You are here:
Nutrient uptake stoichiometry of harmful algal blooms on Lake Erie: Exploring the data
Citation:
Jicha, T., D. Bolgrien, A. Cotter, K. Keeton, S. Miller, A. Opseth, D. Woodruff, M. Manubolu, AND S. Ludsin. Nutrient uptake stoichiometry of harmful algal blooms on Lake Erie: Exploring the data. Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Grand Rapids, MI, May 14 - 20, 2022. https://doi.org/10.23645/epacomptox.19674546
Impact/Purpose:
This presentation aims to demonstrate methodology to better understand the drivers of HABs and may be used to assess risk or mitigation actions.
Description:
Excess nutrients have long been linked to algal blooms, and significant effort has been made to reduce commonly limiting nutrients, i.e. phosphorus. Despite significant reductions in Phosphorus loading in the Lake Erie watershed, ~40% reduction, harmful algal blooms (HABs) have been on the rise in the last decade. We aimed at understanding what the nutrient stoichiometric requirements are for communities of algae to infer limiting nutrients. Summer of 2019 we conducted nutrient uptake assays on 11 sites in the western basin of Lake Erie in both the presence and absents of HABs. We found that ammonium was the nutrient most taken up by communities of higher chlorophyll concentrations, and phosphate may be co-limiting, but to a lesser degree. Sites with high chlorophyll concentrations tended to also have a higher proportion of cyanobacteria. Water samples with a more diverse algal community, lower chlorophyll concentrations, and lower levels of cyanobacteria had lower levels of nutrient uptake of all three nutrients assayed: NOx, NHx, and Pox. Some sites with low chlorophyll concentrations also had increased ammonium and nitrate concentrations over the assay period, which suggests that in the absence of cyanobacteria or other algae species additional nitrogen cycling can occur.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: Nutrient uptake stoichiometry of harmful algal blooms on Lake Erie: Exploring the data
JICHA R5 WORKGROUP APRIL 28 2022 FINAL.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 2572.036 KB, about PDF)