Limnology and Oceanography Letters最新文献

Microzooplankton grazing is an essential parameter to predict the fate of organic matter production in planktonic food webs. To identify predictors of grazing, we leveraged a 6-yr time series of coastal plankton growth and grazing rates across contrasting environmental conditions. Phytoplankton size–structure and trophic transfer were seasonally consistent with small phytoplankton cell dominance and low trophic transfer in summer, and large cell dominance and higher trophic transfer in winter. Departures from this pattern during two disruptive events revealed a critical link between phytoplankton size–structure and trophic transfer. An unusual summer bloom of large phytoplankton cells yielded high trophic transfer, and an atypical winter dominance of small phytoplankton resulted in seasonally atypical low trophic transfer. Environmental conditions during these events were neither seasonally atypical nor unique. Thus, phytoplankton size–structure rather than environmental conditions held a key-role driving trophic transfer. Phytoplankton size–structure is easily measurable and could impart predictive power of food-web structure and the fate of primary production in coastal ecosystems.

The low-molecular-weight (LMW) reduced sulfur substances (RSS) composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) was examined along the GEOTRACES US-GP15 section in the Pacific Ocean. We demonstrate that LMW RSS constitutes a significant fraction of nonvolatile dissolved organic sulfur (DOS). While thiols such as glutathione were below our detection limit (300 pM), RSS containing two carbon (C) sulfur (S) bonds were present at concentrations in the hundreds of nM range. RSS accumulation was observed in subtropical waters. The most likely source of these RSS is microbial alteration of sulfurized DOM with production of secondary thioamidated metabolites. RSS are initially produced by cyanobacteria to mitigate copper and oxidative stress induced by UV-B irradiance. A preferential remineralization of RSS over dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the upper 350 m suggests a partial lability of LMW DOS. Deeper, homogeneous concentrations and C : S ratio indicate increasing stability of this LMW DOS.

The temporal structures of gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (ER) vary across time scales in response to complex interactions among dynamic drivers (e.g., flow, light, temperature, organic matter supply). To explore emergent patterns of river metabolic variation, we applied frequency-domain analysis to multiyear records of metabolism across 87 US rivers. We observed a dominant annual periodicity in metabolic variation and universal fractal scaling (i.e., power spectral density inversely correlated with frequency) at subannual frequencies, suggesting these are foundational temporal structures of river metabolic regimes. Frequency-domain patterns of river metabolism aligned best with drivers related to energy inputs: benthic light for GPP and GPP for ER. Simple river metabolism models captured frequency-domain patterns when parameterized with appropriate energy inputs but neglecting temperature controls. These results imply that temporal variation of energy supply imprints directly on metabolic signals and that frequency-domain patterns provide benchmark properties to predict river metabolic regimes.

To enhance our understanding of the carbon cycle in the Arctic Ocean, comprehensive observational data are crucial, including measurements from the underlying ice water. This study proposed a practical method for calibrating pCO₂ sensor using measured dissolved inorganic carbon and total alkalinity. Our findings suggested the minimum number of bottle samples needed for calibration to ensure 1% accuracy. Additionally, we identified the significant role of a decrease in dissolved inorganic carbon due to photosynthesis and the increase in buffer capacity of the seawater from the release of excess alkalinity by sea ice in regulating pCO₂. The mean air–sea CO₂ fluxes were −48.9 ± 44.6, −7.3 ± 14.6, and −1.4 ± 2.8 mmol m⁻² d⁻¹ in the southern Chukchi Sea, northern Chukchi Sea, and northern East Siberian Sea, respectively. We found a robust negative correlation between the flux and sea ice concentration in the Arctic Sea ice regions.

Benthic primary producers (BPP) in inland waters, including aquatic macrophytes and periphyton, are foundational habitats that are highly sensitive to multiple human drivers of environmental change. However, long-term seasonal monitoring of BPP is limited, leaving us with little information on the cause, directionality, and consequences of the potential shifts in timing of BPP life cycle events. Here, we review the literature on the phenological changes of BPP and show that BPP respond primarily to temperature, but also to other interactive drivers related to climate change and eutrophication. In addition, we present four rare case studies where BPP display strong and earlier shifts in event timing associated with increasing temperature and discuss potential impacts of these changes on ecosystem functioning. Given the responsive nature of BPP to multiple human drivers, we provide suggestions on how to improve basic monitoring to better understand the future impact of phenological changes of this critical habitat.

Elucidating physical transport phenologies in large lakes can aid understanding of larval recruitment dynamics. Here, we integrate a series of climate, hydrodynamic, biogeochemical, and Lagrangian particle dispersion models to: (1) simulate hatch and transport of fish larvae throughout an illustrative large lake, (2) evaluate patterns of historic and potential future climate-induced larval transport, and (3) consider consequences for overlap with suitable temperatures and prey. Simulations demonstrate that relative offshore transport increases seasonally, with shifts toward offshore transport occurring earlier during relatively warm historic and future simulations. Intra- and inter-annual trends in transport were robust to assumed pelagic larval duration and precise location and timing of hatching. Larvae retained nearshore generally encountered more favorable temperatures and zooplankton densities compared to larvae transported offshore. Larval exploitation of nearshore resources under climate change may depend on a concomitant shift to earlier spawning and hatch times in advance of earlier offshore transport.

Extreme hydrological and thermal regimes characterize the Mediterranean zone and can influence the phenology of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in reservoirs. Our study examined the seasonal changes in GHG emissions of a shallow, eutrophic, hardwater reservoir in Spain. We observed distinctive seasonal patterns for each gas. CH₄ emissions substantially increased during stratification, influenced predominantly by the increase in water temperature, net ecosystem production, and the decline in reservoir mean depth. N₂O emissions mirrored CH₄'s seasonal trend, significantly correlating to water temperature, wind speed, and gross primary production. Conversely, CO₂ emissions decreased during stratification and displayed a quadratic, rather than a linear relationship with water temperature—an unexpected deviation from CH₄ and N₂O emission patterns—likely associated with photosynthetic uptake of bicarbonate and formation of intracellular calcite that might be exported to sediments. This investigation highlights the imperative of integrating these idiosyncratic patterns into GHG emissions models, enhancing their predictive power.

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CHABs) are increasingly common in freshwater ecosystems and are often associated with climate change. Here, we used two independent high-resolution surface temperature records (1995–2022) and temperature-dependent growth rates of Microcystis to evaluate changes in these CHABs in Lake Erie. The potential mean seasonal growth rate of Microcystis and the duration of the Microcystis bloom season have both significantly increased within the western basin of Lake Erie since 1995. Trends were strongest in the far western region of Lake Erie including Maumee Bay which receives the largest point source of nutrients in the Lake and where the Microcystis bloom season has expanded by up to 1 month. In contrast, warming trends in bloom-free portions of central and eastern Lake Erie have been more muted. We conclude that increasing water temperature is an important factor facilitating the intensification of these, and likely other, CHABs, and is thus promoting an expanding public health threat.

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) dynamically links land- and ocean-derived chemical constituents, such as metals, in the coastal ocean. While many metals are sediment-bound, changing environmental conditions, particularly along the coast, may lead to increased release of metals to their dissolved and more bioavailable form. Here, we review metal behavior, speciation, and drivers of mobilization in the coastal environment under anthropogenic influence. We also model global metal contamination risk to the coastal ocean via SGD considering anthropogenic and hydrogeologic pressures, where tropical regions with high population density, SGD, and acid sulfate soils (4% of the global coast) present the highest risk. Although most SGD studies focus on other analytes, such as nutrients, this review demonstrates the importance of considering SGD as a critical pathway for metals to reach the coastal ocean under rapidly changing environmental conditions.

We introduce a new approach to observe the impact of vegetation on tidal flow retardation and retention at large spatial scales. Using radar interferometry and in situ water level gauge measurements during low tide, we find that vegetation in deltaic intertidal zones of the Wax Lake Delta, Louisiana, causes significant tidal distortion with both a delay (between 80 and 140 min) and amplitude reduction (~ 20 cm). The natural vegetation front delays the ebb tide, which increases the minimum water level and hydro-period inside the deltaic islands, resulting in better conditions for wetland species colonizing low elevations. This positive feedback between vegetation and hydraulics demonstrates the self-organization functionality of vegetation in the geomorphological evolution of deltas, which contributes to deltaic stability.