An exploration of Lake Ontario’s offshore epibenthic cladoceran community

Pelagic cladocerans are relatively well studied within the Great Lakes. However, little is known about cladocerans that more closely interact with benthic substrate. In 2018, 26 sites in Lake Ontario were sampled with benthic grabs to collect meiofauna. The stations ranged in depth from 0.1 to 184 m with sand, silt or hard bottom substrate. Epibenthic cladocerans were recovered from all 12 sites shallower than 20 m, five of eight sites between 20 and 40 m and one (63 m deep) of six sites deeper than 40 m. The density of epibenthic cladocerans were at most 12% of the density of harpacticoid copepods (shallow hard bottom sites). The Lake Ontario epibenthic cladoceran community was represented by 16 species from 8 different genera although one of these species, Illyocryptus cf. sordidus, is likely represented by two cryptic species. The most widespread species was identified as Alona sibirica (Sinev, 2020), a newly described species from Russia formerly of the Alona cf. affinis (Leydig, 1860) species complex. The Great Lakes specimens were 98.3% similar genetically to sequences assigned to A. cf. sibirica. Among substrates, sand had the highest densities (1662 m² in 0–20 m) and species richness (10) of epibenthic Cladocera. After cladocerans were identified, the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene of 37 specimens were successfully sequenced through the Barcode of Life (BOLD). Six specimens were assigned to three previously existing Barcode Identification Numbers (BINs), the remaining 31 specimens were assigned to eight new BINs.     

DNA metabarcoding of the phytoplankton of Great Salt Lake’s Gilbert Bay: Spatiotemporal assemblage changes and comparisons to microscopy

The Great Salt Lake (GSL) is a unique hypersaline system with an understudied phytoplankton assemblage supporting a productive open water ecosystem in the largest embayment of the lake, Gilbert Bay. Determination of phytoplankton by microscopy has practical limitations that can constrain the scope of a study, but DNA metabarcoding may improve upon this through higher taxonomic resolution and the capacity to generate a large volume of assemblage data in comparatively little time. To determine if metabarcoding could replicate microscopy and expand the assessment of GSL phytoplankton, a 23S SSU rRNA metabarcoding and microscopy survey of Gilbert Bay was conducted in 2017 and 2018. Assemblage composition and relative abundances from each method were compared, and spatial and temporal assemblage changes from metabarcoding data were investigated using non-metric multidimensional scaling. Metabarcoding differed from microscopy in multiple taxonomic assignments and relative abundances, with poor correlation for most categories. Diatoms were overrepresented by metabarcoding relative to microscopy, and chlorophytes underrepresented. However, metabarcoding revealed seasonal and spatial patterns in assemblage, detected seasonal patterns within phytoplankton sequences of very low abundance, and detected potential cryptic speciation within the lake’s dominant Dunaliella viridis. Phylogenetic analysis revealed greater phytoplankton diversity than observed before in GSL, but demonstrated the need to improve taxonomic assignment of the resulting sequences, particularly within the diatoms. The expansion of detectable diversity and isolation of DNA sequences that can be traced through time and analyzed against environmental variables make metabarcoding a potentially effective tool for parallel use with microscopy in future GSL research.     

Chloride trends in Ontario’s surface and groundwaters

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks leads 11 long-term monitoring programs at over 2,500 surface and groundwater sampling locations across the province that report chloride (Cl^?) concentration, some dating back to the 1960s. This study integrates these disparate datasets to provide comprehensive evidence relevant to spatial and temporal Cl^? trends in the Laurentian Great Lakes, and Ontario's inland lakes, streams and groundwaters. While the vast majority of historical Cl^? data indicate concentrations are well below the chronic exposure Canadian Water Quality Guideline (120 mg L^?1), many lake, stream and groundwater sampling locations proximal to roadways or in urbanized areas meet or exceed this guideline, and concentrations in these regional areas are persistently increasing. The current evidence implicates road salting activities for winter safety as a primary contributor to elevated Cl^? concentrations, and the trends may be exacerbated with urbanization and population expansion, particularly in southern Ontario.     

Spatiotemporal trends of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in surface and suspended sediments from the Lake Ontario Canadian nearshore 1994–2018: A fish consumption advisory perspective

Spatiotemporal trends for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were examined in surface and suspended sediments collected between 1994 and 2018 from over twenty nearshore stations on the Canadian side of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. In 2018, PCB concentrations ranged over an order-of-magnitude in surface (<10 ng/g?357 ng/g) and suspended sediments (<10 ng/g–330 ng/g), illustrating the presence of legacy hotspots as well as diffuse urban inputs. PCB concentrations in both surface and suspended sediments were consistently highest in Hamilton Harbour, but were also elevated at other stations around the perimeter of the Niagara basin as well as near Trenton and Kingston, Ontario. Generally, higher PCB concentrations were found in surface sediment relative to paired suspended sediment samples suggesting temporal improvements in nearshore sediment quality. However, many stations demonstrated temporal variability in PCB concentrations, a likely factor in the lack of an overall nearshore declining trend. Given that PCBs are listed as a consumption-limiting contaminant for all fish sampling blocks in the Canadian waters of Lake Ontario and are responsible for 78% of restricted advisories, sediment quality benchmarks that account for bioaccumulation potential should be considered over toxicologically-derived guidelines to gauge severity of PCB contamination of nearshore sediments. Relatively higher TOC-normalized PCB concentrations in the western end of Lake Ontario suggests additional research on PCB bioavailability from nearshore sediment would be beneficial in understanding basinwide trends of PCBs in fish, and that an adaptive approach to sediment management may be needed in the context of consumption advisories.     

The Lake Ontario zooplankton community before (1987–1991) and after (2001–2005) invasion-induced ecosystem change

We assessed changes in Lake Ontario zooplankton biomass, production, and community composition before (1987–1991) and after (2001–2005) invasion-induced ecosystem changes. The ecosystem changes were associated with establishment of invasive dreissenid mussels and invasive predatory cladocerans (Bythotrephes and Cercopagis). Whole-lake total epilimnetic plus metalimnetic zooplankton production declined by approximately half from 42.45 (g dry wt?m⁻²? year⁻¹) during 1987–1991 to 21.91 (g dry wt?m⁻²? year⁻¹) in 2003 and averaged 21.01 (g dry wt?m⁻²? year⁻¹) during 2001–2005. Analysis of two independent data sets indicates that the mean biomass and biomass proportion of cyclopoid copepods declined while the same measures increased for the invasive predatory cladocerans. Changes in means and proportions of all other zooplankton groups were not consistent between the data sets. Cyclopoid copepod biomass and production declined by factors ranging from 3.6 to 5.7. Invasive predatory cladoceran biomass averaged from 5.0% to 8.0% of the total zooplankton biomass. The zooplankton community was otherwise resilient to the invasion-induced disruption as zooplankton species richness and diversity were unaffected. Zooplankton production was likely reduced by declines in primary productivity but may have declined further due to increased predation by alewives and invasive predatory cladocerans. Shifts in zooplankton community structure were consistent with increased predation pressure on cyclopoid copepods by alewives and invasive predatory cladocerans. Predicted declines in the proportion of small cladocerans were not evident. This study represents the first direct comparison of changes in Lake Ontario zooplankton production before and after the invasion-induced disruption and will be important to food web-scale investigations of invasion effects.     

Spatial and seasonal variation in the phytoplankton community of Lake Victoria’s Mwanza Gulf,compared to northern parts of the lake

We investigated the phytoplankton species composition and abundance in two seasons in Mwanza Gulf, Lake Victoria (Tanzania). Phytoplankton was sampled and chlorophyll a content was measured in the dry and wet seasons of 2010–2011 at three stations, from the southern land-inward end of the Gulf towards the open lake. Cyanobacteria, mostly small colonial and filamentous species (e.g., Aphanocapsa spp., Planktolyngbya spp., Merismopedia spp.) dominated at each station (76–95 %), followed by Chlorophyta (5–21 %), whereas the contribution of Bacillariophyceae was small (0–6 %). Phytoplankton densities were generally higher in the rainy season and strongly increased going land-inward from the open lake. Low abundance of N-fixing phytoplankton species suggests that N-fixation was low. The chlorophyll a content in the mouth of the Gulf was low (mean values 4–6 µg/L) compared to values reported previously. Also, chlorophyll a values (means 11–14 µg/L) at land-inward stations of Mwanza Gulf were much lower than those in the northern gulfs (Napoleon Gulf, Murchison Bay and Nyanza Gulf). Between 2002 and 2009 the phytoplankton composition of Mwanza Gulf changed from a community mostly dominated by Bacillariophyceae into a community dominated by Cyanobacteria. In the open water of Lake Victoria, Bacillariophyceae and Cyanobacteria were both abundant. Cyanobacteria dominated both in the three northern gulfs and Mwanza Gulf, but all four showed substantial differences in species and genus compositions. Phytoplankton composition and abundance in Mwanza Gulf differs in many respects from the open water of Lake Victoria and its three northern gulfs.     

Results of the collaborative Lake Ontario bloater restoration stocking and assessment, 2012–2020

Bloater, Coregonus hoyi, are deepwater planktivores native to the Laurentian Great Lakes and Lake Nipigon. Interpretations of commercial fishery time series suggest they were common in Lake Ontario through the early 1900s but by the 1950s were no longer captured by commercial fishers. Annual bottom trawl surveys that began in 1978 and sampled extensively across putative bloater habitat only yielded one individual (1983), suggesting that the species had been locally extirpated. In 2012, a multiagency restoration program stocked bloater into Lake Ontario from gametes collected in Lake Michigan. From 2012 to 2020, 1,028,191 bloater were stocked into Lake Ontario. Bottom trawl surveys first detected stocked fish in 2015, and through 2020 ten bloater have been caught (total length mean = 129 mm, s.d. = 44 mm, range: 96–240 mm). Hatchery applied marks and genetic analyses confirmed the species identification and identified stocking location for some individuals. Trawl capture locations and acoustic telemetry suggested that stocked fish dispersed throughout the main lake within months or sooner, and the depth distribution of recaptured bloater was similar to historic distributions in Lake Ontario and other Great Lakes. Predicted bloater trawl catches, based on modeled population abundance and trawl survey efficiency, were similar to observed catches, suggesting that post-stocking survival is less than 20% and contemporary bottom trawl surveys can quantify bloater abundance at low densities and track restoration.     

Exploring China’s approach to implementing ‘eco-compensation’ schemes: the Lake Tai watershed as case study considered through a legal lens

For close to a decade China has been implementing ‘eco-compensation’ mechanisms to address water-related ecosystem issues. This paper examines China’s approach to eco-compensation through experience in the Lake Tai watershed. Four typologies of eco-compensation schemes are identified and analysed, primarily through a legal lens. It is concluded that while progress has been made, there is need for improved legal approaches to this complex topic.     

Factors influencing water level changes in China’s largest freshwater lake,Poyang Lake,in the past 50 years

This study analyses the changing characteristics in the level of Poyang Lake during the period 1960–2010. Results show that the changing stage of annual lake level variations is evident, and average onset time of the lake dry season has advanced since the 1990s. Investigation indicates that the Yangtze River discharge has a greater impact on annual lake level variations than the lake’s catchment inflow. Climate change in the Yangtze River basin since the 1990s is possibly the precondition for the advance of the lake dry season, which is further aggravated by the effects of the Three Gorges Dam in the 2000s.     

Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: Rapid degradation of the world’s large lakes

Large lakes of the world are habitats for diverse species, including endemic taxa, and are valuable resources that provide humanity with many ecosystem services. They are also sentinels of global and local change, and recent studies in limnology and paleolimnology have demonstrated disturbing evidence of their collective degradation in terms of depletion of resources (water and food), rapid warming and loss of ice, destruction of habitats and ecosystems, loss of species, and accelerating pollution. Large lakes are particularly exposed to anthropogenic and climatic stressors. The Second Warning to Humanity provides a framework to assess the dangers now threatening the world’s large lake ecosystems and to evaluate pathways of sustainable development that are more respectful of their ongoing provision of services. Here we review current and emerging threats to the large lakes of the world, including iconic examples of lake management failures and successes, from which we identify priorities and approaches for future conservation efforts. The review underscores the extent of lake resource degradation, which is a result of cumulative perturbation through time by long-term human impacts combined with other emerging stressors. Decades of degradation of large lakes have resulted in major challenges for restoration and management and a legacy of ecological and economic costs for future generations. Large lakes will require more intense conservation efforts in a warmer, increasingly populated world to achieve sustainable, high-quality waters. This Warning to Humanity is also an opportunity to highlight the value of a long-term lake observatory network to monitor and report on environmental changes in large lake ecosystems.     

Quantifying the Human Induced Water Level Decline of China’s Largest Freshwater Lake from the Changing Underlying Surface in the Lake Region

In recent years, dramatic decline in China’s largest freshwater lake, Poyang Lake, has raised wide concerns about water supply and ecological crises in the middle–lower Yangtze River reaches. To assist in resolving the debates regarding the low water regime of the lake, the current study quantitatively assessed the enhanced water level decline from the changing underlying surface in the Poyang Lake region. It is the first time that the magnitude, temporal–spatial difference, trend development and background mechanism of lake water level variation and its causes are studied comprehensively. The results revealed that the changing underlying surface in the lake region has caused an average decline of annual water level of 0.26 m ~ 0.75 m across the lake during 2000–2014, which shows great seasonal and spatial differences. The enlarged outflow cross–section due to extensive sand mining was the major reason for the effect on water level decline in the northern lake. While, increased water surface gradient should be attributed to water level decline in the southern lake. The long–term increasing trend of annual lake water level decline reflects the cumulative effects of lake bottom topography change caused by the continuous south movement of sand mining activities.     

A lake-wide approach for large lake zooplankton monitoring: Results from the 2006–2016 Lake Superior Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative surveys

Whole-lake surveys of Lake Superior were completed during late summer in 2006, 2011, and 2016 to assess lower food web conditions under the Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI). These surveys used a spatially stratified probability approach based on depth to assess food web conditions within different depth zones. We evaluated differences in crustacean zooplankton biomass, rotifer density, and the community structure of both groups in nearshore (<30 m), midshore (30–100 m), and offshore (>100 m) depth zones and investigated changes in these parameters within zones over time. Although nearshore crustacean biomasses and rotifer densities were highly variable, the depth zones differed from each other based on these parameters and should be considered separately. Crustacean biomass, community structure, and vertical position were consistent over time across depth zones. The differences that did occur were within the range of known annual variability. Total rotifer densities were lower in 2016 than in 2006 in all depth zones, but the genera that contributed to the lower values were not the same across zones. Further studies are needed to know whether these differences reflect annual variability or long-term trends. Finally, we show how the depth zones used in this study can facilitate comparisons between monitoring programs. This is important because most zooplankton studies are limited to certain depth zones and changes in zooplankton parameters may not occur uniformly across zones. The high variability in nearshore zooplankton parameters suggests that additional research may be needed to effectively track changes there.     

Then and now: Revisiting nutrient export in agricultural watersheds within southern Ontario’s lower Great Lakes basin

An enhanced understanding of nonpoint source (NPS) nutrient export to the lower Great Lakes is needed to inform land use and land management decisions within southern Ontario. However, this understanding is limited by a lack of long-term, temporally-intensive monitoring. To address this knowledge gap, we revisit six agriculturally-dominated subwatersheds in southern Ontario, which were intensively studied during the mid-1970s, to assess changes in hydrology and NPS nutrient contributions. We compared 1975–1977 to 2016–2018 stream runoff, nutrient export (kg/day∙km²), and flow-weighted mean concentrations (FWMCs) of total phosphorus (TP), total dissolved phosphorus (TDP), total nitrogen (TN), nitrates (NO₃^–+NO₂^–) and Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN). Relative to the 1970s, runoff increased at three of six watersheds (by ~20–35%) while TP and TDP export increased at five watersheds (by ~50–125%). The increases in TP and TDP FWMCs were lower relative to phosphorus export changes at the three watersheds with increased runoff, suggesting that hydrology is an important driver of phosphorus export at these sites. Interestingly, export of TN and nitrates increased while TKN export decreased at most watersheds. We further note a shift in the timing of nutrient export at most sites, with ~40–70% of export now occurring during the winter and fall seasons whereas ~40–85% of past export occurred during spring and summer. These findings support an enhanced importance of non-growing season nutrient export from agricultural watersheds since the mid-1970s and stresses the need for targeted best management practices specific to the fall and winter seasons.     

Exposure and resilience of China’s cities to floods and droughts: a double-edged sword

Abstract

China’s rapid urbanization in areas prone to flood or drought events can be seen as a double-edged sword. Urbanization enlarges the population exposed to these hazards, but the resulting socio-economic development also helps build resilience. This article quantifies flood occurrence, drought severity, and related resilience in 81 cities in Mainland China. The extent of flood exposure was notable, both in absolute terms as well as in relation to the drought-prone urban population. China needs to integrate urban flood/drought policy making with sustainable urbanization policy making to best contribute to minimizing flood and drought risks in its cities.     

Loading and lake circulation structures recurrent patterns of water quality on the Toronto – Mississauga waterfront of Lake Ontario

Urban centers line western Lake Ontario where urban rivers, wastewater treatment plants and stormwater load nutrients, major ions and suspended solids to the nearshore. In 2018, nearshore water quality and associated physical conditions bordering the cities of Toronto and Mississauga were assessed as a benchmark for future effects of urban growth and municipal infrastructure projects to improve water quality. Conductivity and UV-fluorescence were used as water quality surrogates and mapped over blocks of shoreline stratified by distance offshore. Patterns in UV-fluorescence aligned with loading points, and generally higher levels near the shoreline, were correlated with concentrations of nutrients, major ions and suspended solids. Water quality was more land-impacted over the shoreline from the Credit River to Humber Bay contrasting with the more lake-like conditions from Toronto Eastern Beaches to the Rouge River. Within Toronto Harbour, cross-harbour gradients in water quality varied with weather-related changes in river and storm water loading. Mixing areas at wastewater treatment plant outfalls and tributary mouths, frequently shaped by alongshore lake circulation, resulted in a mosaic of water quality over the shoreline. Area-wide elevation of chloride and conductivity, and poorer water quality in late spring, was linked to heightened river discharge. Thermal stratification affected how discharges were distributed in the water column, but measurements at the lake surface reflected the strongest overall land-effects on water quality. The patterns of temporal-spatial variability identified within geographically-defined areas of shoreline can be used as past footprints in future monitoring to detect change.     

A hierarchical Bayesian model of storm surge and total water levels across the Great Lakes shoreline – Lake Ontario

This study presents a novel approach to determine the distribution of compound flood events composed of storm surge and static water levels along the Great Lakes shoreline. A mixture distribution of the bulk (Student-t) and tail (GPD-negative binomial) components of storm surge is estimated in a hierarchical Bayesian modeling framework. Parameters are modeled across the entire shoreline using Gaussian processes and hourly gauged data, with priors for spatial autocorrelation informed by numerical output from a lake hydrodynamic model. The distribution of total water levels is obtained through Monte Carlo sampling that combines the estimated distribution of surge with stochastic traces of static lake levels that account for water level management, seasonality, and plausible variability in water supplies. The approach can therefore support coastal flood risk assessments in cases when the distribution of static water levels changes are due to altered water level management or climate change. The model is applied in a case study on Lake Ontario. Results suggest that spatial variability in parameter estimates varies significantly by month and mixture distribution component. Evaluations of performance indicate the model is able to capture adequately storm surge behavior at gauges across the lakeshore, even under cross-validation. A frequency analysis of total water levels at two ungauged sites is presented, with specific attention given to the implications of model assumptions on uncertainty in design events. The paper concludes with a discussion of model limitations and avenues for future work.     

Use of flow-normalization to evaluate nutrient concentration and flux changes in Lake Champlain tributaries, 1990–2009

The U.S. Geological Survey evaluated 20 years of total phosphorus (P) and total nitrogen (N) concentration data for 18 Lake Champlain tributaries using a new statistical method based on weighted regressions to estimate daily concentration and flux histories based on discharge, season, and trend as explanatory variables. The use of all the streamflow discharge values for a given date in the record, in a process called “flow-normalization”, removed the year-to-year variation due to streamflow and generated a smooth time series from which trends were calculated. This approach to data analysis can be of great value to evaluations of the success of restoration efforts because it filters out the large random fluctuations in the flux that are due to the temporal variability in streamflow. Results for the full 20 years of record showed a mixture of upward and downward trends for concentrations and yields of P and N. When the record was broken into two 10-year periods, for many tributaries, the more recent period showed a reversal in N from upward to downward trends and a similar reversal or reduction in magnitude of upward trends for P. Some measures of P and N concentrations and yields appear to be related to intensity of agricultural activities, point-source loads of P, or population density. Total flow-normalized P flux aggregated from the monitored tributaries showed a decrease of 30 metric tons per year from 1991 to 2009, which is about 15% of the targeted reduction established by the operational management plan for the Lake Champlain Basin.     

The use of NDVI and its Derivatives for Monitoring Lake Victoria’s Water Level and Drought Conditions

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), which is a measure of vegetation vigour, and lake water levels respond variably to precipitation and its deficiency. For a given lake catchment, NDVI may have the ability to depict localized natural variability in water levels in response to weather patterns. This information may be used to decipher natural from unnatural variations of a given lake’s surface. This study evaluates the potential of using NDVI and its associated derivatives (VCI (vegetation condition index), SVI (standardised vegetation index), AINDVI (annually integrated NDVI), green vegetation function (F _g ), and NDVIA (NDVI anomaly)) to depict Lake Victoria’s water levels. Thirty years of monthly mean water levels and a portion of the Global Inventory Modelling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) NDVI datasets were used. Their aggregate data structures and temporal co-variabilities were analysed using GIS/spatial analysis tools. Locally, NDVI was found to be more sensitive to drought (i.e., responded more strongly to reduced precipitation) than to water levels. It showed a good ability to depict water levels one-month in advance, especially in moderate to low precipitation years. SVI and SWL (standardized water levels) used in association with AINDVI and AMWLA (annual mean water levels anomaly) readily identified high precipitation years, which are also when NDVI has a low ability to depict water levels. NDVI also appears to be able to highlight unnatural variations in water levels. We propose an iterative approach for the better use of NDVI, which may be useful in developing an early warning mechanisms for the management of lake Victoria and other Lakes with similar characteristics.     

Nonpoint source reduction to the nearshore zone via watershed management practices: Nutrient fluxes,fate, transport and biotic responses — Background and objectives

Studies that evaluate the linkages between watershed improvement through Best Management Practices (BMPs) and downstream outcomes are few. Water quality of coastal waters is often impacted by soil and nutrient loss from watersheds in agriculture. Mitigation of these impacts is of concern in the Great Lakes, the Finger Lakes Region of New York State, and generally in water bodies of North America. In this issue, we report on hypothesis-based research at the watershed level evaluating the impact of BMPs on mitigation of nonpoint sources of nutrient and soil loss to streams and the nearshore zone of a lake. Specifically, we hypothesize not only reductions in nutrient and soil losses from watersheds but also a resultant decrease in metaphyton (filamentous algae), coliform bacteria, and macrophyte populations in the nearshore at stream mouths draining sub-watersheds where BMPs were introduced. Small experimental sub-watersheds, predominantly in agriculture (> 70%), were selected to ensure that effects on downstream systems would not be confounded by other land use practices often observed in large watershed approaches. In this introductory paper, we provide background information on Conesus Lake, its watershed, and the Conesus Lake watershed project, a large multi-disciplinary study evaluating agricultural management practices. The series of papers in this volume consider the effect of BMPs designed to control nonpoint sources on water chemistry, metaphyton, macrophytes, and microbial populations in the coastal zone of a lake. Ultimately, this volume expands the basic understanding of the ability of BMPs to control nonpoint source pollution while contributing toward the goal of improving water quality of downstream systems including streams, embayments, and the nearshore of large lakes.