Effects of brownification and warming on algal blooms, metabolism and higher trophic levels in productive shallow lake mesocosms.

An increase of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in inland waters has been reported across the northern temperate region but the effects of this on whole lake ecosystems, often combined with other anthropogenic stressors like nutrient inputs and warming, are poorly known. The effects of these changes on different component of the ecosystem were assessed in an experiment using twenty-four large (3000L) outdoor mesocosms simulating shallow lakes. Two different temperature regimes (ambient and ambient +4 °C) combined with three levels of organic matter (OM, added as filtered peaty water), simulating the DOC increase that is predicted to take place over the next 4 to 21 years were used. Neither temperature nor OM had significant effects on net ecosystem production, respiration or gross primary production. Phytoplankton chlorophyll a concentration was not significantly affected by warming, however in summer, autumn and winter it was significantly higher in mesocosms receiving intermediate OM levels (July-Feb DOC concentrations 2-6 mg L-1). Summer cyanobacterial blooms were highest in intermediate, and lowest in the highest OM treatments. OM concentration also influenced total macroinvertebrate abundance which was greater in spring and summer in mesocosms with intermediate and high OM. Fish abundance was not significantly affected by OM concentration, but abundance was greater in ambient (55 fish subsample-1) compared to heated mesocosms (17 fish subsample-1) and maximum abundance occurred two weeks later compared to heated mesocosms. The results suggest that changes in OM may have a greater effect on shallow lakes than temperature and that phytoplankton, especially cyanobacteria, benefit from intermediate OM concentrations, therefore, nuisance algal blooms might increase in relatively clear shallow eutrophic lakes where DOC concentrations increase.

Responses in sediment phosphorus and lanthanum concentrations and composition across 10 lakes following applications of lanthanum modified bentonite.

A combined field and laboratory scale study of 10 European lakes treated between 2006 and 2013 with a lanthanum (La) modified bentonite (LMB) to control sediment phosphorus (P) release was conducted. The study followed the responses in sediment characteristics including La and P fractions and binding forms, P adsorption capacity of discrete sediment layers, and pore water P concentrations. Lanthanum phosphate mineral phases were confirmed by solid state (31)P MAS NMR and LIII EXAFS spectroscopy. Rhabdophane (LaPO4 · nH2O) was the major phase although indications of monazite (LaPO4) formation were also reported, in the earliest treated lake. Molar ratios between La and P in the sediments were generally above 1, demonstrating excess La relative to P. Lanthanum was vertically mixed in the sediment down to a depth of 10 cm for eight of the ten lakes, and recovery of La in excess of 100% of the theoretical aerial load indicated translocation of the LMB towards the deepest areas of the lakes. Lanthanum was generally recovered from bed sediment samples following sequential chemical extraction from the HCl fraction. Soluble reactive P (SRP) release experiments on intact sediment cores indicated conditions of P retention (with the exception of two lakes) by sediments, indicating effective control of sediment P release, i.e. between two and nine years after treatment.

A meta-analysis of water quality and aquatic macrophyte responses in 18 lakes treated with lanthanum modified bentonite (Phoslock(®)).

Lanthanum (La) modified bentonite is being increasingly used as a geo-engineering tool for the control of phosphorus (P) release from lake bed sediments to overlying waters. However, little is known about its effectiveness in controlling P across a wide range of lake conditions or of its potential to promote rapid ecological recovery. We combined data from 18 treated lakes to examine the lake population responses in the 24 months following La-bentonite application (range of La-bentonite loads: 1.4-6.7 tonnes ha(-1)) in concentrations of surface water total phosphorus (TP; data available from 15 lakes), soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP; 14 lakes), and chlorophyll a (15 lakes), and in Secchi disk depths (15 lakes), aquatic macrophyte species numbers (6 lakes) and aquatic macrophyte maximum colonisation depths (4 lakes) across the treated lakes. Data availability varied across the lakes and variables, and in general monitoring was more frequent closer to the application dates. Median annual TP concentrations decreased significantly across the lakes, following the La-bentonite applications (from 0.08 mg L(-1) in the 24 months pre-application to 0.03 mg L(-1) in the 24 months post-application), particularly in autumn (0.08 mg L(-1) to 0.03 mg L(-1)) and winter (0.08 mg L(-1) to 0.02 mg L(-1)). Significant decreases in SRP concentrations over annual (0.019 mg L(-1) to 0.005 mg L(-1)), summer (0.018 mg L(-1) to 0.004 mg L(-1)), autumn (0.019 mg L(-1) to 0.005 mg L(-1)) and winter (0.033 mg L(-1) to 0.005 mg L(-1)) periods were also reported. P concentrations following La-bentonite application varied across the lakes and were correlated positively with dissolved organic carbon concentrations. Relatively weak, but significant responses were reported for summer chlorophyll a concentrations and Secchi disk depths following La-bentonite applications, the 75th percentile values decreasing from 119 µg L(-1) to 74 µg L(-1) and increasing from 398 cm to 506 cm, respectively. Aquatic macrophyte species numbers and maximum colonisation depths increased following La-bentonite application from a median of 5.5 species to 7.0 species and a median of 1.8 m to 2.5 m, respectively. The aquatic macrophyte responses varied significantly between lakes. La-bentonite application resulted in a general improvement in water quality leading to an improvement in the aquatic macrophyte community within 24 months. However, because, the responses were highly site-specific, we stress the need for comprehensive pre- and post-application assessments of processes driving ecological structure and function in candidate lakes to inform future use of this and similar products.

Rock geochemistry induces stress and starvation responses in the bacterial proteome.

Interactions between microorganisms and rocks play an important role in Earth system processes. However, little is known about the molecular capabilities microorganisms require to live in rocky environments. Using a quantitative label-free proteomics approach, we show that a model bacterium (Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34) can use volcanic rock to satisfy some elemental requirements, resulting in increased rates of cell division in both magnesium- and iron-limited media. However, the rocks also introduced multiple new stresses via chemical changes associated with pH, elemental leaching and surface adsorption of nutrients that were reflected in the proteome. For example, the loss of bioavailable phosphorus was observed and resulted in the upregulation of diverse phosphate limitation proteins, which facilitate increase phosphate uptake and scavenging within the cell. Our results revealed that despite the provision of essential elements, rock chemistry drives complex metabolic reorganization within rock-dwelling organisms, requiring tight regulation of cellular processes at the protein level. This study advances our ability to identify key microbial responses that enable life to persist in rock environments.