Water levels affect photosynthesis and nutrient use more than salinity in a scrub Red Mangrove forest of the southeastern Florida Everglades

AbstractPhotosynthesis is an essential process to mangrove forest carbon cycling, which plays a critical role in the global carbon cycle. We investigated how differences in mangrove island micro-elevation (i.e., habitat) affect tree physiology in a scrub mangrove forests of the southeastern Everglades. We measured leaf gas exchange rates of scrub Rhizophora mangle trees monthly during 2019, hypothesizing that CO2 assimilation (Anet) and stomatal conductance (gsw) would decline with increases in water level and salinity, with larger differences at mangrove islands edges than centers, where inundation and salt stress are greatest. Water levels varied between 0 and 60 cm, rising during the wet season (May-October) relative to the dry season (November-April). Porewater salinity ranged from 15 to 30 ppt, being higher at mangrove island edges compared to centers. Anet maximized at 15.1 µmol m-2 s-1, and gsw was typically <0.2 mol m-2 s-1, both of which were greater in the dry than the wet season and greater at mangrove island centers than edges. After accounting for season and habitat, water level had a positive effect on Anet in both seasons, but no effect on gsw. Similarly, porewater salinity had a slightly positive marginal effect on Anet but a negligible effect on gsw Our findings suggest that water levels drive variation in Anet more than salinity in Everglades scrub mangroves, while also constraining Anet more than gsw, and that the interaction between permanent flooding and habitat varies with season as physiological stress is alleviated at higher-elevation mangrove island center habitats in the dry season. Additionally, habitat heterogeneity leads to differences in nutrient and water acquisition and use between trees growing in island centers versus edges, creating distinct physiological controls on leaf physiology and photosynthesis which could ultimately affect carbon flux dynamics of scrub mangrove forests across the Everglades landscape.

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River Discharge and Water Level Changes in the Mekong River: Droughts in an Era of Mega-Dams

10.22541/au.161189206.60684509/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

XiXi Lu ◽

Samuel Chua

Keyword(s):

Water Level ◽

Water Discharge ◽

Dry Season ◽

Water Levels ◽

Mekong River ◽

Wet Season ◽

Discharge Data ◽

Mekong Basin ◽

Lower Mekong Basin ◽

Dry Conditions

While 1992 marked the first major dam – Manwan – on the main stem of the Mekong River, the post-2010 era has seen the construction and operationalisation of mega dams such as Xiaowan (started operations in 2010) and Nuozhadu (started operations in 2014) that were much larger than any dams built before. The scale of these projects implies that their operations will likely have significant ecological and hydrological impacts from the Upper Mekong Basin to the Vietnamese Delta and beyond. Historical water level and water discharge data from 1960 to 2020 were analysed to examine the changes to streamflow conditions across three time periods: 1960-1991 (pre-dam), 1992-2009 (growth) and 2010-2020 (mega-dam). At Chiang Saen, the nearest station to the China border, monthly water discharge in the mega-dam period has increased by up to 98% during the dry season and decreased up as much as -35% during the wet season when compared to pre-dam records. Similarly, monthly water levels also rose by up to +1.16m during the dry season and dropped by up to -1.55m during the wet season. This pattern of hydrological alterations is observed further downstream to at least Stung Treng (Cambodia) in our study, showing that Mekong streamflow characteristics have shifted substantially in the post-2010 era. In light of such changes, the 2019-2020 drought – the most severe one in the recent history in the Lower Mekong Basin – was a consequent of constructed dams reducing the amount of water during the wet season. This reduction of water was exacerbated by the decreased monsoon precipitation in 2019. Concurrently, the untimely operationalisation of the newly opened Xayaburi dam in Laos coincided with the peak of the 2019-2020 drought and could have aggravated the dry conditions downstream. Thus, the mega-dam era (post-2010) may signal the start of a new normal of wet-season droughts.

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Seasonal changes in water quality and macrophytes and the impact of cattle on tropical floodplain waterholes

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf12114 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 63 (9) ◽

pp. 788 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

N. E. Pettit ◽

T. D. Jardine ◽

S. K. Hamilton ◽

V. Sinnamon ◽

D. Valdez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Seasonal Changes ◽

Aquatic Macrophyte ◽

Plant Cover ◽

Critical Role ◽

Dry Season ◽

Nutrient Concentrations ◽

Wet Season ◽

Dry Tropics ◽

The Impact

The present study indicates the critical role of hydrologic connectivity in floodplain waterholes in the wet–dry tropics of northern Australia. These waterbodies provide dry-season refugia for plants and animals, are a hotspot of productivity, and are a critical part in the subsistence economy of many remote Aboriginal communities. We examined seasonal changes in water quality and aquatic plant cover of floodplain waterholes, and related changes to variation of waterhole depth and visitation by livestock. The waterholes showed declining water quality through the dry season, which was exacerbated by more frequent cattle usage as conditions became progressively drier, which also increased turbidity and nutrient concentrations. Aquatic macrophyte biomass was highest in the early dry season, and declined as the dry season progressed. Remaining macrophytes were flushed out by the first wet-season flows, although they quickly re-establish later during the wet season. Waterholes of greater depth were more resistant to the effects of cattle disturbance, and seasonal flushing of the waterholes with wet-season flooding homogenised the water quality and increased plant cover of previously disparate waterholes. Therefore, maintaining high levels of connectivity between the river and its floodplain is vital for the persistence of these waterholes.

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Seasonal Water Level Fluctuation and Concomitant Change of Nutrients Shift Microeukaryotic Communities in a Shallow Lake

Water ◽

10.3390/w12092317 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (9) ◽

pp. 2317

Author(s):

Yang Liu ◽

Ze Ren ◽

Xiaodong Qu ◽

Min Zhang ◽

Yang Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Level ◽

Soluble Reactive Phosphorus ◽

Dry Season ◽

Water Level Fluctuation ◽

Water Level Fluctuations ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Level Fluctuation ◽

Wet Season ◽

Concomitant Change ◽

Modular Structures

Seasonal water level fluctuations (WLFs) impose dramatic influences on lake ecosystems. The influences of WLFs have been well studied for many lake biotas but the microeukaryotic community remains one of the least-explored features. This study employed high-throughput 18S rRNA gene sequencing to investigate the spatiotemporal patterns of microeukaryotic communities in the dry and wet seasons with concomitant change of nutrients in Poyang Lake, which experiences huge seasonal WLFs. The results showed that the dry season and wet season had distinct microeukaryotic community compositions and structures. In the dry season, Ciliophora (13.86–40.98%) and Cryptomonas (3.69–18.64%) were the dominant taxa, and the relative abundance of these taxa were significant higher in the dry season than wet season. Ochrophyta (6.88–45.67%) and Chlorophyta (6.31–22.10%) was the dominant taxa of microeukaryotic communities in the wet season. The seasonal variation of microeukaryotic communities was strongly correlated to seasonal nutrient variations. Microeukaryotic communities responded significantly to dissolved organic carbon, total nitrogen, nitrate, and soluble reactive phosphorus in the dry season, and correlated to nitrate and total phosphorus in the wet season. The microeukaryotic community showed different modular structures in two seasons, and nutrient variations were the key factors influencing seasonal variations of the modular structures. Moreover, microeukaryotic community networks based on different seasons indicated that the microeukaryotic community co-occurrence patterns were not constant but varied largely associating with the nitrogen and phosphorus variations under the effects of WLFs. Our results are important for understanding how microeukaryotic communities respond to nutrient variation under seasonal water level fluctuation.

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Investigating the liquid water path over the tropical Atlantic with synergistic airborne measurements

10.5194/amt-2019-18 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marek Jacob ◽

Felix Ament ◽

Manuel Gutleben ◽

Heike Konow ◽

Mario Mech ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Vapor ◽

Liquid Water ◽

Critical Role ◽

Dry Season ◽

Passive Microwave ◽

Variable Component ◽

Wet Season ◽

Liquid Water Path ◽

Water Path ◽

Airborne Measurements

Abstract. Clouds are a strongly variable component of the climate system and several studies have identified especially marine low level clouds to play a critical role for the climate. Liquid water path (LWP) is an important quantity to characterize clouds. Passive microwave satellite sensors provide the most direct estimate on global scale, but suffer from high uncertainties due to large footprints and the superposition of cloud and precipitation signals. Here, we use high spatial resolution airborne microwave radiometer (MWR) measurements together with cloud radar and lidar observations to better understand LWP of warm clouds over the tropical North Atlantic. The nadir measurements were taken by the German High Altitude and Long range research aircraft (HALO) in December 2013 (dry season) and August 2016 (wet season) during two Next generation Advanced Remote sensing for VALidation campaigns (NARVAL). Microwave retrievals of integrated water vapor (IWV), LWP and rain water path (RWP) are developed using artificial neural network techniques and a unique database based on cloud-resolving model simulations with 1.25 km grid spacing. The IWV and LWP retrievals share the same eight MWR frequency channels as their sole input. The comparison of retrieved IWV with coincident dropsondes and water vapor lidar measurements shows root-mean-square deviations below 1.4 kg m−2 over the range from 20 to 60 kg m−2. This comparison raises the confidence in LWP retrievals which can only be assessed theoretically. The theoretical analysis shows the dependency of the uncertainty on LWP itself as the error is below 20 g m−2 for LWP below 100 g m−2 and below 20 % above. The identification of clear sky scenes by ancillary measurements, here backscatter lidar, is crucial for thin clouds (LWP < 12 g m−2) as the microwave retrieved LWP uncertainty is higher than 100 %. The RWP retrieval combines active and passive microwave observations and is able to detect drizzle and light precipitation. The analysis of both campaigns reveals that clouds were more frequent in the dry than in the wet season and their LWP and RWP were higher, but microwave scattering of ice was observed more frequently in the wet season (1.6 % vs. 0.5 % of the time). As to be expected, the observed IWV clearly shows that the wet season (mean IWV = 41 kg m−2) is more humid than the dry season (mean IWV = 28 kg m−2). The results reveal that the observed frequency distributions of IWV are strongly affected by the choice of the flight pattern. Therefore, the airborne observations need to be used carefully to mediate between long-term ground-based and spaceborne measurements to draw statistically sound conclusions.

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Seasonal abundance of the shipworm Neoteredo reynei (Bivalvia, Teredinidae) in mangrove driftwood from a northern Brazilian beach

Iheringia Série Zoologia ◽

10.1590/s0073-47212008000100002 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 98 (1) ◽

pp. 17-23 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Carlos S. Filho ◽

Claudia H. Tagliaro ◽

Colin R. Beasley

Keyword(s):

Single Species ◽

Dry Season ◽

Seasonal Abundance ◽

Mangrove Forests ◽

Wet Season ◽

Northern Brazil ◽

Dry Seasons ◽

Insulating Properties ◽

Recruitment Period ◽

Wet And Dry Seasons

Shipworms are important decomposers of wood, especially in mangrove forests where productivity is high. However, little emphasis has been given to the activity of shipworms in relation to the export of nutrients from mangroves to adjacent coastal areas. As a first step to obtaining such information, the frequency of colonized mangrove driftwood as well as shipworm density and length were studied by collecting washed up logs during a year at Ajuruteua beach, state of Pará, northern Brazil. A single species, Neoteredo reynei (Bartsch, 1920), was found colonizing driftwood. Although large colonized logs were most common on the beach, shipworm density was higher in small logs, especially during the dry season. In general, however, density was higher during the wet season (January to April) and lowest in July. Overall shipworm mean length was 9.66cm. In large logs, mean length increased between the wet and dry seasons. However, there was no difference in length among log size categories. Mean shipworm length was similar throughout most of the year but tended to be greater in July. Although salinity varied between 10.9 and 40 during the year, no relationship was found between salinity and density or length. The results suggest that shipworm activity in driftwood logs is relatively constant throughout the year. Increased air humidity and rainfall may promote survival during the wet season. Large logs may take longer to colonize and thus have lower densities than small ones which are scarce probably because they are destroyed rapidly by shipworm activity. However, data on the disintegration of logs would be necessary to test this hypothesis. Larger size of shipworms in the dry season may be related to growth after an earlier recruitment period. Shipworms in large logs during the dry season may be better protected from dessication and high temperatures by the insulating properties of the larger volume of wood.

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Observations on the habitat and biology of a lymnaeid snail, Austropeplea vinosa (Gastropoda : Pulmonata), an intermediate host for avian schistosomes in tropical Austarlia

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf9810757 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 32 (5) ◽

pp. 757 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

D Blair ◽

CM Finlayson

Keyword(s):

Intermediate Host ◽

Early Summer ◽

Dry Season ◽

Water Levels ◽

Wet Season ◽

Temporary Habitats ◽

Lymnaeid Snail ◽

Avian Schistosomes ◽

Main Factor

The aquatic snail A. vinosa is widely distributed in northern Queensland, occurring in rivers and in static waters, both semipermanent and permanent. The snail is capable of breeding throughout the year. although fewer small snails are present during the cooler months. Rainfall rather than temperature appears to be the main factor influencing populations of A. vinosa, very small snails being able to survive drought by aestivating in the mud. Heavy summer rains refill temporary habitats, and small snails emerge to recommence growth. The same summer rains flood permanent habitats and can wash away snail populations living there. Infection levels of larval flukes in A. vinosa are generally lowest in the wet season and rise as the dry season progresses. The effects of wet season floods and steadily diminishing water levels during the dry season are thought to account for this. The risk of human bathers contracting schistosome dermatitis is therefore highest in the early summer, towards the end of the dry season, when the larvae of avian schistomes are most abundant.

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Seasonal leaf gas exchange and water potential in a woody cerrado species community

Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology ◽

10.1590/s1677-04202004000100002 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 7-16 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

Carlos Henrique Britto de Assis Prado ◽

Zhang Wenhui ◽

Manuel Humberto Cardoza Rojas ◽

Gustavo Maia Souza

Keyword(s):

Gas Exchange ◽

Water Potential ◽

Leaf Water Potential ◽

Leaf Gas Exchange ◽

Water Status ◽

Dry Season ◽

Leaf Water ◽

Wet Season ◽

Leaf Water Status ◽

Mean Values

Predawn leaf water potential (psipd) and morning values of leaf gas exchange, as net photosynthesis (A), stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration (E), and morning leaf water potential (psimn) were determined seasonally in 22 woody cerrado species growing under natural conditions. Despite the lower mean values of psipd in the dry season (-0.35 ± 0.23 MPa) compared to the wet season (-0.08 ± 0.03 MPa), the lowest psipd in the dry season (-0.90 ± 0.00 MPa) still showed a good nocturnal leaf water status recovery for all species studied through out the year. Mean gs values dropped 78 % in the dry season, when the vapor pressure of the air was 80% greater than in the wet season. This reduction in gs led to an average reduction of 33% in both A and E, enabling the maintainance of water use efficiency (WUE) during the dry season. Network connectance analysis detected a change in the relationship between leaf gas exchange and psimn in the dry season, mainly between gs-E and E-WUE. A slight global connectance value increase (7.25 %) suggested there was no severe water stress during the dry season. Multivariate analysis showed no link between seasonal response and species deciduousness, suggesting similar behavior in remaining leaves for most of the studied species concerning leaf gas exchange and psimn under natural drought.

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Abundance, Zonation and Foraging Ecology of Birds in Mangroves of Darwin Harbour, Northern Territory.

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr9960443 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 23 (4) ◽

pp. 443 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

RA Noske

Keyword(s):

Foraging Ecology ◽

Avicennia Marina ◽

Abundant Species ◽

Dry Season ◽

Mangrove Forests ◽

Resident Species ◽

Wet Season ◽

Mangrove Species ◽

Significant Seasonal Variation ◽

Melaleuca Cajuputi

The density, seasonality, habitat utilization and foraging ecology of birds in mangals (mangrove forests) at a site on the upper reaches of Darwin Harbour were investigated by transect censusing and colour-banding over three years. Despite having only 10 species of plants, the site supported 17 confirmed and five probable breeding resident species of birds, and was visited by 30 more. From variable-width transect censuses, the mean density of birds on a 4-ha plot was estimated to be 25 ha-1, fairly consistent with densities obtained from territory mapping of colour-banded birds. Nearly 70% of the individuals belonged to just 4 species: two mangal-dependent species, the red-headed honeyeater (Myzomela erythrocephala) and the yellow white-eye (Zosterops lutea) and two more generalised species, the large-billed gerygone (Gerygone magnirostris) and the brown honeyeater (Lichmera indistincta). Only the red-headed honeyeater showed significant seasonal variation in abundance, with highest numbers during the late dry season after breeding. This coincided with the period of greatest food (nectar) availability in the mangal, due to flowering Bruguiera exaristata. Lowest numbers of the red-headed honeyeater (and the brown honeyeater) occurred in the late wet season when nectar was scarce in the mangal but abundant in Melaleuca cajuputi fringing the mangal. Several resident species held permanent territories, while others apparently shifted landward during the wet season, possibly due to the wetter conditions created by freshwater runoff and high spring tides Many species showed strong associations with particular mangal zones. Large-billed gerygones, grey whistlers (Pachycephala simplex), shining flycatchers (Myiagra alecto) and mangrove fantails (Rhipidura phasiana) were associated with the Rhizophora zone at the wetter (more frequently inundated) end of the plot; mangrove robins (Eopsaltria pulverulenta) and mangrove gerygones (Gerygone laevigaster), were encountered most in the Ceriops zone; and green-backed gerygones (Gerygone chloronata) strongly favoured the dry landward edge. Four foraging guilds were evident among 13 of the most abundant species, the largest of which was the insectivorous foliage-foraging guild. Species in this group partitioned resources by differential selection of mangrove species, heights and foraging techniques. The tiny (6.4 g) mangrove gerygone was the most specialized species, spending 80% of its time on Avicennia marina. Contrary to the literature, breeding of mangal-dwelling birds peaked during the dry season. The ecology, evolution and biogeography of mangrove-endemic birds is reviewed in the light of this study and recent information from Western Australia.

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Seasonal variation in the leaf gas exchange of tropical forest trees in the rain forest–savanna transition of the southern Amazon Basin

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467405002427 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 451-460 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Eduardo Jacusiel Miranda ◽

George L. Vourlitis ◽

Nicolau Priante Filho ◽

Pedro Correto Priante ◽

José Holanda Campelo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rain Forest ◽

Amazon Basin ◽

Deciduous Forest ◽

Leaf Gas Exchange ◽

Light Response ◽

Dry Season ◽

Forest Trees ◽

Wet Season ◽

Mato Grosso ◽

Physiological Capacity

The photosynthetic light response of Amazonian semi-deciduous forest trees of the rain forest–savanna transition near Sinop Mato Grosso, Brazil was measured between July 2000 and September 2003 to test the hypothesis that the photosynthetic capacity of trees acclimated to different growth light environments will decline during the dry season. Maximum photosynthesis (Amax) and stomatal conductance (gmax) were significantly higher during the wet season; however, the physiological response to drought was not a clear function of growth light environment. For some species, such as Psychotria sp. growing in the mid-canopy, internal leaf CO2 concentration (Ci) was >30% lower during the dry season suggesting that declines in Amax were caused in part by stomatal limitations to CO2 diffusion. For other species, such as Brosimum lactescens growing at the top of the canopy, Tovomita schomburgkii growing in the mid-canopy, and Dinizia excelsa growing in the understorey, dry season Ci declined by <20% suggesting that factors independent of CO2 diffusion were more important in limiting Amax. Dry-season declines in gmax appeared to be important for maintaining a more consistent leaf water potential for some species (T. schomburgkii and D. excelsa) but not others (Psychotria sp.). These results indicate that while seasonal drought exerts an important limitation on the physiological capacity of semi-deciduous Amazonian forest trees, the mechanism of this limitation may differ between species.

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Control of Avicennia germinans recruitment and survival by Junonia evarete larvae in a disturbed mangrove forest in Colombia

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467499001182 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 15 (6) ◽

pp. 791-805 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Carola Elster ◽

Laura Perdomo ◽

Jaime Polanía ◽

Marie-Luise Schnetter

Keyword(s):

Feeding Behaviour ◽

Mangrove Forest ◽

Fruit Production ◽

Dry Season ◽

Avicennia Germinans ◽

Mangrove Forests ◽

Disturbed Areas ◽

Closed Canopy ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Main Rainy Season

In the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, a brackish lagoon system on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, about 60% of the mangrove forests died from hypersalinization. The die-back was first encountered in 1964 and mass mortality started in the late 1960s. Although efforts are being made to reestablish the destroyed areas, regeneration is slow, which may be partly due to Junonia evarete caterpillars defoliating Avicennia germinans seedlings. The interaction between insects and seedlings was studied. Both J. evarete butterflies and caterpillars were abundant during the main rainy season, the time of highest fruit production in A. germinans. During the dry season the herbivore disappeared. The caterpillars fed exclusively on A. germinans propagules, seedlings, and pneumatophores. They preferred young seedlings to older plants and did not feed on trees. At some sites, 100% of the A. germinans seedlings died due to the caterpillar attack. Seedlings at open, disturbed sites were attacked more than seedlings protected by small roofs and trenches or those under a closed canopy. Only seedlings protected by insect nets or seedlings germinating at the beginning of the dry season had good chances of survival. The results suggest that in the highly disturbed areas of the Ciénaga Grande regeneration of A. germinans is strongly inhibited by the feeding behaviour of J. evarete caterpillars.

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