Water column contributions to the metabolism and nutrient dynamics of mid-sized rivers

Reisinger, Alexander J.; Tank, Jennifer L.; Hall, Robert O.; Rosi, Emma J.; Baker, Michelle A.; Genzoli, Laurel

doi:10.1007/s10533-021-00768-w

Published: 03 March 2021

Water column contributions to the metabolism and nutrient dynamics of mid-sized rivers

Alexander J. Reisinger ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4096-2637¹,
Jennifer L. Tank²,
Robert O. Hall^3,4,
Emma J. Rosi⁵,
Michelle A. Baker⁶ &
Laurel Genzoli^4,7

Biogeochemistry volume 153, pages 67–84 (2021)Cite this article

679 Accesses
2 Citations
14 Altmetric
Metrics details

Abstract

Lotic and lentic ecosystems are traditionally viewed as dominated by either benthic or water column processes. However, mid-sized rivers represent a transition zone where both benthic and water column processes may both contribute substantially to ecosystem dynamics. Ecosystem processes such as gross primary production (GPP), ecosystem respiration (ER), or nutrient uptake, and the relative contribution of the water column to these processes at the reach scale, are poorly understood in non-wadeable, mid-sized rivers. To clarify the role of the water column at the reach-scale, and to quantify controls on water column processes, we measured GPP, ER, and uptake of nitrate (NO₃⁻), ammonium (NH₄⁺), and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) in the water columns of 15 mid-sized rivers (discharge: 13.5–83.3 m³ s⁻¹) spanning nutrient and total suspended solids gradients. We compared water column metabolic and nutrient uptake rates to reach-scale rates to estimate the contribution of the water column to the entire river. Water column metabolism was autotrophic on the day when measured, GPP increased with nutrient availability, and the water column contributed more to whole river GPP than to ER. Water column nutrient uptake increased with GPP across solutes, and there was a positive relationship between human land use and water column uptake of NO₃⁻–N and SRP. The water column accounted for a substantial proportion of reach-scale metabolism and nutrient uptake, but this contribution depended on suspended material and nutrient availability. Integrating the water column into theory describing lotic ecosystem function should clarify mechanisms controlling metabolism and nutrient processing and enhance management of non-wadeable rivers.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Data availability

Data will be made publicly available through the UF Institutional Repository (IR@UF; https://ufdc.ufl.edu/ufir) upon acceptance of the manuscript.

Code availability

All analyses were carried out using established R packages and are referenced in the manuscript. Code used to analyze data and create figures will be made publicly available through the UF Institutional Repository (IR@UF; https://ufdc.ufl.edu/ufir) upon acceptance of the manuscript.

References

Aho K, Derryberry D, Peterson T (2014) Model selection for ecologists: the worldviews of AIC and BIC. Ecology 95:631–636
Article Google Scholar
Alexander RB, Smith RA, Schwarz GE (2000) Effect of stream channel size on the delivery of nitrogen to the Gulf of Mexico. Nature 403:758–761
Article Google Scholar
Alexander RB, Boyer EW, Smith RA et al (2007) The role of headwater streams in downstream water quality. J Am Water Resour Assoc 43:41–59. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.2007.00005.x
Article Google Scholar
APHA (2005) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 25th edn. American Public Health Association, Washington, D.C.
Google Scholar
Arango CP, Tank JL (2008) Land use influences the spatiotemporal controls on nitrification and denitrification in headwater streams. J N Am Benthol Soc 27:90–107. https://doi.org/10.1899/07-024.1
Article Google Scholar
Bernhardt ES, Heffernan JB, Grimm NB et al (2018) The metabolic regimes of flowing waters. Limnol Oceanogr. https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10726
Article Google Scholar
Beusen AHW, Bouwman AF, Van Beek LPH et al (2016) Global riverine N and P transport to ocean increased during the 20th century despite increased retention along the aquatic continuum. Biogeosciences 13:2441–2451. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-2441-2016
Article Google Scholar
Burnham KP, Anderson D (2002) Model selection and multi-model inference. Springer, New York
Google Scholar
Caraco NF, Cole JJ, Strayer DL (2006) Top-down control from the bottom: regulation of eutrophication in a large river by benthic grazing. Limnol Oceanogr 51:664–670
Article Google Scholar
Dollison RM (2010) The national map: new viewer, services, and data download: U.S. geological survey fact sheet 2010–3055
Epstein DM, Wurtsbaugh WA, Baker MA (2012) Nitrogen partitioning and transport through a subalpine lake measured with an isotope tracer. Limnol Oceanogr 57:1503–1516. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2012.57.5.1503
Article Google Scholar
Esser G, Kattge J, Sakalli A (2011) Feedback of carbon and nitrogen cycles enhances carbon sequestration in the terrestrial biosphere. Glob Change Biol 17:819–842. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2010.02261.x
Article Google Scholar
Fox J, Weisberg S (2019) An R companion to applied regression, 3rd edn. Sage, Thousand Oaks
Google Scholar
Gardner JR, Doyle MW (2018) Sediment-water surface area along rivers: water column versus benthic. Ecosystems 21:1505–1520. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-018-0236-2
Article Google Scholar
Genzoli L, Hall RO (2016) Shifts in Klamath River metabolism following a reservoir cyanobacterial bloom. Freshw Sci 35:795–809. https://doi.org/10.1086/687752
Article Google Scholar
Hall RO, Tank JL (2003) Ecosystem metabolism controls nitrogen uptake in streams in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. Limnol Oceanogr 48:1120–1128
Article Google Scholar
Hall RO, Tank JL, Sobota DJ et al (2009) Nitrate removal in stream ecosystems measured by ¹⁵N addition experiments: total uptake. Limnol Oceanogr 54:653–665
Article Google Scholar
Hall RO, Baker MA, Rosi-Marshall EJ et al (2013) Solute-specific scaling of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus uptake in streams. Biogeosciences 10:7323–7331. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-7323-2013
Article Google Scholar
Hall RO, Tank JL, Baker MA et al (2016) Metabolism, gas exchange, and carbon spiraling in rivers. Ecosystems 19:73–86. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-015-9918-1
Article Google Scholar
Hoellein TJ, Bruesewitz DA, Richardson DC (2013) Revisiting Odum (1956): a synthesis of aquatic ecosystem metabolism. Limnol Oceanogr 58:2089–2100. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2013.58.6.2089
Article Google Scholar
Hotchkiss ER, Hall RO Jr, Sponseller RA et al (2015) Sources of and processes controlling CO₂ emissions change with the size of streams and rivers. Nat Geosci 8:696–699. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2507
Article Google Scholar
Lewis WM Jr (1988) Primary production in the Orinoco River. Ecology 69:679–692
Article Google Scholar
Lindeman RL (1942) The trophic-dynamic aspect of ecology. Ecology 23:399–417
Article Google Scholar
Liu T, Xia X, Liu S et al (2013) Acceleration of denitrification in turbid rivers due to denitrification occurring on suspended sediment in oxic waters. Environ Sci Technol 47:4053–4061
Article Google Scholar
Moore JK, Doney SC, Lindsay K (2004) Upper ocean ecosystem dynamics and iron cycling in a global three-dimensional model. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 18:GB4028. https://doi.org/10.1029/2004GB002220
Article Google Scholar
Mulholland PJ, Helton AM, Poole GC et al (2008) Stream denitrification across biomes and its response to anthropogenic nitrate loading. Nature 452:202–205. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06686
Article Google Scholar
Murphy J, Riley JP (1962) A modified single solution method for the determination of phosphate in natural waters. Anal Chim Acta 27:31–36
Article Google Scholar
Newbold JD, Elwood JW, O’Neill RV, van Winkle W (1981) Measuring nutrient spiralling in streams. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 38:860–863
Article Google Scholar
Ochs CA, Pongruktham O, Zimba PV (2013) Darkness at the break of noon: phytoplankton production in the lower Mississippi river. Limnol Oceanogr 58:555–568. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2013.58.2.0555
Article Google Scholar
Odum HT (1956) Primary production in flowing waters. Limnol Oceanogr 1:102–117
Article Google Scholar
Peterson BJ, Wollheim WM, Mulholland PJ et al (2001) Control of nitrogen export from watersheds by headwater streams. Science 292:86–90
Article Google Scholar
Raymond PA, Hartmann J, Lauerwald R et al (2013) Global carbon dioxide emissions from inland waters. Nature 503:355–359. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12760
Article Google Scholar
Reisinger AJ, Tank JL, Hoellein TJ, Hall RO (2016) Sediment, water column, and open-channel denitrification in rivers measured using membrane-inlet mass spectrometry. J Geophys Res Biogeosci 121:1258–1274. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JG003261
Article Google Scholar
Reisinger AJ, Tank JL, Rosi-Marshall EJ et al (2015) The varying role of water column nutrient uptake along river continua in contrasting landscapes. Biogeochemistry 125:115–131. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-015-0118-z
Article Google Scholar
Richey JE, Hedges JI, Devol AH et al (1990) Biogeochemistry of carbon in the Amazon River. Limnol Oceanogr 35:352–371
Article Google Scholar
Solorzano L (1969) Determination of ammonia in natural waters by the phenolhypochlorite method. Limnol Oceanogr 14:799–801
Article Google Scholar
Tank JL, Martí E, Riis T et al (2018) Partitioning assimilatory nitrogen uptake in streams: an analysis of stable isotope tracer additions across continents. Ecol Monogr 88:120–138. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1280
Article Google Scholar
Tank JL, Rosi-Marshall EJ, Baker MA, Hall RO (2008) Are rivers just big streams? A pulse method to quantify nitrogen demand in a large river. Ecology 89:2935–2945. https://doi.org/10.1890/07-1315.1
Article Google Scholar
Thorp JH, Delong MD (1994) The riverine productivity model: an heuristic view of carbon sources and organic processing in large river ecosystems. Oikos 70:305–308
Article Google Scholar
Vadeboncoeur Y, Lodge DM, Carpenter SR (2001) Whole-lake fertilization effects on distribution of primary production between benthic and pelagic habitats. Ecology 82:1065–1077
Article Google Scholar
Vadeboncoeur Y, Vander Zanden MJ, Lodge DM (2002) Putting the lake back together: Reintegrating benthic pathways into lake food web models. Bioscience 52:44. https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2002)052[0044:PTLBTR]2.0.CO;2
Article Google Scholar
Vander Zanden MJ, Chandra S, Park S et al (2006) Efficiencies of benthic and pelagic trophic pathways in a subalpine lake. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 63:2608–2620. https://doi.org/10.1139/F06-148
Article Google Scholar
Vannote RL, Minshall GW, Cummins KW et al (1980) The river continuum concept. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 37:130–137
Article Google Scholar
Warton DI, Hui FKC (2011) The arcsine is asinine: the analysis of proportions in ecology. Ecology 92:3–10
Article Google Scholar
Wetzel RG, Likens GE (2001) Composition and biomass of phytoplankton. In: Wetzel RG, Likens GE (eds) Limnological analyses, vol 3. Springer, New York, pp 139–163
Google Scholar
Wohl E, Hall RO, Lininger KB et al (2017) Carbon dynamics of river corridors and the effects of human alterations. Ecol Monogr 87:379–409. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1261
Article Google Scholar
Wollheim WM, Vörösmarty CJ, Bouwman AF et al (2008) Global N removal by freshwater aquatic systems using a spatially distributed, within-basin approach. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 22:1–14. https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GB002963
Article Google Scholar
Ye S, Covino TP, Sivapalan M et al (2012) Dissolved nutrient retention dynamics in river networks: a modeling investigation of transient flows and scale effects. Water Resour Res 48:W00J17. https://doi.org/10.1029/2011WR010508
Article Google Scholar
Ye S, Reisinger AJ, Tank JL et al (2017) Scaling dissolved nutrient removal in river networks: a comparative modeling investigation. Water Resour Res 53:9623–9641. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017WR020858
Article Google Scholar

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank all of the field and lab support who helped with field work for the water column and reach-scale metabolism and nutrient uptake components of this study: N. Anderson, M. Dee, S. Gregory, B. Hanrahan, E. Hotchkiss, C. Johnson, D. Kincaid, U. Mahl, D. Oviedo, J. Reed, T. Royer, C. Ruiz, A. Saville, M. Schroer, A. Shogren, E. Taylor-Salmon, and Z. Volenec. This manuscript was improved by reviews from J. Gardner and an anonymous reviewer. Most of this work was funded by a collaborative grant from NSF Ecosystems, (DEB-09-22118, 09-21598, 09-22153, and 10-7807) and the return trip to measure water column metabolism in 2013 was funded by a grant awarded to JLT and AJR from the University of Wyoming-National Parks Service Research Station.

Funding

This research was funded by a collaborative grant from NSF-Ecosystems (DEB-09-22118, 09-21598, 09-22153, and 10-7807). The return trip in 2013 to measure water column metabolism was funded by a grant awarded to JLT and AJR from the University of Wyoming-National Parks Services Research Station.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Soil and Water Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32606, USA
Alexander J. Reisinger
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
Jennifer L. Tank
Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, 82071, USA
Robert O. Hall
Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana, Polson, MT, 59860, USA
Robert O. Hall & Laurel Genzoli
Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, 12545, USA
Emma J. Rosi
Department of Biology and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT, 84322, USA
Michelle A. Baker
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 59812, USA
Laurel Genzoli

Authors

Alexander J. Reisinger
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Jennifer L. Tank
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Robert O. Hall
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Emma J. Rosi
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Michelle A. Baker
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Laurel Genzoli
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Conceptualization: AJR, JLT, ROH, EJR, MAB, LG; Data curation: AJR; Formal analysis: AJR; Funding acquisition: AJR, JLT, ROH, EJR, MAB; Investigation: AJR, LG; Methodology: AJR, JLT, ROH, EJR, MAB, LG; Project administration: AJR, JLT; Resources: JLT, ROH, EJR, MAB; Software: AJR, ROH, LG; Supervision: JLT, ROH, EJR, MAB; Validation: AJR; Visualization: AJR, JLT, ROH, EJR, MAB, LG; Writing original draft: AJR; Writing-reviewing and editing: AJR, JLT, ROH, EJR, MAG, LG.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexander J. Reisinger.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Amy M. Marcarelli.

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Electronic supplementary material 1 (DOCX 189 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Reisinger, A.J., Tank, J.L., Hall, R.O. et al. Water column contributions to the metabolism and nutrient dynamics of mid-sized rivers. Biogeochemistry 153, 67–84 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-021-00768-w

Download citation

Received: 23 October 2020
Accepted: 12 February 2021
Published: 03 March 2021
Issue Date: March 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-021-00768-w

Keywords

River
Water column
Gross primary production
Ecosystem respiration
Metabolism
Nutrient uptake