography↗