Climate-related changes of phytoplankton seasonality in large shallow Lake Võrtsjärv, Estonia
Keywords:
light limitation, nutrient limitation, diatoms, cyanobacteriaAbstract
Water level changes (7-year moving averages) in Lake Võrtsjärv (Estonia) during 1885–2000 were correlated with winter patterns in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index. In this shallow lake (270 km2, mean depth 2.8 m), where the annual water level amplitude is 1.4 m and the absolute range is 3.2 m, hydrology is the main driving force for the ecosystem. Control of phytoplankton growth was mediated by ice conditions in spring, and by water level in summer and autumn. Winter air temperature similarly influenced the biomass of cyanobacteria and diatoms in spring; while the effect of the ice-cover duration was more pronounced on cyanobacteria. Mean depth of the lake did not affect the phytoplankton biomass in spring, but clearly controlled it in summer and autumn. The direct impact of winter conditions on biological processes was restricted to a short post-winter period, but extended indirectly as the water level for the entire growing season depended strongly on the height of the spring flood peak.
References
Bednorz, E. 2008. Synoptic conditions for rapid snowmelt in the Polish-German lowlands. J. Theor. Appl. Climatol., DOI 10.1007/s00704-008-0063-z
Behrendt, H. and Stellmacher, R. 1987. “Long-term changes in water quality parameters of a shallow eutrophic lake and their relations to meteorologic and hydrologic elements”. In The influence of climate change and climatic variability on the hydrologic regime and water resources. Edited by: Solomon, S. I., Beran, M. and Hogg, W. 535–544. Proceedings of the Vancouver Symposium, 1987 August. IAHS Publ. 168, Vancouver
Bengtsson, L., Hellström, T. and Rakoczi, L. 1990. Redistribution of sediments in three Swedish lakes. Hydrobiologia, 192: 167–181.
Benson, B. J., Lenters, J. D., Magnuson, J. J., Stubbs, M. T., Kratz, K., Dillon, P. J., Hecky, R. E. and Lathrop, R. C. 2000. Regional coherence of climatic and lake thermal variables of four lake districts in the Upper Great Lakes Region of North America. Freshwat. Biol., 43: 517–527.
Buffagni, A., Belfiore, C., Erba, S., Kemp, J. L. and Cazzola, M. 2003. “A review of Ephemeroptera species distribution in Italy: Gains from recent studies and areas for future focus”. In Research update on Ephemeroptera and Plecoptera., Edited by: Gaino, E. 279–280. Perugia, , Italy: Università di Perugia.
Cherkauer, K. A., Bowling, L. C. and Lettenmaier, D. P. 2003. Variable infiltration capacity cold land process model updates. Global and Planetary Change, 38(1–2): 151–159.
Doganovsky, A. M. and Myakisheva, N. V. The water level in Lake Ladoga in different frequency ranges. Proceedings of the Third International Lake Ladoga Symposium 1999. Edited by: Peltonen, A., Grönlund, E. and Viljanen, M. pp.374–377. Finland: University of Joensuu. Publications of Karelian Institute 129
Engel, S. and Nichols, S. A. 1994. Aquatic macrophyte growth in a turbid windswept lake. J. Freshwat. Ecol., 9: 97–109.
Fry, F. E. J. 1971. “The effect of environmental factors on the physiology of fish”. In Fish Physiology. Environmental Factors, Edited by: Hoar, W. S. and Randall, D. J. 1–99. San Diego, New York: Academic Press.
George, D. G., Maberly, S. C. and Hewitt, D. P. 2004. The influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation on the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of four lakes in the English Lake District. Freshwat. Biol., 49: 760–774.
Gerten, D. and Adrian, R. 2000. Climate-driven changes in spring plankton dynamics and the sensitivity of shallow polymictic lakes to the North Atlantic Oscillation. Limnol. Oceanogr., 45: 1058–1066.
Gerten, D. and Adrian, R. 2001. Differences in the persistency of the North Atlantic Oscillation signal among lakes. Limnol. Oceanogr., 46: 448–455.
Grasshoff, K., Ehrhardt, M. and Kremling, K., eds. 1983. Methods of Seawater Analysis., Weinheim: Verlag Chemie.
Hejzlar, J., Dubrovský, M., Buchtele, J. and Růžička, M. 2003. The apparent and potential effects of climate change on the inferred concentration of dissolved organic matter in a temperate stream (the Malše River, South Bohemia). The Science of the Total Environment, 310: 143–152.
Huisman, J. and Weissing, F. J. 1994. Light-limited growth and competition for light in well-mixed aquatic environments: an elementary model. Ecology, 75: 507–520.
Hurrell, J. W., Kushnir, Y. and Visbeck, M. 2001. The North Atlantic Oscillation. Science, 291: 603–605.
Irigoien, X., Harris, R. P., Head, R. N. and Harbour, D. 2000. North Atlantic Oscillation and spring bloom phytoplankton composition in the English Channel. J. Plankton Res., 22: 2367–2371.
Jaani, A. 1973. Veerohkus muutub tsükliliselt. (Cyclic changes in abundance of water. In Estonian). Eesti Loodus, 12: 758–764.
Jaani, A. 1990. Võrtsjärve veerežiim ja –bilanss. (Water regime and budget of Lake Võrtsjärv. In Estonian). Eesti Loodus, 11: 743–747.
Jaani, A. and Kullus, L.-P. 1999. “Peipsi hüdroloogiline režiim ja veebilanss. (Hydrological regime and water balance of Lake Peipsi. In Estonian)”. In Peipsi, Edited by: Pihu, E. and Raukas, A. 27–55. Tallinn, Estonia: Keskkonnaministeeriumi Info- ja Tehnokeskus.
Järvet, A. 1997. “Long-term changes of pollution load of Lake Võrtsjärv”. In Problems of contemporary ecology Edited by: Frey, T. 60–65. Tartu, Estonia
Järvet, A. 2000. Water regime of Lake Võrtsjärv, Estonia. Geographical Studies, 8: 72–88.
Järvet, A. 2004. “Hydrology of Lake Võrtsjärv”. In Lake Võrtsjärv, Edited by: Haberman, J., Pihu, E. and Raukas, A. 105–139. Tallinn: Estonian Encyclopedia Publishers.
Järvet, A., Jaagus, J., Roosaare, J., Tamm, T. and Vallner, L. 2000. Impact of climate change on water balance elements in Estonia. Geographical Studies, 8: 35–55.
Jeffrey, S. W. and Humphrey, G. F. 1975. New spectrophotometric equations for determining chlorophylls abc1c2 in higher plants, algae and natural phytoplankton. Biochem. Physiol. Pflanzen, 167: 191–194.
Jeppesen, E. 1998. The ecology of shallow lakes – trophic interactions in the pelagial, DSc dissertation NERI Technical Report No. 247
Jöhnk, K. D., Straile, D. and Ostendorp, W. 2004. Water level variability and trends in Lake Constance in the light of the 1999 centennial flood. Limnologica - Ecology and Management of Inland Waters, 34: 15–21.
Kapotov, A. A. 1989. “Permeability of frozen and thawed soils and sub-soils during spring snowmelt floods”. In Friends in Hydrology Edited by: Roald, L., Nordseth, K. and Hassel, K. A. 27–34. Wallingford, Oxfordshire IAHS Publication 187
Kufel, L., Prejs, A. and Rybak, J. I., eds. 1997. Shallow Lakes 1995. Trophic cascades in shallow freshwater and brackish lakes, Netherlands: Kluwer.
Lovstad, O. 1984. Growth limiting factors for Oscillatoria spp. and two diatoms at low temperatures in eutrophic lakes. Oikos, 43: 358–362.
Magnuson, J. J., Benson, B. J. and Kratz, T. K. 1990. Temporal coherence in the limnology of a suite of lakes in Wisconsin. U. S. A. Freshwat. Biol., 23: 137–143.
Mooij, W. M., Hülsmann, S., De Senerpont Domis, L. N., Nolet, B. A., Bodelier, P. L. E., Boers, P. C. M., Pires, L. M. D., Gons, H. J., Ibelings, B. W., Noordhuis, R., Portielje, R., Wolfstein, K. and Lammens, E. H. R. R. 2005. The impact of climate change on lakes in the Netherlands: a review. Aquatic Ecology, 39: 381–400.
Mühlen von zur, M. and Schneider, G. 1920. Der See Wirzjerw in Livland. (Lake Wirzjerw in Livland. In German). Archiv für die Naturkunde des Ostbaltikums, 14: 1–156.
Nõges, P. and Laugaste, R. 1998. Seasonal and long-term changes of phytoplankton in Lake Võrtsjärv. Limnologica, 28: 21–28.
Nõges, T., Nõges, P. and Laugaste, R. 2003. Water level as the mediator between climate change and phytoplankton composition in a large shallow temperate lake. Hydrobiologia, 506–509: 257–263.
Prowse, T. D. and Stephenson, R. L. 1986. The relationship between winter lake cover, radiation receipts and the oxygen deficit in temperate lakes. Atmos. Ocean., 24: 386–403.
Reinart, A. and Nõges, P. 2004. “Light conditions in Lake Võrtsjärv”. In Lake Võrtsjärv, Edited by: Haberman, J., Pihu, E. and Raukas, A. 141–149. Tallinn: Estonian Encyclopedia Publishers.
Riley, G. A. 1957. Phytoplankton of the North Central Sargasso Sea. Limnol. Oceanogr., 2: 252–270.
Sanger, A. C. 1994. The role of macrophytes in the decline and restoration of Lagoon of Islands. Lake Reservoir Management, 9: 111–112.
Scheffer, M. 1998. Ecology of Shallow Lakes, London: Chapman and Hall.
Straile, D. 2000. Meteorological forcing of plankton dynamics in a large and deep continental European lake. Oecologia, 122: 44–50.
Straile, D. and Adrian, R. 2000. The North Atlantic Oscillation and plankton dynamics in two European lakes - two variations on a general theme. Global Change Biology, 6: 663–670.
Utermöhl, H. 1958. Zur Vervollkommnung der quantitativen Phytoplankton-Methodik. (Best method for qualifying phytoplankton. In German.). Mitt. Internat. Ver. Theor. Limnol, 9: 1–38.
Wallsten, M. and Forsgren, P. O. 1989. The effects of increased water level on aquatic macrophyes. J. Aquatic Plant Management, 27: 32–37.
Walz, N. and Nixdorf, B., eds. 1999. Shallow Lakes 1998. Trophic interactions in shallow freshwater and brackish waterbodies, Netherlands: Kluwer.
Weyhenmeyer, G. A., Blenckner, T. and Pettersson, K. 1999. Changes in the plankton spring outburst related to the North Atlantic Oscillation. Limnol. Oceanogr., 44: 1788–1792.
Williams, P. J., Le, B. and Jenkinson, N. W. 1980. A simple and inexpensive 4-π light collector and two designs for a light meter for light attenuation studies. Freshwat. Biol., 10: 491–496.
Ye, H., Yang, D. and Robinson, D. 2008. Winter rain on snow and its association with air temperature in northern Eurasia. Hydrol. Process., 22: 2728–2736.
Yoo, J. C. and D'Odorico, P. 2002. Trends and fluctuations in the dates of ice break-up of lakes and rivers in Northern Europe: the effect of the North Atlantic Oscillation. Journal of Hydrology, 268: 100–112.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Manuscripts must be original. They must not be published or be under consideration for publication elsewhere, in whole or in part. It is required that the lead author of accepted papers complete and sign the MSU Press AEHM Author Publishing Agreement and provide it to the publisher upon acceptance.
