Lake browning impacts community structure and essential fatty acid content of littoral invertebrates in boreal lakes

AbstractMany lakes in the northern hemisphere are browning due to increasing concentrations of terrestrial dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The consequences of lake browning to littoral invertebrates, however, are not fully understood. We analyzed community structure and fatty acid (FA) profiles of littoral invertebrates in humic (DOC-rich) and clear-water lakes in Eastern Finland. We found higher abundance of chironomids (Diptera: Chironomidae) in humic compared to clear-water lakes, whereas stoneflies (Plecoptera) and mayflies (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae) were more abundant in clear-water lakes. Taxon explained 65% of the differences in the FA composition of littoral invertebrates. However, t…

Nutritional quality of littoral macroinvertebrates and pelagic zooplankton in subarctic lakes

Littoral benthic primary production is considered the most important energy source of consumers in subarctic lakes. We analyzed essential fatty acid (EFA) and amino acid (EAA) content of 23 littoral benthic macroinvertebrate taxa as well as cladocerans and copepods from pelagic and littoral habitats of 8–9 subarctic lakes to compare their nutritional quality. Pelagic crustacean zooplankton had significantly higher EFA and total FA content (on average 2.6‐fold and 1.6‐fold, respectively) than littoral macroinvertebrates in all our study lakes. Specifically, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), one of the most important EFA for juvenile fish, was almost exclusively found in pelagic copepods. In littor…

Periphyton as a key diet source of essential fatty acids for macroinvertebrates across a nutrient and dissolved organic carbon gradient in boreal lakes

We studied how physiologically important long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in benthic macroinvertebrates (Asellus aquaticus, Chironomidae, and Oligochaeta) were related to those in periphyton and terrestrial organic matter (tree leaves), collected from littoral areas of 17 boreal lakes that differed in their dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nutrient (phosphorus and nitrogen) concentrations. We also analyzed fatty acid (FA)-specific stable carbon isotopes (δ13CFA) to investigate the dietary origin (periphyton vs. terrestrial organic matter) of PUFA in the consumers. In contrast to periphyton, terrestrial organic matter was deprived of long-chain PUFA, such as eicosapentaenoic a…

Littoral contribution to whole-lake primary production in highly humic Lake Mekkojärvi

Suurin osa koko järven perustuotantoa käsittelevistä tutkimusta on tehty oligotrofisissa tai eutrofisissa järvissä ja vähän on tutkittu dystrofisten järvien toimintaa. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoitus oli selvittää litoraalivyöhykkeen perustuotannon osuutta koko järven perustuotannosta dystrofisessa Mekkojärvessä vuonna 2012. Mekkojärvessä on korkeat liuennen orgaanisen hiilen (DOC) ja humushappojen pitoisuudet ja näiden tuloksena erittäin matala valon tunkeutuvuus, suhteellisen matala ravinnepitoisuus ja suhteellisen korkea keskisyvyyden suhde maksimisyvyyteen. Mallit, jotka perustuvat edellä mainittuihin parametreihin, ennustavat pohjaleville vain 5 % osuutta kokonaisperus…

Accounting for littoral primary production by periphyton shifts a highly humic boreal lake towards net autotrophy

1. The prevailing view that many humic lakes are net heterotrophic is commonly based on pelagicmeasurements alone. Poor light conditions in humic lakes are assumed to constrain littoral primaryproduction (PP), such that the littoral zone has been considered an insignificant contributor towhole-lake PP. However, that assumption is based on models and inferences from pelagic processeswhich do not take littoral zone structure into account. Many lakes have an extensive ring of aquaticvegetation lying near the water surface, which provides substratum for epiphytic algae under well-illuminated conditions.2. We measured both pelagic and littoral PP and community respiration (CR) in Mekkoj€arvi, a s…

Littoral energy pathways in highly humic boreal lakes

Littoral zones in lakes are among the most productive habitats in the world, but have been seriously understudied, as most limnological studies have concerned only pelagic habitats. The likely importance of littoral zones in clear lakes is widely acknowledged, but in contrast their role in dystrophic humic lakes has generally been assumed to be minor. In this thesis, littoral importance in whole-lake metabolism was studied in small and highly humic lakes in Southern Finland, where Lake Mekkojärvi was the principal study lake. Primary production (PP) measurements revealed that littoral periphyton, growing on surrounding aquatic vegetation, can dominate the whole-lake PP, and the highly autot…

Influence of littoral periphyton on whole-lake metabolism relates to littoral vegetation in humic lakes

The role of littoral habitats in lake metabolism has been underrated, especially in humic lakes, based on an assumption of low benthic primary production (PP) due to low light penetration into water. This assumption has been challenged by recent recognition of littoral epiphyton dominance of whole-lake PP in a small highly humic lake and of epiphyton as an important basal food source for humic lake biota. However, as these studies have mostly concerned single lakes, there is a need to test their wider generality. We studied the whole-lake PP and community respiration (CR) in eight small humic lakes in southern Finland during July 2015 using 14 C incorporation to measure pelagic PP and the c…

Epiphytic bacteria make an important contribution to heterotrophic bacterial production in a humic boreal lake

Bacterial production (BP) in lakes has generally only been measured in the pelagic zone without accounting for littoral BP, and studies of BP at the whole-lake scale are very scarce. In the dystrophic humic lakes, which are common throughout the boreal region, low light penetration through water has been assumed to seriously limit available habitats for littoral organisms. However, many highly humic boreal lakes have extensive partly submerged vegetation around the lake perimeter which can provide well-lit substrata for highly productive epiphyton. We measured epiphytic BP on the littoral vegetation and pelagic BP in a small highly humic boreal lake in Finland during an open-water season an…

The ToM storybooks as a tool of studying chidren's theory of mind in Finland

Allochthony, fatty acid and mercury trends in muscle of Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis) along boreal environmental gradients

Environmental change, including joint effects of increasing dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and total phosphorus (TP) in boreal northern lakes could potentially affects food web energy sources and the biochemical composition of organisms. These environmental stressors are enhanced by anthropogenic land-use and can decrease the quality of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in seston and zooplankton, and therefore, possibly cascading up to fish. In contrast, the content of mercury in fish increases with lake browning potentially amplified by intensive forestry practises. However, there is little evidence on how these environmental stressors simultaneously impact beneficial omega-3 fatty acid …

Increasing temperature and productivity change biomass, trophic pyramids and community‐level omega‐3 fatty acid content in subarctic lake food webs

Climate change in the Arctic is outpacing the global average and land-use is intensifying due to exploitation of previously inaccessible or unprofitable natural resources. A comprehensive understanding of how the joint effects of changing climate and productivity modify lake food web structure, biomass, trophic pyramid shape and abundance of physiologically essential biomolecules (omega-3 fatty acids) in the biotic community is lacking. We conducted a space-for-time study in 20 subarctic lakes spanning a climatic (+3.2 degrees C and precipitation: +30%) and chemical (dissolved organic carbon: +10 mg/L, total phosphorus: +45 mu g/L and total nitrogen: +1,000 mu g/L) gradient to test how temp…

Influence of littoral periphyton on whole-lake metabolism relates to littoral vegetation in humic lakes

The role of littoral habitats in lake metabolism has been underrated, especially in humic lakes, based on an assumption of low benthic primary production (PP) due to low light penetration into water. This assumption has been challenged by recent recognition of littoral epiphyton dominance of whole-lake PP in a small highly humic lake and of epiphyton as an important basal food source for humic lake biota. However, as these studies have mostly concerned single lakes, there is a need to test their wider generality. We studied the whole-lake PP and community respiration (CR) in eight small humic lakes in southern Finland during July 2015 using 14C incorporation to measure pelagic PP and the ch…

Periphyton support for littoral secondary production in a highly humic boreal lake

Steep stratification and poor light penetration in highly humic lakes typically restrict oxygenated littoral areas to narrow lake margins. However, in some instances, surrounding floating vegetation mats can sustain highly productive periphyton and more diverse invertebrate communities than pelagic areas. Little is known about how these littoral food webs function or the extent to which the pelagic and littoral food webs are coupled. We added 15N-labeled ammonium nitrate to the floating moss mat surrounding the littoral zone of Mekkojärvi, a small highly humic and fishless lake in southern Finland. Our goal was to increase the δ15N values of periphyton to investigate the diets of littoral i…