Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of phytoplankton on the distribution of submerged macrophytes in a small canal

  • Special Feature - Technical Note
  • Physico-chemical properties of aquatic habitat from the point of view of ecology and civil engineering
  • Published:
Landscape and Ecological Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Submerged macrophytes have been disappearing from the Kanto Plain, Japan since the 1960s. This disappearance is usually attributable to the interaction between macrophytes and phytoplankton. Phytoplankton contributes to shading of the available light and changes the availability of inorganic carbon from free CO2 to HCO −3 for use in photosynthesis. However, limited information is available about the interaction between carbon fraction and submerged macrophytes through phytoplankton abundance. In this short note, we observe the distribution of submerged macrophytes and phytoplankton in a small canal. We found that, despite high photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) in the downstream region, low free CO2 concentration through phytoplankton abundance can deplete free CO2 for submerged macrophytes. In contrast, the upstream region exhibited macrophytes in an environment with high free CO2 concentration. The stable carbon isotope ratio of submerged macrophytes follows this pattern, with more positive values occurring in the downstream region and more negative values in the upstream region. It has been reported that phytoplankton limits light availability for submerged macrophytes, but carbon availability could also be a factor in the distribution of submerged macrophytes. Because the source of water for submerged macrophytes is groundwater, its preservation possibly plays a key role for the restoration of submerged macrophytes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

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

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

References

  • Csanady G (1973) Turbulent diffusion in the environment, Springer

  • Hamabata E, Kobayashi Y (2002) Present status of submerged macrophyte growth in Lake Biwa: recent recovery following a summer decline in the water level. Lakes Reserv Res Manag 7:331–338

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hiratsuka JI, Yamamuro M, Ishitobi Y (2007) Long-term change in water transparency before and after the loss of eelgrass beds in an estuarine lagoon, Lake Nakaumi, Japan. Limnology 8:53–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horppila J, Nurminen L (2003) Effects of submerged macrophytes on sediment resuspension and internal phosphorus loading in Lake Hiidenvesi (southern Finland). Water Res 37:4468–4474

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hutchinson G (1975) A treatise on limnology: limnological botany. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Inomata Y, Igarashi Y, Chiba M, Shinoda Y, Takahashi H (2009) Dry and wet deposition of water-insoluble dust and water-soluble chemical species during spring 2007 in Tsukuba, Japan. Atmos Environ 43:4503–4512

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • James W, Barko J, Butler M (2004) Shear stress and sediment resuspension in relation to submersed macrophyte biomass. Hydrobiologia 515:181–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kadono Y (1980) Photosynthetic carbon-sources in some Potamogeton species. Bot Mag Tokyo 93:185–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keeley JE, Sandquist DR (1992) Carbon—fresh-water plants. Plant Cell Environ 15:1021–1035

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kunii H (1982) Life cycle and growth of Potamogeton crispus L. in a shallow pond, ojaga-ike. J Plant Res 95:109–124

    Google Scholar 

  • Maberly S, Madsen T (2002) Freshwater angiosperm carbon concentrating mechanisms: processes and patterns. Funct Plant Biol 29:393–405

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Madsen TV, Cedergreen N (2002) Sources of nutrients to rooted submerged macrophytes growing in a nutrient-rich stream. Freshwater Biol 47:283–291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Madsen TV, Maberly SC (1991) Diurnal variation in light and carbon limitation of photosynthesis by two species of submerged freshwater macrophyte with a differential ability to use bicarbonate. Freshwater Biol 26:175–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy J, Riley JP (1962) A modified single solution method for determination of phosphate in natural waters. Analyt Chim Acta 26:31–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nichols SA, Shaw BH (1986) Ecological life histories of the 3 aquatic nuisance plants, Myriophyllum spicatum, Potamogeton crispus and Elodea-canadensis. Hydrobiologia 131:3–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pagano A, Titus J (2004) Submersed macrophyte growth at low pH: contrasting responses of three species to dissolved inorganic carbon enrichment and sediment type. Aquat Bot 79:65–74

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pedersen O, Colmer TD, Sand-Jensen K (2013) Underwater photosynthesis of submerged plants–recent advances and methods. Frontiers Plant Sci 4:2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sand-Jensen K (1983) Photosynthetic carbon-sources of stream macrophytes. J Exp Bot 34:198–210

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sastroutomo SS (1981) Turion formation, dormancy and germination of curly pondweed, Potamogeton crispus L. Aquat Bot 10:161–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shinohara R, Isobe M (2010) Daily change in wind-induced sediment resuspension and phosphorus forms in a shallow eutrophic lake. Fundam Appl Limnol/Archiv Fur Hydrobiol 176:161–171

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shinohara R, Isobe M (2012) Effects of temperature-induced sea breezes on phosphorus dynamics in a shallow eutrophic lake. Mar Freshwater Res 63:119–127

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shinohara R, Imai A, Kawasaki N, Komatsu K, Kohzu A, Miura S, Sano T, Satou T, Tomioka N (2012) Biogenic phosphorus compounds in sediment and suspended particles in a shallow eutrophic lake: a 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance (31P NMR) study. Environ Sci Tech 46:10572–10578

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stansfield JH, Perrow MR, Tench LD, Jowitt AJD, Taylor AAL (1997) Submerged macrophytes as refuges for grazing Cladocera against fish predation: observations on seasonal changes in relation to macrophyte cover and predation pressure. Hydrobiologia 342:229–240

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stumm W, Morgan J, Drever J (1996) Aquatic chemistry. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Titus JE, Stone WH (1982) Photosynthetic response of two submersed macrophytes to dissolved inorganic carbon concentration and pH. Limnol Oceanogr 27:151–160

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tobiessen P, Snow PD (1984) Temperature and light effects on the growth of Potamogeton-crispus in Collins Lake, New-York State. Can J Bot 62:2822–2826

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vadstrup M, Madsen TOMV (1995) Growth limitation of submerged aquatic macrophytes by inorganic carbon. Freshwat Biol 34:411–419

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wetzel R (1983) Limnology, 2nd edn. Saunders, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamamuro M, Hiratsuka J, Ishitobi Y, Hosokawa S, Nakamura Y (2006) Ecosystem shift resulting from loss of eelgrass and other submerged aquatic vegetation in two estuarine lagoons, Lake Nakaumi and Lake Shinji, Japan. J Oceanogr 62:551–558

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr. Tabayashi and Mr. Kotagiri for their assistance with the analysis. We also thank Professor Yamamuro of the University of Tokyo for her helpful discussions. The corresponding author is a research fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Ryuichiro Shinohara

    Present address: National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Kashiwanoha, 277-8563, Japan

    Ryuichiro Shinohara & Masahiko Isobe

  2. Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-okubo, Sakura, Saitama, 338-8570, Japan

    Takashi Asaeda

Authors
  1. Ryuichiro Shinohara
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Takashi Asaeda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Masahiko Isobe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ryuichiro Shinohara.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Shinohara, R., Asaeda, T. & Isobe, M. Effects of phytoplankton on the distribution of submerged macrophytes in a small canal. Landscape Ecol Eng 10, 115–121 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11355-013-0227-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11355-013-0227-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation