Abstract
The relative importance of potential carbon sources in the littoral of Lake Gooimeer, a lake in the centre of the Netherlands, was studied using a combination of 13C/12C-ratio analysis and carbohydrate composition analysis. The littoral is covered on the land side by a 80 m wide Phragmites australis bed. Potential carbon sources were macrophyte litter, seston and benthic algae. Samples of potential carbon sources, sediments and benthic macrofauna from inside and outside the bed were analyzed for their13C/12C-ratio and some for their carbohydrate composition. Results indicate that inside the bed, macrophyte litter was the main source of carbon for both the sediment organic matter and the benthic macrofauna, and that algal material was of minor importance. Outside the bed, production by benthic algae was the main carbon source, with seston as a second source. No macrophyte derived material could be detected outside the reed bed.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- DOC:
-
(Dissolved Organic Carbon)
- SOM:
-
(Sediment Organic Matter)
References
Benner R, Fogel ML, Sprague EK & Hodson RE (1987) Depletion of 13C in lignin and its implication for stable carbon isotope studies. Nature 329: 708–710
Brown MR (1991) The amino-acid and sugar composition of 16 species of microalgae used in mariculture. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 145: 79–99
Cowie GL & Hedges JI (1984a) Carbohydrate sources in a coastal marine environment. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 48: 2075–2087
Cowie GL & Hedges JI (1984b) Determination of neutral sugars in plankton, sediments, and wood by capillary gas chromatography of equilibrated isomeric mixtures. Anal. Chem. 56: 497–504
De Haan H, Boschker HTS, Buis K & Cappenberg TE (1993) Functioning of land-water ecotones in relation to nutrient cycling. Hydrobiologia 251: 27–32
Estep MLF & Vigg S (1985) Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope tracers of trophic dynamics in natural populations and fisheries of the Lahontan Lake system, Nevada. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 42: 1712–1719
Fry B & Sherr EB (1984) δ13C measurements as indicators of carbon flow in marine and freshwater ecosystems. Contrib. Mar. Sci. 27: 13–47
Gearing JN (1991) The study of diet and trophic relationships through natural abundance13C. In: Coleman DC & Fry B (Eds) Carbon Isotope Techniques (pp 201–218). Academic Press, New York
Haginaka J, Nishimura Y, Wakai J, Yasuda H, Koizumi K & Nomura T (1989) Determination of cyclodextrins and branched cyclodextrins by reversed-phase chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection and a membrane reactor. Anal. Biochem. 179: 336–340
Haug A & Myklestad S (1976) Polysaccharides of marine diatoms with special reference to Chaetoceros species. Mar. Biol. 34: 217–222
Hedges JI & Parker PL (1976) Land-derived organic matter in surface sediments from the Gulf of Mexico. Geochim. Cosmochim Acta 40: 1019–1029
LaCourse WR & Johnson DC (1991) Optimalization waveforms for pulsed amperometric detection (p.a.d.) of carbohydrates following separation by liquid chromatography. Carbohydr. Res. 215: 159–178
LaZerte BD (1983) Stable carbon isotope ratios: implications for the source of sediment carbon and for phytoplankton carbon assimilation in Lake Memphremagog, Quebec. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 40: 1658–1666
Moers MEC, Baas M, de Leeuw JW, Boon JJ & Schenck PA (1990) Occurrence and origin of carbohydrates in peat samples from a red mangrove environment as reflected by abundances of neutral monosaccharides. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 54: 2463–2472
Peterson BJ & Fry B (1987) Stable isotopes in ecosystem studies. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 18: 293–320
Perterson BJ, Howarth RW & Garritt RH (1985) Multiple stable isotopes used to trace the flow of organic matter in estuarine food webs. Science 227: 1361–1363
Rau GH (1980) Carbon-13/carbon-12 variation in subalpine lake aquatic insects: food source implications. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 37: 742–746
Rodewald-Rudescu L (1974) Das Schilfrohr, Phragmites communis Trin. Die Binnengewässer Band XXVII, E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart
Roos PJ & Meulemans JT (1987) Underwater light regime in a reed stand — short-term, daily and seasonal. Arch. Hydrobiol. 111: 161–169
Schreurs W (1978) An automated colorimetric method for the determination of dissolved organic carbon in sea water by U.V. destruction. Hydrobiol. Bull. 12: 137–142
Siller M (1979) Origin of sedimentation components in Lake Kinneret traced by their isotopic composition. In: Golteman HL (Ed) Interactions between Sediments and Freshwater (pp 57–63). Proceedings of an international symposium held at Amsterdam
Sullivan M.J. & Moncreiff CA (1990) Edaphic algae are an important component of salt marsh food-webs: evidence from multiple stable isotope analyses. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 62: 149–159
Takahashi K, Yoshioka T, Wada E & Sakamoto M (1990) Temporal variations in carbon isotope ratio of phytoplankton in a eutrophic lake. J. Plankton Res. 12: 799–808
Vaidya BS & Mehta V (1989) Carbohydrates in some blue green algae. Phykos 28: 89–100
Wetzel RG (1992) Gradient-dominated ecosystems: sources and regulatory functions of dissolved organic matter in freshwater ecosystems. Hydrobiologia 229: 181–198
Wilson JO, Valiela I & Swain T (1986) Carbohydrate dynamics during decay of litter of Spartina alterniflora. Mar. Biol. 92: 277–284
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Boschker, H.T.S., Dekkers, E.M.J., Pel, R. et al. Sources of organic carbon in the littoral of Lake Gooimeer as indicated by stable carbon isotope and carbohydrate compositions. Biogeochemistry 29, 89–105 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00002596
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00002596