Title: THE INFLUENCE OF DROUGHT-INDUCED ACIDIFICATION ON THE RECOVERY OF PLANKTON IN SWAN LAKE (CANADA)
Abstract: Ecological ApplicationsVolume 11, Issue 3 p. 747-763 Article THE INFLUENCE OF DROUGHT-INDUCED ACIDIFICATION ON THE RECOVERY OF PLANKTON IN SWAN LAKE (CANADA) Shelley E. Arnott, Shelley E. Arnott York University, Department of Biology, ℅ Dorset Environmental Science Centre, Box 39, Dorset, Ontario, Canada P0A 1E0 Present address: Cooperative Freshwater Ecology Unit, Laurentian University, Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada P3E 2C6. E-mail: [email protected] for more papers by this authorNorman Yan, Norman Yan Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Box 39, Dorset, Ontario, Canada P0A 1E0Search for more papers by this authorW. (Bill) Keller, W. (Bill) Keller Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Co-operative Freshwater Ecology Unit, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada P3E 2C6Search for more papers by this authorKen Nicholls, Ken NichollsSearch for more papers by this author Shelley E. Arnott, Shelley E. Arnott York University, Department of Biology, ℅ Dorset Environmental Science Centre, Box 39, Dorset, Ontario, Canada P0A 1E0 Present address: Cooperative Freshwater Ecology Unit, Laurentian University, Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada P3E 2C6. E-mail: [email protected] for more papers by this authorNorman Yan, Norman Yan Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Box 39, Dorset, Ontario, Canada P0A 1E0Search for more papers by this authorW. (Bill) Keller, W. (Bill) Keller Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Co-operative Freshwater Ecology Unit, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada P3E 2C6Search for more papers by this authorKen Nicholls, Ken NichollsSearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 June 2001 https://doi.org/10.1890/1051-0761(2001)011[0747:TIODIA]2.0.CO;2Citations: 45 Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Abstract In response to North American and Western European reductions in atmospheric emissions of SO2, research efforts are now being focused on the recovery of aquatic ecosystems from acidification. Improvements in water quality have been hampered by drought-induced acidification events, but the biological consequences of such events have not been described. We present evidence of biotic recovery in Swan Lake near Sudbury, Canada, in response to water quality improvement, then demonstrate the damaging impacts of a 1988 re-acidification event. Changes in species composition, richness, diversity, and multivariate indices were assessed from 1977 to 1997 for phytoplankton, from 1977 to 1990 for rotifers, and from 1977 to 1998 for crustacean zooplankton. While there was some evidence of recovery in the plankton during the 1980s, recovery was incomplete at the time of the re-acidification event. We suspect that the severity of past acidification, ongoing water quality problems, and biological resistance to colonization restricted recovery. The response of each taxonomic group to re-acidification varied. The recovery of both phytoplankton and rotifer communities was impaired by the re-acidification event; both phytoplankton and rotifers reverted to a damaged state, with the effect on phytoplankton lasting seven years. The recovering crustacean zooplankton community was not obviously influenced by the re-acidification event, probably because most acid-sensitive taxa had not recolonized the lake at the time of re-acidification. There was, however, an unexpected response of the crustacean zooplankton to re-acidification. While phytoplankton and rotifer richness decreased, crustacean richness increased even though lake pH fell from near 6 to 4.5. We hypothesize that the explanation is a complex interaction among chemical and physical changes associated with the lake's re-acidification. Specifically we hypothesize that a massive hatching event of zooplankton resting eggs was triggered by increases in light, temperature, or oxygen concentrations at the sediment–water interface and/or desiccation of littoral sediments during the drought. Citing Literature Volume11, Issue3June 2001Pages 747-763 RelatedInformation
Publication Year: 2001
Publication Date: 2001-06-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 76
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