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Cyanobacteria in the complex river-connected Poyang Lake: horizontal distribution and transport

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Abstract

Bloom-forming cyanobacteria have been observed with increasing frequency in Poyang Lake, China since 2000. In the present study, we examined the mechanisms responsible for the horizontal distribution of these blooms in the main body of Poyang Lake. Specifically, we addressed the hypothesis that colonies of cyanobacteria are first generated in the Eastern Bay (EB, lentic region) and then advected offshore by large-scale horizontal transport processes, with the colonies subsequently found in Northern Poyang Lake (NPL, lotic region). The cyanobacteria biomass in the EB was significantly greater than that in NPL (P < 0.0001), and negative correlations were observed between cyanobacteria biomass and nutrient concentrations in the EB. However, significant correlations were not observed between cyanobacteria biomass and nutrient concentrations in NPL. The peak abundance of cyanobacteria was first observed in the EB, with the cyanobacterial abundance peak in NPL lagging the EB peak by approximately 1 month. These results are all consistent with the cyanobacteria distribution hypothesis and show the potential for the accumulation of cyanobacteria in NPL that are normally considered unsuitable for in situ growth in EB. Variations of cyanobacteria biomass in eutrophic lakes, including Yangtze-connected (Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake) and Yangtze-isolated (Taihu) lakes, were monitored during summer (July–August), and eutrophic or even polytrophic conditions were not observed to support the development of cyanobacteria. Instead, a high rate of water flow with short retention times was the key factor preventing the accumulation of cyanobacteria in these eutrophic lakes. Therefore, the mean cyanobacteria biomass was significantly lower in the Yangtze-connected lakes (Poyang Lake, 1.01 mg l−1; Dongting Lake, 1.71 mg l−1) than in Taihu Lake at Meiliang Bay (13.54 mg l−1) or the mouth (3.45 mg l−1) (P < 0.0001); however, the biomass more closely resembled Taihu Lake at the center (0.88 mg l−1). As expected, the cyanobacteria biomass was lower in the lakes with hydraulic connections to the Yangtze River compared with those isolated from the Yangtze River. This study revealed that hydrological parameters dominated the accumulation of cyanobacterial blooms in the Yangtze-connected eutrophic lakes in eastern China.

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Acknowledgments

The limnological study of Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake is part of a long-term study supported by Poyang Lake Laboratory for Wetland Ecosystem Research (PLWER). We are grateful to all staff who collected and processed samples for the monitoring program. We also express our sincere thanks to the Taihu Laboratory for Lake Ecosystem Research (TLLER), Chinese Academy of Sciences, which kindly supplied us the monitoring data. This study was financially supported by the projects of National Basic Research Program (Grant 2012CB417006) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 41301088).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Poyang Lake Laboratory for Wetland Ecosystem Research, State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, People’s Republic of China

    Xia Liu, Yun-Liang Li, Bao-Gui Liu, Kui-Mei Qian, Yu-Wei Chen & Jun-Feng Gao

  2. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China

    Bao-Gui Liu

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  1. Xia Liu
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  2. Yun-Liang Li
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Liu, X., Li, YL., Liu, BG. et al. Cyanobacteria in the complex river-connected Poyang Lake: horizontal distribution and transport. Hydrobiologia 768, 95–110 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2536-2

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