Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Advances in Algal Biology: A Commemoration of the Work of Rex Lowe pp 149–165Cite as

Comparing effects of nutrients on algal biomass in streams in two regions with different disturbance regimes and with applications for developing nutrient criteria

  • Chapter

Part of the book series: Developments in Hydrobiology ((DIHY,volume 185))

Abstract

Responses of stream algal biomass to nutrient enrichment were studied in two regions where differences in hydrologic variability cause great differences in herbivory. Around northwestern Kentucky (KY) hydrologic variability constrains invertebrate biomass and their effects on algae, but hydrologic stability in Michigan (MI) streams permits accrual of high herbivore densities and herbivory of benthic algae. Multiple indicators of algal biomass and nutrient availability were measured in 104 streams with repeated sampling at each site over a 2)month period. Many measures of algal biomass and nutrient availability were positively correlated in both regions, however the amount of variation explained varied with measures of biomass and nutrient concentration and with region. Indicators of diatom biomass were higher in KY than MI, but were not related to nutrient concentrations in either region. Chl a and % area of substratum covered by Cladophora were positively correlated to nutrient concentrations in both regions. Cladophora responded significantly more to nutrients in MI than KY. Total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) explained similar amounts of variation in algal biomass, and not significantly more variation in biomass than dissolved nutrient concentrations. Low N:P ratios in the benthic algae indicated N as well as P may be limiting their accrual. Most observed responses in benthic algal biomass occurred in nutrient concentrations between 10 and 30 μg TP 1−1 and between 400 and 1000 μg TN 1−1.

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

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • APHA, 1998. Standard Methods for the Evaluation of Water and Wastewater, 20th edn. American Public Health Association, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, B. J. F., 1995. The contribution of flood disturbance, catchment geology and land use to the habitat template of periphyton in stream ecosystems. Freshwater Biology 33: 419–438.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, B. J. F., 2000. Eutrophication of streams and rivers: dissolved nutrient-chlorophyll relationships for benthic algae. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 19: 17–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, B. J. F., M. J. Duncan, I. G. Jowett, J. M. Quinn, C. W. Hickey, R. J. Davies-Colley & M. E. Close, 1990. Ecological characterisation, classification, and modeling of New Zealand rivers: an introduction and synthesis. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 24: 277–304.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, B. J. F. & H. A. Thomsen, 1995. Disturbance of stream periphyton by perturbations in shear stress: time to structural failure and differences in community resistance. Journal of Phycology 31: 233–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, B. J. F., R. J. Stevenson & R. L. Lowe, 1998. A habitat matrix conceptual model for stream periphyton. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 143: 21–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blum, J. L., 1957. An ecological study of the algae of the Saline River, Michigan. Hydrobiologia 9: 361–408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bothwell, M. L., 1989. Phosphorus-limited growth dynamics of lotic periphytic diatom communities: areal biomass and cellular growth rate responses. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 46: 1293–1301.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourassa, N. & A. Cattaneo, 1998. Control of periphyton biomass in Laurentian streams (Quebec). Journal of the North American Benthological Society 17: 420–429.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burroughs, W. G., 1926. The Geography of the Kentucky Knobs. The Kentucky Geological Survey, Frankfort, Kentucky.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter, S. R., N. F. Caraco, D. L. Correll, R. W. Howarth, A. N. Sharpley & V. H. Smith, 1998. Nonpoint pollution of surface waters with phosphorus and nitrogen. Ecological Applications 8: 559–568.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chetelat, J., F. R. Pick, A. Morin & P. B. Hamilton, 1999. Periphyton biomass and community composition in rivers of different nutrient status. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 56: 560–569.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clausen, B. & B. J. F. Biggs, 1997. Relationships between benthic biota and hydrological indices in New Zealand streams. Freshwater Biology 38: 327–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cobb, D. G., T. D. Galloway & J. F. Flannagan, 1992. Effects of discharge and substrate stability on density and speciescomposition of stream insects. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 49: 1788–1795.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies, S. B. & S. K. Jackson, submitted. The biological condition gradient: a conceptual model for interpreting detrimental change in aquatic ecosystems. Ecological Applications.

    Google Scholar 

  • D’Elia, C. F., J. A. Steudler & N. Corwin, 1977. Determination of total nitrogen in aqueous samples using persulfate digestion. Limnology and Oceanography 22: 760–764.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dodds, W. K., 1991. Micro-environmental characteristics of filamentous algal communities of flowing freshwaters. Freshwater Biology 25: 199–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodds, W. K., 2003. Misuse of inorganic N and soluble reactive P concentrations to indicate nutrient status of surface waters. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 22: 171–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodds, W. K. & D. A. Gudder, 1992. The ecology of Cladophora. Journal of Phycology 28: 415–427.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodds, W. K., J. R. Jones & E. B. Welch, 1998. Suggested criteria for stream trophic state: distributions of temperate stream types by chlorophyll, total nitrogen and phosphorus. Water Research 32: 1455–1462.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dodds, W. K., V. H. Smith & K. Lohman, 2002. Nitrogen and phosphorus relationships to benthic algal biomass in temperate streams. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 59: 865–874.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dudley, T. L., S. D. Cooper & N. Hemphill, 1986. Effects of macroalgae on a stream invertebrate community. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 5: 93–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dudley, T. L. & C. M. D’Antonio, 1991. The effects of substrate texture, grazing, and disturbance on macroalgal establishment in streams. Ecology 72: 297–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feminella, J. W. & C. P. Hawkins, 1995. Interactions between stream herbivores and periphyton: a quantitative analysis of past experiments. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 14: 465–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, S. G., L. J. Gray, N. B. Grimm & D. E. Bush, 1982. Temporal succession in a desert stream ecosystem following flash flooding. Ecological Monographs 52: 93–110.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Francoeur, S. N., 2001. Meta-analysis of lotic nutrient amendment experiments: detecting and quantifying subtle responses. Journal of North American Benthological Society 20: 358–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, N. D., T. A. McMahon & B.L. Finlayson, 1995. Stream Hydrology: An Introduction for Ecologists. John Wiley and Sons, Inc, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, R. M., 1995. Defining acceptable biological status by comparing with reference conditions. In Davis, W. S. & T. P. Simon (eds), Biological Assessment and Criteria: Tools for Water Resource Planning and Decision Making. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, Florida, USA: 31–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, R. M. & D. P. Larsen, 1986. Regional reference sites: a method for assessing stream potentials. J. M. Omernik Environmental Management 10: 629–635.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Humphrey, K. P. & R. J. Stevenson, 1992. Responses of benthic algae to pulses in current and nutrients during simulations of subscouring spates. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 11: 37–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hynes, H. B. N., 1970. The Ecology of Running Waters. University of Toronto Press, Toronto.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, B. K. A., A. P. Jackman & F. J. Triska, 1992. Modeling biotic uptake by periphyton and transient hyporrheic storage of nitrate in a natural stream. Water Resources Research 28: 2743–2752.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kohler, S. L. & M. J. Wiley, 1997. Pathogen outbreaks reveal large-scale effects of competition in stream communities. Ecology 87: 2164–2176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamberti, G. & V. H. Resh, 1983. Stream periphyton and insect herbivores: an experimental study of grazing by a caddisfly population. Ecology 64(5): 1124–1135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGrain, P., 1983. The Geologic Story of Kentucky. Kentucky Geological Survey. University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, J. L., W. H. McDowell, T. L. Bott, J. W. Elwood, C. Ishizaki, J. M. Melack, B. L. Peckarsky, B. J. Peterson & P. A. Rublee, 1988. Elemental dynamics in streams. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 7: 410–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muradian, R., 2001. Ecological thresholds: a survey. Ecological Economics 38: 7–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poff, N. L. & J. V. Ward, 1989. Implications of streamflow variability and predictability for lotic community structure: a regional analysis of streamflow patterns. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 46: 1805–1818.

    Google Scholar 

  • Power, M. E. & A. J. Stewart, 1987. Disturbance and recovery of an algal assemblage following flooding in an Oklahoma stream. American Midland Naturalist 117: 333–345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rier, S. T. & R. J. Stevenson, 2006. Response of periphytic algae to gradients in nitrogen and phosphorus in streamside mesocosms. Hydrobiologia 561: 131–147.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Riseng, C. M., M. J. Wiley & R. J. Stevenson, 2004. Hydrologic disturbance and nutrient effects on the structure of benthic communities in Midwestern streams: a covariance structure analysis. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 23: 309–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, V. H., G. D. Tilman & J. C. Nekola, 1999. Eutrophication: impacts of excess nutrient inputs on freshwater, marine, and terrestrial ecosystems. Environmental pollution 100: 179–196.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, E. B., C. T. Robinson, G. W. Minshall & S. R. Rushforth, 2002. Regional patterns in periphyton accrual and diatom assemblage structure in a heterogeneous nutrient landscape. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science 59: 564–577.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stelzer, R. S. & G. A. Lamberti, 2001. Effects of N:P ratio and total nutrient concentration on stream periphyton community structure, biomass, and elemental composition. Limnology and Oceanography 46: 356–367

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, R. J., 1997a. Resource thresholds and stream ecosystem sustainability. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 16: 410–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, R. J., 1997b. Scale-dependent determinants and consequences of benthic algal heterogeneity. Journal of North American Benthological Society 16: 248–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, R. J., C. G. Peterson, D. B. Kirschtel, C. C. King & N. C. Tuchman, 1991. Density-dependent growth, ecological strategies, and effects of nutrients and shading on benthic diatom succession in streams. Journal of Phycology 27: 59–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, R. J. & R. Glover, 1993. Effects of algal density and current on ion transport through periphyton communities. Limnology & Oceanography 38: 1276–1281.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, R. J., Y. Pan & P. Vaithiyanathan, 2002. Ecological assessment and indicator development in wetlands: the case of algae in the Everglades, USA. Verhandlungen Internationale Vereinigung für Theoretische und Andgewandte Limnologie 28: 1248–1252.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, R. J., J. Alba-Tercedor, B. Bailey, M. Barbour, C. Couch, S. Dyer, F. Fulk, J. Harrington, M. Harass, C. J. Hawkins, C. Hunsaker, R. Johnson & K. Thornton. in press. Interpreting results of ecological assessments. In Barbour, M., K. Thornton, R. Preston & S. Norton (eds), Ecological Assessment of Aquatic Resources: Linking Science to Decision-Making. Society of Environmental Toxicology and Contamination Publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strahler, A. N., 1952. Hyposometric (area-altitude) analysis of erosional topography. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 63: 1117–1142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • USEPA, 1999. Nutrient Criteria Technical Guidance Manual: Rivers and Streams. EPA-822-D-99-003. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Y. K., R. J. Stevenson & L. Metzmeier, 2005. Development and evaluation of a diatom-based index of biotic integrity for the Interior Plateau Ecoregion. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 24: 990–1008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiley, M. J., S. L. Kohler & P. W. Seelbach, 1997. Reconciling landscape and local views of aquatic communities: lessons from Michigan trout streams. Freshwater Biology 37: 133–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson, L., 1990. SYSTAT: The System for Statistics. SYSTAT, Inc, Evanston, IL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wootton, J. T., M. S. Parker & M. E. Power, 1996. Effects of disturbance on river food webs. Science 273: 1558–1561.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zar, J. H., 1974. Biostatistical Analysis. Prentice-Hall, Inc, Edgewood Cliffs, NJ. 167–177

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    R. Jan Stevenson

  2. Department of Biological & Allied Health Sciences, Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, PA, 17815, USA

    Steven T. Rier

  3. School of Natural Resources and the Environment, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Catherine M. Riseng & Michael J. Wiley

  4. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, 40292, USA

    Richard E. Schultz

Authors
  1. R. Jan Stevenson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Steven T. Rier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Catherine M. Riseng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Richard E. Schultz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Michael J. Wiley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA

    R. Jan Stevenson

  2. Environmental Science and Resources, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, 97207, USA

    Yangdong Pan

  3. California Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, 94118, USA

    J. Patrick Kociolek

  4. Natural Resources Research Institute, 1900 E. Camp St., Ely, Minnesota, 55731, USA

    John C. Kingston

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2006 Springer

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Stevenson, R.J., Rier, S.T., Riseng, C.M., Schultz, R.E., Wiley, M.J. (2006). Comparing effects of nutrients on algal biomass in streams in two regions with different disturbance regimes and with applications for developing nutrient criteria. In: Stevenson, R.J., Pan, Y., Kociolek, J.P., Kingston, J.C. (eds) Advances in Algal Biology: A Commemoration of the Work of Rex Lowe. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 185. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-5070-4_11

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation