| 1. |
- Björnerås, Caroline, et al.
(författare)
-
High sulfate concentration enhances iron mobilization from organic soil to water
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Biogeochemistry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0168-2563 .- 1573-515X. ; 144:3, s. 245-259
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Widespread increases in iron (Fe) concentrations are contributing to ongoing browning of northern freshwaters, but the driver/s behind the trends are not known. Fe mobilization in soils is known to be controlled by redox conditions, pH, and DOC availability for complexation. Moreover, high sulfate concentrations have been suggested to constrain Fe in transition from soil to water, and declining sulfate deposition to have the opposite effect. We studied the effect of these Fe mobilization barriers in a microcosm experiment, applying high (peak S deposition) and low (present day) sulfate treatments and oxic versus anoxic conditions to boreal (O horizon) soil slurries. We hypothesized that anoxic conditions would favor Fe release. On the contrary we expected high sulfate concentrations to suppress Fe mobility, through FeS formation or by lowering pH and thereby DOC concentrations. Anoxia had positive effects on both Fe and DOC concentrations in solution. Contrasting with our hypothesis, Fe concentrations were enhanced at high sulfate concentrations, i.e. increasing acidity in high sulfate treatments appeared to promote Fe mobilization. Establishment of the basidiomycete fungus Jaapia ochroleuca in the oxic treatments 44 days into the experiment had a major impact on Fe mobilization by increasing total Fe concentrations in solution. Thus, anoxia and acidity, along with fungi mediated mobilization, were important in controlling Fe release from soil to the aqueous phase. While Fe is often assumed to precipitate as Fe(oxy)hydroxides in the transition from anoxic to oxic water in the riparian zone, Fe from anoxic treatments remained in solution after introduction of oxygen. Our results do not support reduced atmospheric S deposition as a driver behind increasing Fe concentrations in boreal freshwaters, but confirm the importance of reducing conditions—which may be enhanced by higher soil temperature and moisture—for mobilization of Fe across the terrestrial-aquatic interphase.
|
|
| 2. |
- Björnerås, Caroline, et al.
(författare)
-
Inland blue holes of The Bahamas - chemistry and biology in a unique aquatic environment
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Fundamental and Applied Limnology. - : Schweizerbart science publishers. - 1863-9135. ; 194:2, s. 95-106
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- While lake systems in temperate regions have been extensively studied, tropical and subtropical systems have received less attention. Here, we describe the water chemistry and biota of ten inland blue holes on Andros Island, The Bahamas, representative of the morphological, abiotic, and biotic variation among Androsian inland blue holes. The majority of the studied blue holes were vertically stratified with oxic freshwater overlying anoxic saline groundwater of marine origin. Water chemistry (e.g. total phosphorus and nitrogen) in shallow waters was similar among blue holes, while turbidity and water color varied. Presence of hydrogen sulfide and reduced iron in and below the halocline indicate reducing conditions in all stratified blue holes. The biota above the halocline was also similar among blue holes with a few taxa dominating the phytoplankton community, and the zooplankton community consisting of copepods and rotifers. The Bahamas mosquitofish (Gambusia hubbsi) was present in all investigated blue holes, often accompanied by other small planktivorous fish, while the piscivorous bigmouth sleeper (Gobiomorus donnitor) was only present in some of the blue holes. Our field study reinforces that inland blue holes are highly interesting for biogeochemical research, and provide naturally replicated systems for evolutionary studies.
|
|
| 3. |
- Kritzberg, Emma S., et al.
(författare)
-
Browning of freshwaters : Consequences to ecosystem services, underlying drivers, and potential mitigation measures
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Ambio: a Journal of the Human Environment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 49:2, s. 375-390
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Browning of surface waters, as a result of increasing dissolved organic carbon and iron concentrations, is a widespread phenomenon with implications to the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems. In this article, we provide an overview of the consequences of browning in relation to ecosystem services, outline what the underlying drivers and mechanisms of browning are, and specifically focus on exploring potential mitigation measures to locally counteract browning. These topical concepts are discussed with a focus on Scandinavia, but are of relevance also to other regions. Browning is of environmental concern as it leads to, e.g., increasing costs and risks for drinking water production, and reduced fish production in lakes by limiting light penetration. While climate change, recovery from acidification, and land-use change are all likely factors contributing to the observed browning, managing the land use in the hydrologically connected parts of the landscape may be the most feasible way to counteract browning of natural waters.
|
|
| 4. |
- Lee, Marcus, et al.
(författare)
-
Low-latitude zooplankton pigmentation plasticity in response to multiple threats
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Royal Society Open Science. - : Royal Society Open Science. - 2054-5703. ; 6:7, s. 1-10
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Crustacean copepods in high-latitude lakes frequently alter their pigmentation facultatively to defend themselves against prevailing threats, such as solar ultraviolet radiation ( UVR) and visually oriented predators. Strong seasonality in those environments promotes phenotypic plasticity. To date, no one has investigated whether low-latitude copepods, experiencing continuous stress from UVR and predation threats, exhibit similar inducible defences. We here investigated the pigmentation levels of Bahamian 'blue hole' copepods, addressing this deficit. Examining several populations varying in predation risk, we found the lowest levels of pigmentation in the population experiencing the highest predation pressure. In a laboratory experiment, we found that, in contrast with our predictions, copepods from these relatively constant environments did show some changes in pigmentation subsequent to the removal of UVR; however, exposure to water from different predation regimes induced minor and idiosyncratic pigmentation change. Our findings suggest that low-latitude zooplankton in inland environments may exhibit reduced, but non-zero, levels of phenotypic plasticity compared with their high-latitude counterparts.
|
|
| 5. |
- Meklesh, Viktoriia, et al.
(författare)
-
Characterization of the Colloidal Properties of Dissolved Organic Matter From Forest Soils
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Frontiers in Soil Science. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2673-8619.
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Components of dissolved organic matter (DOM) span from sub-nm molecules to colloidal aggregates of several hundred nm. The colloidal fraction is important for the transport of organic matter and associated elements in the environment, and for the stability of DOM constituents with respect to microbial decomposition. This study focuses on the colloidal properties of DOM extracted from spruce forest soils of a chronosequence. The DOM samples were obtained by common water extraction procedures at 21 and 100°C, respectively. We applied an experimental approach combining chemical analysis with light and X-ray scattering techniques that informed on the colloidal size, charge, and structure of DOM. Results showed that two main types of colloids were present: semi-flexible cylinders and fractal aggregates. The cylinders consisted of carbohydrates, presumably hemicelluloses, while the aggregates were a composite material containing a large fraction of carbohydrates together with aliphatics and clay particles. These fractal aggregates dominated the cold-water extracts whereas the strong increase in total organic carbon by hot-water extraction caused a concomitantly strong increase of semi-flexible cylinders, which became the predominant species. Comparison between the chronosequence soils showed that with increasing forest age, the amount of carbon extracted per gram of soil declined and the concentration of the semi-flexible cylinders decreased. Thus, the distribution between the fractal aggregates and cylinders in the forest soil DOM samples depends on the composition of the soil organic matter and the leaching temperature. Changes in this distribution may have important implications for the reactivity and stability of DOM colloids.
|
|
| 6. |
- Pärssinen, Varpu, et al.
(författare)
-
Variation in predation regime drives sex-specific differences in mosquitofish foraging behaviour
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Oikos. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0030-1299 .- 1600-0706. ; 130:5, s. 790-797
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Predation is a well-studied driver of ecological selection on prey traits, which frequently drives divergence in anti-predator performance across environments that vary in predation risk. However, predation also alters prey mortality regimes, where low predation risk often results in higher prey densities and consequently higher intensities of intraspecific resource competition. In addition, predation risk alters the foraging context, as acquiring food can be risky in the presence of predators. Thus, different predation regimes can drive divergent selection on traits associated with resource competition, such as foraging behaviours. Moreover, because sexes often differ in susceptibility to predation and limitations to their reproductive output, the intensity of the tradeoff between predator avoidance and resource competition may depend on sex. We used a laboratory experiment to assess key aspects of foraging performance in a predator-free context in Bahamas mosquitofish Gambusia hubbsi wild-caught from multiple populations that experience either high or low levels of predation risk. When competing for limited food resources at a common density, females from low-predation regimes showed higher foraging and food consumption rates than females from high-predation regimes. Males showed fewer differences between predation regimes, and an opposite pattern from females. We suggest these sex-specific effects result from females facing a greater tradeoff between predation risk and resource competition, combined with males from high-predation environments elevating foraging behaviours in the absence of nearby predators and females. Females of this species are larger than males, bear live young and show higher foraging rates in the wild than males. On the other hand, males spend more time pursuing females in the wild, and may exhibit greater flexibility in foraging behaviours based on the immediate context. Our results show that varying levels of predation risk can lead to differences in behaviours associated with resource competition, but these effects can strongly differ between sexes.
|
|
| 7. |
- Sha, Yongcui, et al.
(författare)
-
Diel vertical migration of copepods and its environmental drivers in subtropical Bahamian blue holes
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Aquatic Ecology. - : Springer. - 1386-2588 .- 1573-5125. ; 55:4, s. 1157-1169
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Diel vertical migration (DVM) is the most common behavioral phenomenon in zooplankton, and numerous studies have evaluated DVM under strong seasonality at higher latitudes. Yet, our understanding of the environmental drivers of DVM at low latitudes, where seasonal variation is less pronounced, remains limited. Therefore, we here examined patterns of vertical distribution in copepods in six subtropical Bahamian blue holes with different food web structure and tested the role of several key environmental variables potentially affecting this behavior. Day and night samplings showed that copepods generally performed DVM, characterized by downward migration to deeper depths during the day and upward migration to surface waters at night. Across all blue holes, the daytime vertical depth distribution of calanoid copepods correlated positively with both predation risk and depth of food resources (Chlorophyll a), but was less affected by ultraviolet radiation (UVR). A potential explanation is that since UVR is a continuous threat across seasons, zooplankton have established photoprotective pigmentation making them less vulnerable to this threat. The copepods also showed a size-structured depth segregation, where larger individuals were found at deeper depths during the day, which further strengthens the suggestion that predation is a major driver of DVM in these systems. Hence, in contrast to studies performed at higher latitudes, we show that despite the constant exposure to UVR, predator avoidance and food availability are the most pronounced drivers of copepod DVM at those low latitudes, suggesting that the main driver of DVM may vary among systems, but also systematically by latitude.
|
|
| 8. |
- Škerlep, Martin, et al.
(författare)
-
Afforestation driving long-term surface water browning
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 26:3, s. 1390-1399
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Increase in surface water color (browning), caused by rising dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and iron concentrations, has been widely reported and studied in the last couple of decades. This phenomenon has implications to aquatic ecosystem function and biogeochemical carbon cycling. While recovery from acidification and changes in climate-related variables, such as precipitation and length of growing season, are recognized as drivers behind browning, land-use change has received less attention. In this study, we include all of the above factors and aim to discern their individual and combined contribution to water color variation in an unprecedentedly long (1940–2016) and highly resolved dataset (~20 times per month), from a river in southern Sweden. Water color showed high seasonal variability and a marked long-term increase, particularly in the latter half of the dataset (~1980). Short-term and seasonal variations were best explained by precipitation, with temperature playing a secondary role. All explanatory variables (precipitation, temperature, S deposition, and land-use change) contributed significantly and together predicted 75% of the long-term variation in water color. Long-term change was best explained by a pronounced increase in Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst) volume—a measure of land-use change and a proxy for buildup of organic soil layers—and by change in atmospheric S deposition. When modeling water color with a combination of explanatory variables, Norway spruce showed the highest contribution to explaining long-term variability. This study highlights the importance of considering land-use change as a factor behind browning and combining multiple factors when making predictions in water color and DOC.
|
|
| 9. |
- Skerlep, Martin
(författare)
-
Changing land cover as a driver of surface water browning
- 2021
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Streams, rivers and lakes across wide areas of the Northern hemisphere have been subject to an increase in water color over the last decades. This increase, also known as browning, is a result of rising dissolved organic matter (DOM) and iron (Fe) concentrations in the water. Over the years, browning has received ample attention due to its impact on the structure and function of freshwater ecosystems, biogeochemical cycles and drinking water production. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain what causes browning, with climate change and recovery from atmospheric S deposition receiving the most attention as potential drivers. Recently, it has been suggested that land cover changes, specifically increases in coniferous forest cover which promote accumulation of organic soils, is an important and overlooked factor behind browning.The main aim of this thesis was to evaluate the contribution of changing land cover on long-term water color trends. Since afforestation represents a major shift in land cover in the last century, my aim was to explore how this may have affected processes in the catchment that could contribute to the observed increase in Fe and DOM exports to surface waters.By combining uniquely long water color time series, with parallel records of climate variables, S deposition, and land cover, it was clear that all drivers significantly influence water color, but that including afforestation was integral to explain long-term browning. Low water color in the decades before peak S deposition, showed that observed browning is not representing a return to pre-industrial conditions. Rather, an earlier water color increase may have been suppressed by the reduced mobility of OM during peak acidification and has led to an accelerated water color increase in recent decades. The importance of spruce forest to the mobilization of Fe and DOM from soils was also supported by results from a field study based on a forest chronosequence. Both Fe and DOM concentrations were considerably higher in soil solution under old spruce forest stands than under young spruce forest and arable land. This supports a previously suggested notion that impacts of afforestation on soil processes that influence Fe and DOM mobilization can only be seen after several decades, and explain why changes in land cover and water color are temporarily mismatched. Characterization of Fe speciation by X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) supported that mononuclear Fe(III)-OM complexes were the dominant Fe phase in soil solution, a finding that highlights the strong link between Fe and OM mobilization and the importance of organic soils in providing Fe to surface waters. The role of spruce forests was further indicated by the fact that increasing trends in stream Fe concentrations were observed in catchments with high proportion of old spruce forest, but not in catchments with more mire, open land, and deciduous forest cover. Long-term increase of Fe concentrations in soil solution of a riparian forest soil, and the lack of a trend in soil solution of a mire, also point to spruce forest soils as an important source to support positive Fe trends in streams.Collectively, these findings show that land cover sets the baseline for the amount of DOM and Fe that is available, and that changes in land cover, S deposition and climate drivers contribute to observed browning trends.
|
|
| 10. |
- Škerlep, Martin, et al.
(författare)
-
Differential trends in iron concentrations of boreal streams linked to catchment characteristics
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Global Biogeochemical Cycles. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0886-6236 .- 1944-9224. ; 37:3
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Increasing iron (Fe) concentrations have been reported for freshwaters across northern Europe over the last decades. This increase, together with elevated concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), leads to browning of freshwaters, which affects aquatic organisms, ecosystem functioning, biogeochemical cycles, and brings challenges to drinking water production. However, how such increasing trends in stream Fe concentrations reflect the contribution of different catchment sources remains poorly resolved. Here, we explored how catchment characteristics, that is, mires and coniferous soils, regulate spatial and temporal patterns of Fe in a boreal stream network. For this, we determined Fe speciation in riparian and mire soils, and studied temporal Fe dynamics in soil-water and stream-water over a span of 18 years. Positive Fe trends were found in the solution of the riparian soil, while no long-term trend was observed in the mire. These differences were reflected in stream-water, where three headwater streams dominated by coniferous cover also displayed positive Fe trends, whereas the mire dominated stream showed no trend. Surprisingly, the majority of higher order streams showed declining Fe trends, despite long-term increases in DOC. In addition, we found that an extreme drought event led to a prolonged release of Fe and DOC from the riparian soils, that could have long-term effects on stream Fe concentrations. Our results show that riparian forest soils can be major contributors to ongoing increases in freshwater Fe concentrations and that drought can further promote the release of Fe from organic soils.
|
|
