6533b7dbfe1ef96bd126f7ac
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Warmer climates boost cyanobacterial dominance in shallow lakes
Eloy BécaresLuc De MeesterLars-anders HanssonVera L. M. HuszarGissell LacerotMarten SchefferCarla KrukMiquel LürlingTiina NõgesErik JeppesenBrian MossEllen Van DonkNéstor MazzeoSusana RomoLuciana S. CostaSarian KostenSarian Kostensubject
CyanobacteriaAquatic Ecology and Water Quality Managementphytoplankton communitymerenClimate changefish community structureoppervlaktewaterkwaliteitcyanobacterianitrogentrophic stateNutrientmesocosm experimentsPhytoplanktonlakestemperatuurklimatologieEnvironmental ChemistryDominance (ecology)cyanobacteriënfytoplanktonphosphorusTransectGeneral Environmental ScienceGlobal and Planetary ChangebloomsWIMEKEcologybiologyEcologynutrienttemperatureclimatologyAquatische Ecologie en Waterkwaliteitsbeheerbiology.organism_classificationSubarctic climateOceanographyeutrophicationinternationalphytoplanktonEnvironmental scienceEutrophicationsurface water qualitydescription
Dominance by cyanobacteria hampers human use of lakes and reservoirs worldwide. Previous studies indicate that excessive nutrient loading and warmer conditions promote dominance by cyanobacteria, but evidence from global scale field data has so far been scarce. Our analysis, based on a study of 143 lakes along a latitudinal transect ranging from subarctic Europe to southern South America, shows that although warmer climates do not result in higher overall phytoplankton biomass, the percentage of the total phytoplankton biovolume attributable to cyanobacteria increases steeply with temperature. Our results also reveal that the percent cyanobacteria is greater in lakes with high rates of light absorption. This points to a positive feedback because restriction of light availability is often a consequence of high phytoplankton biovolume, which in turn may be driven by nutrient loading. Our results indicate a synergistic effect of nutrients and climate. The implications are that in a future warmer climate, nutrient concentrations may have to be reduced substantially from present values in many lakes if cyanobacterial dominance is to be controlled.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-07-25 |