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Dynamics of dissolved oxygen isotopic ratios: a transient model to quantify primary production, community respiration, and air–water exchange in aquatic ecosystems

  • Ecosystem Ecology
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Abstract

Dissolved O2 is an important aquatic ecosystem health indicator. Metabolic and gas exchange (G) rates, which control O2 concentration, are affected by nutrient loading and other environmental factors. Traditionally, aquatic metabolism has been reported as primary production:community respiration (P:R) ratios using diel measurements and interpretations of dissolved O2 and/or CO2 concentrations, and recently using stable isotopes (δ18O, Δ17O) and steady state assumptions. Aquatic ecosystems, such as rivers and ponds, are not at steady state and exhibit diel changes, so steady state approaches are often inappropriate. A dynamic O2 stable isotope model (photosynthesis–respiration–gas exchange; PoRGy) is presented here, requiring a minimum of parameters to quantify daily averaged P, R, and G rates under transient field conditions. Unlike steady state approaches, PoRGy can address scenarios with 100% O2 saturation but with δ18O-O2 values that are not at air equilibrium. PoRGy successfully accounts for isotopic G when applied to an oxygen isotope equilibration laboratory experiment. PoRGy model results closely matched the diel O2 and δ18O-O2 data from three field sites with different P:R:G ratios and various P, R and G rates. PoRGy provides a new research tool to assess ecosystem health and to pose environmental impact-driven questions. Using daily averaged rates was successful and thus they can be used to compare ecosystems across seasons and landscapes.

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Notes

  1. The 18O:16O ratio of O2 is measured and reported as the parts per thousand deviation from Vienna standard mean ocean water (VSMOW): \( \delta = {\left( {\frac{{R_{{\rm sample}} }} {{R_{{\rm VSMOW}} }} - 1} \right)}\) where R is the 18O:16O ratio. Isotope fractionation factors for different processes are denoted as α values: \( \alpha = \frac{{R_{\rm b} }} {{R_{\rm a} }} \) where R is the 18O:16O ratio of the reactant (a) and product (b).

  2. In recent publications, atmospheric δ18O-O2 is reported to have a value of +23.8 ± 0.3‰ versus VSMOW (Coplen et al. 2001), whereas others forgo conventional VSMOW-SLAP standardisation procedures and report dissolved O2 results as ‰ deviations from local air O2 (Luz et al. 1999).

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Strategic grant (S. L. S. and L. I. W.), Environment Canada (L. I. W.), the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences (CFCAS) (S. L. S.), an Ontario Graduate Scholarship (J. J. V.), and Environment Canada’s Science Horizons Youth Internship Program (S. L. S.). Analytical development at the University of Waterloo was funded by an NSERC Discovery grant (S. L. S.), CFCAS (S. L. S.), and the Centre for Research in Earth and Space Technology (S. L. S.). Andrea Wojtyniak, Kevin Maurice, and Matthijs Vlaar provided field assistance. Richard Elgood, Geoff Koehler, and Daryl Halliwell provided additional field and laboratory assistance. FLUDEX was funded by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Manitoba Hydro, and Hydro-Québec.

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  1. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue W, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada

    Jason J. Venkiteswaran & Sherry L. Schiff

  2. Environment Canada, 11 Innovation Boulevard, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 3H5, Canada

    Leonard I. Wassenaar

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  1. Jason J. Venkiteswaran
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Correspondence to Jason J. Venkiteswaran.

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Venkiteswaran, J.J., Wassenaar, L.I. & Schiff, S.L. Dynamics of dissolved oxygen isotopic ratios: a transient model to quantify primary production, community respiration, and air–water exchange in aquatic ecosystems. Oecologia 153, 385–398 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0744-9

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