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Spatial and Temporal Variability of Nutrient Dynamics and Ecosystem Metabolism in a Hyper-eutrophic Reservoir Differ Between a Wet and Dry Year

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Abstract

Climate change alters hydrologic regimes, including their variability. Effects will be pronounced in aquatic ecosystems, where resource subsidies (e.g., nutrients, carbon) drive key ecosystem processes. However, we know little about how changing hydrologic regimes will modulate the spatiotemporal dynamics of lake biogeochemistry and ecosystem metabolism. To address this, we quantified ecosystem metabolism and nutrient dynamicsat high spatial resolution in Acton Lake, a hyper-eutrophic reservoir in the Midwestern US. We captured two consecutive growing seasons with markedly different watershed discharge and nutrient loading. Temporal variability often exceeded spatial variability in both wet and dry years. However, relative spatial variability was higher in the dry year, suggesting that internal processes are more important in structuring spatial dynamics in dry years. Strikingly, marked differences in watershed discharge and nutrient loading between years produced relatively small differences in many lake metrics, suggesting resilience to hydrologic variability. We found little difference in gross primary productivity between wet and dry years, but ecosystem respiration was higher in the wet year, shifting net ecosystem production below zero. Discrete storm events produced strong, yet ephemeral and spatially explicit effects, reflective of the balance of stream input and discharge over the dam. Increases in limiting nutrients were restricted to near stream inlets and returned to pre-storm baseline within days. Ecosystem metabolism was suppressed during storm events, likely due to biomass flushing. Understanding how changing hydrologic regimes will mediate spatiotemporal dynamics of ecosystem metrics is paramount to preserving the ecological integrity and ecosystem services of lakes under future climates.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Tera Ratliff and the Miami University (MU) Center for Aquatic and Watershed Science for nutrient analysis. This work was funded by the MU Academic Challenge program, as well as National Science Foundation Long-Term Research in Environmental Biology (LTREB) award DEB-1255159.

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  1. Department of Biology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, 45056, USA

    Tanner J. Williamson & Michael J. Vanni

  2. Department of Geography, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, 45056, USA

    William H. Renwick

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  1. Tanner J. Williamson
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  2. Michael J. Vanni
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Correspondence to Tanner J. Williamson.

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TJW and MJV conceived and designed the study with advice by WHR. TJW performed the research and data analysis. TJW wrote the manuscript with feedback from MJV and WHR.

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Williamson, T.J., Vanni, M.J. & Renwick, W.H. Spatial and Temporal Variability of Nutrient Dynamics and Ecosystem Metabolism in a Hyper-eutrophic Reservoir Differ Between a Wet and Dry Year. Ecosystems 24, 68–88 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-020-00505-8

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