Effects of Experimental and Cultural Lake Acidification on Littoral Benthic Macroinvertebrate Assemblages

1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 1147-1161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm Stephenson ◽  
Gregory Mierle ◽  
Ronald A. Reid ◽  
Gerald L. Mackie
Keyword(s):  
Correlation Matrix ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Benthic Macroinvertebrate ◽  
Lake Area ◽  
Experimental Lakes Area ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Kendall’S Τ ◽  
Dimension 2 ◽  
Sweep Net

A simple method for the assessment of littoral benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) assemblages in lakes was developed at the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) in northwestern Ontario and applied to 64 lakes in central Ontario. The presence (1) or absence (0) of BMI taxa was established at five sites on each lake, using a kick-and-sweep net technique. Summing presence/absence scores across sites ranked the importance of each taxon in each lake on a scale of 0 to 5. Relationships between the BMI assemblages were assessed using nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), based upon the Kendall's τ correlation matrix. Correlations between NMDS dimension 1 and 2 scores and environmental variables identified factors that may structure BMI assemblages. The BMI assemblages of three experimentally acidified and seven reference lakes at the ELA were correlated strongly with lake pH. The BMI assemblage structure of central Ontario lakes was predicted by lake area and sensitivity to acidification (NMDS dimension 1) and by lake elevation (NMDS dimension 2). The BMI assemblages of small or Ca-poor and acidic lakes include fewer oligochaetes, mayflies, and Cryptochironomus and Stictochironomus (chironomids) and more Odonata, Trichoptera, Chironomus, Conchapelopia, Microtendipes, and Procladius (chironomids), and Crangonyx (Amphipoda) than other central Ontario lakes.

Leeches (Annelida: Hirudinea) in the Experimental Lakes Area, Northwestern Ontario, Canada: Patterns of Species Composition in Relation to Environment

1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (7) ◽  
pp. 1600-1607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian A. Grantham ◽  
Brenda J. Hann
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Canonical Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Primary Productivity ◽  
Lake Area ◽  
Eutrophic Lakes ◽  
Experimental Lakes Area ◽  
Large Lakes ◽  
Northwestern Ontario

Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was used to examine the distribution of leeches (Annelida: Hirudinea) in 18 lakes at the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA). Leech community composition was best described by an ordination incorporating alkalinity, primary productivity, and lake area. In general, highest species richness occurred in small, eutrophic lakes whereas lowest richness was recorded in medium to large lakes with low productivity. Contrary to results for some other taxa, lake pH was not a dominant variable, describing only a small amount of variance in the species–environment relationship.

Land water linkages: influences of riparian deforestation on lake thermocline depth and possible consequences for cold stenotherms

1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 1299-1305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert France
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Stratification ◽  
Lake Trout ◽  
Salvelinus Namaycush ◽  
Thermocline Depth ◽  
Experimental Lakes Area ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Riparian Trees ◽  
Tree Removal ◽  
Riparian Tree ◽  
Land Water

The purpose of the present study was to determine if riparian deforestation would expose lake surfaces to stronger winds and therefore bring about deepening of thermoclines and resulting habitat losses for cold stenotherms such as lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). Removal of protective riparian trees through wind blowdown and two wildfires was found to triple the overwater windspeeds and produce thermocline deepening in two lakes at the Experimental Lakes Area. A survey of thermal stratification patterns in 63 northwestern Ontario lakes showed that lakes around which riparian trees had been removed a decade before through either clearcutting or by a wildfire were found to have thermocline depths over 2 m deeper per unit fetch length compared with lakes surrounded by mature forests. Riparian tree removal will therefore exacerbate hypolimnion habitat losses for cold stenotherms that have already been documented to be occurring as a result of lake acidification, eutrophication, and climate warming.

Phosphorus Budgets and Stoichiometry during the Open-Water Season in Two Unmanipulated Lakes in the Experimental Lakes Area, Northwestern Ontario

1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (12) ◽  
pp. 2739-2755 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Water Column ◽  
Bottom Sediments ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Experimental Lakes Area ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Phosphorus Budgets ◽  
Mass Balance Approach ◽  
Primary And Secondary Producers ◽  
Column Total

A comparative mass-balance approach is used to describe and quantify phosphorus (P) cycles during the open-water season in two unmanipulated Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) lakes. A bimodal cycle generally prevailed, in which water-column total phosphorus (TP = total dissolved P plus sestonic particulate P) peaked just after ice-out and again late in the summer. Changes in mass of water-column TP were often much larger than corresponding net external inputs. Shifts of P to and from either zooplankton or fish in the water column do not explain the P residuals. Rather, the bottom sediments must have been adding P to the water column. Short-term regeneration of P from the bottom sediments also probably occurs in artificially eutrophied ELA lakes. The mechanism of regeneration is probably biological. Other aspects of P cycling and P stoichiometry are discussed, particularly in relation to nutrient control of population structure and the function of primary and secondary producers.

Decline of Mysis relicta During the Acidification of Lake 223

1983 ◽  
Vol 40 (11) ◽  
pp. 1905-1911 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. Nero ◽  
D. W. Schindler
Keyword(s):  
Confidence Limits ◽  
Experimental Lakes Area ◽  
Mysis Relicta ◽  
Ph Values ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Population Comparisons ◽  
Acidification Of Lake ◽  
Ph Range ◽  
Shield Lakes ◽  
Direct Toxicity

The population size of Mysis relicta in Lake 223 of the Experimental Lakes Area, northwestern Ontario, decreased from 6 700 000 ± 1 330 000 (± 95% confidence limits) during August of 1978, to 270 000 ± 75 000 during August of 1979, a 96% decrease. Because Mysis, a cold stenotherm, is restricted to the metalimnion and hypolimnion of lakes during summer, the pH range encountered by the population was 5.51 to 6.32 in 1978 and 5.23 to 6.10 in 1979, even though mean pH values in epilimnion waters for the 2 yr were 5.84 and 5.60. A decrease in pH of its habitat from 6.2 to 5.6 during fall overturn in 1979 caused the elimination of the remaining 4% of the population. Comparisons with four control lakes suggested that the decline and disappearance were not normal occurrences in unstressed lakes. Concentrations of Zn, Al, Mn, Fe, Cd, Cu, Ni, and Hg in Lake 223 water were low, and concentrations in Mysis were less than or equal to those in animals from five control lakes, suggesting that the decline in this species was not due to the toxic effects of metals. All size classes were affected, so that direct toxicity of hydrogen ion may be responsible for this abrupt population collapse. These results suggest that Mysis may be a useful early indicator of acidification damage to Precambrian Shield lakes.

Primary Production and Phytoplankton in the Experimental Lakes Area, Northwestern Ontario, and other Low-Carbonate Waters, and a Liquid Scintillation Method for Determining 14C Activity in Photosynthesis

1971 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. W. Schindler ◽  
S. K. Holmgren
Keyword(s):  
Primary Production ◽  
Liquid Scintillation ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Euphotic Zone ◽  
Phytoplankton Production ◽  
Phytoplankton Species ◽  
Experimental Lakes Area ◽  
Phytoplankton Species Composition ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Filtration Error

A modified 14C method is described for measuring phytoplankton production in low-carbonate waters. The procedure includes the use of the Arthur and Rigler (Limnol. Oceanogr. 12: 121–124, 1967) technique for determining filtration error, liquid scintillation counting for determining the radioactivity of membrane filters and stock 14C solutions, and gas chromatography for measuring total CO2.Primary production, chlorophyll a, and total CO2 were measured for two dates in midsummer from each of several lakes in the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA), ranging from 1 to 1000 ha in area and from 2 to 117 m in maximum depth. Phytoplankton species abundance and biomass were determined for the same dates. Production ranged from 0.02 to 2.12 gC/m3∙day and from 0.179 to 1.103 g C/m2∙day. Chlorophyll ranged from 0.4 to 44 mg/m3 and from 5 to 98 mg/m2 in the euphotic zone. The corresponding ranges for live phytoplankton biomass were 120–5400 mg/m3 and 2100–13,400 mg/m2. Chrysophyceae dominated the phytoplankton of most of the lakes.A system for classifying the lakes in terms of phytoplankton species composition and production–depth curves is developed.

Population Dynamics of Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) During and After the Fertilization of Lake 226, the Experimental Lakes Area

1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (S1) ◽  
pp. s55-s63 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. H. Mills ◽  
S. M. Chalanchuk
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
The Other ◽  
Coregonus Clupeaformis ◽  
Lake Whitefish ◽  
Experimental Lakes Area ◽  
Northwestern Ontario

Responses of an unexploited population of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) to the fertilization of Lake 226 in the Experimental Lakes Area, northwestern Ontario, are described for the fifth through eighth years of fertilization (1977–80) and for three years after fertilization was terminated (1981–83). A vinyl curtain separated Lake 226 into two basins. One basin (L226NE) received additions of phosphorus, nitrogen, and carbon; the other (L226SW) received nitrogen and carbon. Lake whitefish in L226NE were faster growing, had higher condition (k), were more numerous, had higher survival from age 0 to age 1, had greater biomass, and had greater production than L226SW whitefish from 1977 to 1980. Some of these effects continued in 1981 and 1982 after fertilization was terminated, but only biomass differences remained by 1983.

Changes in diatom assemblages since pre-industrial times in 40 reference lakes from the Experimental Lakes Area (northwestern Ontario, Canada)

2011 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mihaela D. Enache ◽  
Andrew M. Paterson ◽  
Brian F. Cumming
Keyword(s):  
Diatom Assemblages ◽  
Experimental Lakes Area ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Reference Lakes

Methyl mercury in aquatic insects from an experimental reservoir

1998 ◽  
Vol 55 (9) ◽  
pp. 2036-2047 ◽  
Author(s):  
B D Hall ◽  
D M Rosenberg ◽  
A P Wiens
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Insects ◽  
Methyl Mercury ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Fish Tissue ◽  
Functional Feeding Groups ◽  
Experimental Lakes Area ◽  
Major Pathway ◽  
Natural Lakes ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Before And After

Our objective was to study the effects of experimental flooding of a small wetland lake on the methyl mercury (MeHg) concentrations in aquatic insects and to compare MeHg concentrations in insects with those in water and fish from the same system. Insects were collected from the shorelines of the experimental reservoir before and after flooding, an undisturbed wetland lake, and an oligotrophic lake, all in the Experimental Lakes Area in northwestern Ontario. Samples were identified to the lowest possible taxon and categorized into functional feeding groups (FFGs; predators or collector/shredders). The insects were analyzed for MeHg and total Hg using clean techniques. Contamination was not a problem because levels of MeHg in insects were much higher than background concentrations. Odonata, Corixidae, Gerridae, Gyrinidae, and Phryganeidae/Polycentropodidae exhibited increases in MeHg concentrations in response to flooding. When data were grouped into FFGs, increases were observed in predators. There were insufficient numbers of collector/shredders collected to make a definitive conclusion on MeHg increases. Predators exhibited an approximately threefold increase in MeHg concentrations after flooding compared with a 20-fold increase in water concentrations and a four- to five-fold increase in fish concentrations. Trends in MeHg concentrations in aquatic insects from reservoirs and natural lakes in Finland and northern Québec were similar to ours. Evidence of an increase in MeHg concentrations in the lower food web helps explain increases in MeHg concentrations in fish from reservoirs because food is the major pathway of MeHg uptake in fish tissue.

Distributions of Ferrous Iron and Sulfide in an Anoxic Hypolimnion

1984 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 286-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert B. Cook
Keyword(s):  
Pore Water ◽  
Solubility Product ◽  
Iron Sulfide ◽  
Water Flux ◽  
Sediment Pore Water ◽  
Experimental Lakes Area ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Anoxic Hypolimnion ◽  
Decomposition Of Organic Matter

In the anoxic hypolimnion of Lake 227, Experimental Lakes Area, northwestern Ontario, ΣH2S exhibits a mid-depth maximum, while Fe2+ increases with depth. At the mid-depth ΣH2S maximum and below, saturation with respect to amorphous FeS is reached, and the concentration of ΣH2S is limited by the high Fe2+ concentrations, in accord with the FeS solubility product. Values for pKsp[Formula: see text] for FeS determined from the ΣH2S maximum and below averaged 3.16 in 1979 and agree well with other in situ and laboratory measurements. In the top 10 cm of sediment, pore water ΣH2S and Fe2+ are in equilibrium with amorphous FeS. Analyses of cores confirms the existence of an iron sulfide phase. Fe2+, which is produced in the pore water from the decomposition of organic matter, increases to concentrations at which siderite may form, although the presence of siderite has not been verified. Comparison of calculated pore water fluxes of Fe2+ with the observed increase of Fe2+ in the anoxic hypolimnion reveals that about 90% of the observed flux originates at the sediment–water interface, while the remainder is derived from pore water flux.

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