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Effect of trans-reservoir water supply on carbon and nitrogen stable isotope composition in hydrologically connected reservoirs in China

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Abstract

Dajingshan, Fenghuangshan and Meixi reservoirs are located in Zhuhai, a coastal city in southern China, and they function to supply drinking water to Zhuhai and Macau. For effectively supplying waster, they are hydrologically connected and Dajingshan Reservoir first receives the water pumped from the river at Guangchang Pumping Station, and then feeds Fenghuangshan Reservoir, and the two well-connected reservoirs are mesotrophic. Meixi Reservoir is a small and oligotrophic water body and feeds Dajingshan Reservoir only in wet seasons when overflow occurs. Particulate organic matter (POM) was collected from three hydrologically connected water supply reservoirs, and seasonal variations of POM were ascertained from stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in wet and dry seasons, and the effects of pumping water and reservoir connectivity on POM variations and composition were demonstrated by the relationships of the stable isotope ratios of POM. Seasonality and similarity of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes of POM varied with hydrodynamics, connectivity and trophic states of the four studied water bodies. The two well-connected reservoirs displayed more similar seasonality for δ13CPOM than those between the river station and the two reservoirs. However, the opposite seasonality appeared for δ15NPOM between the above waters and indicates different processes affecting the stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes of POM. δ13CPOM and δ15NPOM changed little between wet and dry seasons in Meixi Reservoir-a low productive and rain-driven system, suggesting little POM response to environmental changes in that water system. As expected, connectivity enhanced the similarity of the stable isotope ratios of POM between the water bodies.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Henri Dumont from Gent University in Belgium for his reading and comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Institute of Hydrobiology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China

    Huajun Zhang  (张华俊), Liang Peng  (彭亮) & Bo-Ping Han  (韩博平)

  2. Soil and Water Science Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Binhe Gu  (古滨河)

Authors
  1. Huajun Zhang  (张华俊)
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  2. Liang Peng  (彭亮)
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  3. Binhe Gu  (古滨河)
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  4. Bo-Ping Han  (韩博平)
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bo-Ping Han  (韩博平).

Additional information

Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31170436) and the Science and Technology Project of Guangdong Province (No. 2013B080500022)

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Zhang, H., Peng, L., Gu, B. et al. Effect of trans-reservoir water supply on carbon and nitrogen stable isotope composition in hydrologically connected reservoirs in China. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 35, 1117–1126 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-017-5327-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-017-5327-y

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