The impact of earlier flood recession on metacommunity diversity of wintering waterbirds at shallow lakes in the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain

The hydrological regime in wetlands plays an important role in the process of wintering waterbird metacommunity assemblage.However,increasing frequency of extreme climate and the intensification of human activities,such as the construction of sluices and dams,have resulted in frequently abnormal hydrological regime in the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain.In recent years,earlier flood recession has become one of the main hydrological problems faced in the shallow lakes,having a great impact on wetland biodiversity.It is necessary to understand the impact of earlier flood recession on waterbirds,an indicator of wetland biodiversity,and the metacommunity concept is helpful to elucidate the underlying mechanism involved in the processes of assemblage by waterbird communities.In this study,we surveyed the wintering waterbirds at three sub-lakes of Caizi Lakes during 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 and compared the richness,abundance,alpha and beta diversity of waterbirds in and among local metacommunities under earlier flood recession and normal hydrological regime.The results showed that the earlier flood recession reduced the species richness in the early stage and abundance in the late stage,it also reduced the Shannon-Wiener index in the early stage and increased the dissimilarity between and within waterbird metacommunities in the late stage.The partition of beta diversity showed that the turnover component played a major role in the process of waterbird metacommunity assemblage.It was found that the earlier flood recession reduced the richness,abundance in different stages of flood recession,which also increased the turnover of waterbirds.Metacommunities with high habitat heterogeneity had better resistance to abnormal hydrological regime,which resulted in high dissimilarity between and within metacommunities.The results of this study provide important information for waterbird conservation and water level management at shallow lakes in the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain.

Hydroacoustic estimates of fish biomass and spatial distributions in shallow lakes

We conducted acoustical surveys with a horizontal beam transducer to detect fish and with a vertical beam transducer to detect depth and macrophytes in two typical shallow lakes along the middle and lower reaches of the Changjiang(Yangtze) River in November 2013. Both lakes are subject to active fish management with annual stocking and removal of large fish. The purpose of the study was to compare hydroacoustic horizontal beam estimates with fish landings. The preliminary results show that the fish distribution patterns dif fered in the two lakes and were af fected by water depth and macrophyte coverage. The hydroacoustically estimated fish biomass matched the commercial catch very well in Niushan Lake, but it was two times higher in Kuilei Lake. However, acoustic estimates included all fish, whereas the catch included only fish >45 cm(smaller ones were released). We were unable to determine the proper regression between acoustic target strength and fish length for the dominant fish species in the two lakes.

Patterns and trajectories of macrophyte change in East China’s shallow lakes over the past one century

Macrophytes play important roles in maintaining ecosystem health and stability of shallow lakes.Better understanding of their long-term dynamics has important theoretical and practical significance for both lake ecosystem restoration and eutrophication control.However,the knowledge about the historical status and changing patterns of macrophytes in China’s shallow lakes is still controversial and lacks systematic research.Here,we reviewed and synthesized the published records of submerged macrophytes from 14 typical shallow lakes in the eastern plain covering the past 100 years.The results suggest that submerged macrophytes have experienced three clear stages of change:rare period(the 1900s–the 1950s),growth period(the 1950s–the 1980s),and recession period(the 1980s–now).This finding is different from the traditional understanding that submerged macrophytes were abundant in the early 20th century and have been degrading since then.On this basis,we proposed the possible evolution pattern(less-more-less)of submerged macrophytes in the eastern plain lake region over the past 100 years,which provides new perspectives about the long-term evolution process of macrophytes in shallow lakes.Furthermore,we found that the decline of submerged macrophytes during the regime shift shows a gradual process at the interdecadal scale;this finding contradicts the classical regime shift theory that macrophytes decline sharply during the critical transition.This study has important theoretical value for the restoration of the eastern plain lakes in China from“turbid lake”to“clear lake”,especially for establishing the historical reference condition and restoration path of macrophytes.

Do alternative stable states exist in large shallow Taihu Lake,China?

Regime shifts from submersed macrophyte dominance to phytoplankton dominance have been widely reported in small-to medium-sized shallow lakes.However,alternative stable states in large shallow lakes(surface area>500 km^(2))remain unconfirmed.To understand the alternative stable states and the main influencing factors of submersed macrophytes in large lakes,the ecosystem states from monitoring data from 1959 to 2019 in large shallow Taihu Lake(2338 km^(2)in average depth of 2.12 m)in China were examined.Changes in submersed macrophyte coverage(C_(Mac))and phytoplankton chlorophyll a(Chl a)in the time series and their relationships with environmental factors were analyzed.During the field investigation from August 2018 to May 2019,nutrients and Chl a showed obvious heterogeneity across the lake,being generally higher in the western and northern areas and lower in the southeast area,while C_(Mac)was only observed in the eastern areas,e.g.,East Taihu Lake,Xukou Bay,and Gonghu Bay.During the long-term monitoring from 1959 to 2019 in the Central Region,Meiliang Bay,and East Taihu Lake,Chl a increased significantly in the time series.C_(Mac)varied slightly among different subareas,always at low levels(<10%)in the Central Region and Meiliang Bay but at relatively high levels in East Taihu Lake(10%–90%).Frequency distributions of response variables had no multimodality except for C_(Mac)in East Taihu Lake,with two peaks between 15%and 20%and between 55%and 60%.A dual relationship was found between Chl a and total phosphorus(TP)in the areas with and without macrophytes,while C_(Mac)showed no relationship with TP,and submersed macrophytes did not flourish in the Central Region and Meiliang Bay even when TP was at very low levels(≈10 mg/m3).Taihu Lake had similar algal turbidity(TurbAlg)as small-to mediumsized lakes but generally presented with higher values of nonalgal turbidity(TurbNonAlg),as did their contribution to total turbidity as a percentage.This study suggested that large shallow Taihu Lake may have no alternative stable states,but more evidence is needed for East Taihu Lake,which was dominated by macrophytes,as it remains unknown whether hysteresis occurs between the processes of eutrophication and oligotrophication.Unfavorable conditions caused by wind might be the main reason due to the absence of submersed macrophytes in Taihu Lake.These results demonstrate that stricter nutrient control is needed to maintain a healthy state or to recover from a decayed state for large lakes.

Size-dependent responses of zooplankton to submerged macrophyte restoration in a subtropical shallow lake

To explore the size-dependent responses of zooplankton to submerged macrophyte restoration, we collected macrophyte, zooplankton and water quality samples seasonally from a subtropical shallow lake from 2010 to 2012. Special attention was given to changes in rotifers and crustaceans(cladocerans and copepods). The rotifers were grouped into three size classes(<200 μm, 200 μm–400 μm, >400 μm) to explore their size-related responses to macrophyte restoration. The results showed that during the restoration, the annual mean biomass and macrophyte coverage increased significantly from 0 to 637 g/m^2 and 0 to 27%, respectively. In response, the density and biomass of crustaceans and the crustacean-to-rotifer ratio increased significantly, while the rotifer density decreased significantly. Moreover, rotifers showed significant sizedependent responses to macrophyte restoration. Specially, rotifers <400 μm were significantly suppressed, while those ≥400 μm were significantly encouraged. Overall, the population of large-sized zooplankton tended to boom, while that of small rotifers was inhibited during macrophyte restoration. Redundancy analysis(RDA) revealed positive correlations between macrophytes and crustaceans, rotifers and COD or Chl-a, but negative correlations between macrophytes and COD or Chl-a, and between crustaceans and Chl-a. Moreover, the results indicate that increased predation on phytoplankton by large-sized zooplankton might be an important mechanism for macrophyte restoration during development of aquatic ecosystems, and that this mechanism played a very important role in promoting the formation of a clear-water state in subtropical shallow lakes.

A New Understanding of Channel Patterns and Facies Models of the Shallow Lake Delta Facies of Fuyu Oil Reservoir in Songliao Basin,China

In the Fuyu Reservoir of Songliao Basin, there occur a series of well-developed peculiar shallow lake delta facies, which can be divided to such three ones as the upper delta plain subfacies, the lower delta plain subfacies, and the delta front subfacies. Among them the upper delta plain subfacies mainly grows proximal distributary channels; the lower delta plain subfacies mainly grows distal ones. The entire Fuyu Reservoir has mainly developed 7 kinds of distributary channel patterns： proximal/ distal meandering type distributary channels, proximal/distal low-sinuosity type distributary channels, proximal/distal straight type distributary channels, and subaqueous distributary channels. Among these patterns, the proximal and distal meandering type distributary channels have bigger thickness of point bar and better sorting and low content of mud; moreover, they are the major reservoirs and occur in the bottom of Quan-4th member. The sandbars of the subaqueous distributary channels have higher mud content, and serve as the poorer reservoirs, and mainly occur in the top of Quan-4th member.

Effects of main range and strength factors on change of COD in a shallow lake

A model involving the relationship between non conservative matter (COD) and main range factors(loading, water stage) and strength factor (temperature) in a shallow lake has been established on the basis of less change of water stage area curve in certain extent, broader distribution in pollution sources and more homogeneous in quantity of heat. The effects of COD inflow and /or outflow, and hydro meterological factors upon COD content in Lake Taihu were calculated and simulated under the actual situation of the loadings and regimen. The results simulated by using the model are in better agreement with the observed field data. The error of the model was also discussed.

Spatio-temporal dynamics of cyanobacterial abundance and toxicity in a Mediterranean hypereutrophic lake

The Mediterranean basin is considered one of the most vulnerable areas in the world under the impacts of global warming and changes in precipitation patterns.Oubeira,a shallow and polymictic freshwater lake located in northeastern Algeria(36°50′N,08°23′E),has recently experienced a significant proliferation of harmful cyanobacteria resulting in the generation of toxins.We carried out this study in order to understand the succession patterns of dominant cyanobacteria and cyanotoxin production and the factors driving this in Oubeira Lake.A total of 26 cyanobacterial genera were identified,and among them Microcystis and Planktothrix accounted for more than 60%of the overall cell abundance.The summer/fall period was dominated by Microcystis,Planktothrix,and in lesser extend by Cylindrospermum,Cylindrospermopsis.During the fall/winter transition,Dolichospermum,Pseudanabaena,and Aphanizomenon were the dominant genera.Statistically,the bloom-forming cyanobacteria showed significant differences between months but not between stations.Intracellular microcystins(MC-LR)was detected in all collected samples(0.62-and 19.14-μg MC-LR equivalent/L),but appeared in high concentrations throughout the period of dominance of Microcystis and Planktothrix.Microcystis was more sensitive to nutrients than to temperature.Planktothrix was more dependent on temperature than on nutrients,which explains their coexistence during summer-fall period.However,both genera are positively correlated with MC-LR and would probably be the main producers of microcystins.Pseudanabaena,Dolichospermum,and Aphanizomenon co-occurred at the end of Planktothrix dominance period(December).Aphanizomenon and Pseudanabaena were correlated negatively with temperature and positively with water conductivity.Dolichospermum showed a strong positive correlation with MC-LR.Oubeira Lake,could serve as a model of how cyanobacteria blooms may develop in lakes within Mediterranean climates.

Heavy-metal contents in suspended solids of Meiliang Bay,Taihu Lake and its environmental significances

Surface water was taken from river mouth to the central area of Meiliang Bay, Taihu Lake, a large shallow eutrophic lake in China. Suspended solids were condensed by centrifugation 25 L surface water samples from each selected site. Suspended solids and surface sediments were further freeze-dried and microwave digested before determining the metals by ICP-AES. Among the metals analyzed in suspended solids and sediments, contents of Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, and Zn in suspended solids were significantly higher than those in sediments while contents of Al, Ba, Be, Ca, Co, Fe, K, Mg, Pb, and V in suspended solids were 10%—30% higher than those in sediments. Sr and Ti contents in suspended solids and sediments were very similar. Na content in suspended solids was lower than that in sediments. Heavy metals were significantly accumulated in suspended solids. From the river mouth to the center of Meiliang Bay, contents of Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn in suspended solids showed a gradual decreasing trend indicating the river(Zhihugang River) still discharged large quantity of heavy metals to Meiliang Bay. The study suggests that the geochemical behaviors and ecological effects of heavy metals in suspended solids may serve as a good indicator for the pollution of lake.

The role of lake heat flux in the growth and melting of ice

For shallow lakes,ice mass balance is largely dominated by thermodynamic processes.The heat flux from lake water plays a critical role for ice growth and melting.In this study,we applied a numerical thermodynamic lake model to investigate the sensitivity of the lake ice mass balance to the lake heat flux during the growth and melting periods.Several groups of modelling experiments forced by simplified climatological weather data have been carried out.Two sites,Lake Wuliangsuhai inInner Mongolia,China’s arid region and Lake Orajärvi in snowy Finnish Lapland,were investigated.Lake heat flux affects inversely proportional maximum ice thickness followed by ice break-up date.The solar radiation and surface albedo complicate the effect of lake heat flux on lake ice mass balance during melting season.With heavy snowfall,the increase of lake heat flux adds on the formation of granular ice but reduces the formation of columnar ice.Under climatological weather conditions,theice cover winter seasonal mean lake heat flux were 14 W·m^(−2) and 4 W·m^(−2) in Lake Wuliangsuhai and Lake Orajärvi,respectively.

Effects of benthic algae on release of soluble reactive phosphorus from sediments: a radioisotope tracing study

To evaluate the effect of benthic algae on soluble reactive phosphorus（SRP） release from sediments in shallow lakes, experiments on SRP release with and without benthic algae in sediment cores and an experiment on SRP uptake by benthic algae were conducted using the radioisotope（32P） tracing method. The dissolved oxygen（DO） concentration in sediment cores was also investigated. The results show that benthic algae effectively reduce the release of SRP from sediments to overlying water. The uptake of SRP by benthic algae, which is the direct way in which benthic algae affect the SRP release from sediments, is low in filtered water and increases with the SRP concentration. However, in the experiment, the increased uptake rate lasted for a short time（in one hour）, and after that it returned to a low rate. Benthic algae make the DO concentration and the oxic layer thickness increased, which can indirectly reduce the SRP release from sediments. These findings indicate that benthic algae can reduce the SRP release from sediments in both direct and indirect ways. It seems that the indirect way also plays an important role in reducing the SRP release from sediments.

In-situ study on nutrient release fluxes from shallow lake sediments under wind-driven waves

An in-situ benthic device to measure nutrient fluxes across the sediment-water interface has been developed and successfully used to study both static and dynamic fluxes of nutrients in Dianshan Lake, China. The result shows that the surface sediments of Dianshan Lake were resuspended under wind-driven waves. DOC entered into overlying water only when sediments were resuspended. The average DOC flux was 105.78 mg/（mEd）, while the static and dynamic POC fluxes were 48.22 mg/（mEd） and 10 273.20 mg/（m2d）, respectively. Ammonia and nitrate had no significant release, and the dynamic flux of TN was 87.11 mg/（m2d）. The release of phosphorus was the most evident, and the dynamic fluxes of SRP and DTP were 20.22 mg/（m2d） and 21.78 mg/（mEd）, 2.2 and 2.0 times higher than the static fluxes, respectively. Dissolved phosphorus was released mainly as SRP, and phosphorus release from the sediments in Dianshan Lake cannot be ignored.

Evidence of temperature-controlled dissolved inorganic nitrogen distribution in a shallow lake

Dissolved inorganic nitrogen(DIN) plays an important role in aquatic ecosystems as an available source of nitrogen(N). Despite recent advances in our understanding of the effects of climate change on DIN in coastal waters, shallow high-latitude lakes exposed to large seasonal temperature differences have received limited research attention. Therefore,in the present study, Baiyangdian Lake(BYDL) was selected as the study area, as a typical high latitude shallow lake in North China. Based on water and sediment samples collected in spring, summer and winter seasons, DIN accumulation in sedimentary pore water and DIN diffusion fluxes at the sediment-water interface were quantified under different temperature conditions. Correlation analysis was used to establish the effects of temperature on DIN concentration and diffusion in different media. Results show that the diffusion of DIN at the lake sediment-water interface exhibited a strongly positive relationship with temperature, suggesting that high temperature conditions lead to greater DIN release from sediments. Cold temperatures cause DIN accumulation in sedimentary pore water, providing sufficient substrate for N-related bacteria in the sediment under cold temperature conditions. Temperature controls the vertical distribution of DIN by affecting its migratory diffusion and transformation at the sediment-water interface. These findings are valuable for understanding the impact of climate change on the distribution of N in inland shallow lakes,especially in high latitude shallow lakes subjected to large seasonal temperature differences throughout the year.

Changes of DOM and its correlation with internal nutrient release during cyanobacterial growth and decline in Lake Chaohu, China

The seasonal changes in dissolved organic matter(DOM),and its correlation with the release of internal nutrients during the annual cycle of cyanobacteria in the eutrophic Lake Chaohu,China,were investigated from four sampling periods between November 2020 and July 2021.The DOM fluorescence components were identified as protein-like C1,microbial humic-like C2,and terrestrial humic-like C3.The highest total fluorescence intensity(FT)of DOM in sediments during the incubation stage is due to the decomposition and degradation of cyanobacteria remains.The lowest humification of DOM and the highest proportion of C1 in waters during the initial cyanobacterial growth indicate that fresh algae are the main source.The highest molecular weight of DOM and FT of the C2 in sediments during cyanobacterial outbreaks indicate the concurrent deposition of undegraded cyanobacterial remains and microbial degradation.The components of DOM are affected mainly by the dissolved total phosphorus in waters,while the temperature drives the annual cycle of cyanobacteria.The decreasing C1 in sediments and increasing nutrients in waters from the cyanobacterial incubation to outbreak indicate that mineralization of algal organic matter contributes importantly to the release of internal nutrients,with the strongest release of phosphorus observed during the early growth of cyanobacteria.The humic-like C2 and C3 components could also affect the dynamics of internal phosphorus through the formation of organic colloids and organic–inorganic ligands.The results show that the degradation of DOM leads to nutrients release and thus supports the continuous growth of cyanobacteria in eutrophic Lake Chaohu.

The effects of water depth on the growth and reproduction of Potamogeton crispus in an in situ experiment

Aims Water level is one of the most important determinants of the distri-bution and composition of submersed aquatic vegetation in shal-low lakes.Without changes in nutrient loading,large-scale declines in submerged macrophytes in shallow lakes are largely attributed to strong external or internal forces,including changes in water level.As a winter-active submerged macrophyte,Potamogeton crispus has important functions in aquatic ecosystem.The objec-tives of our study were to reveal the effects of water depths on the germination,growth,reproduction and morphological changes of P.crispus under natural environmental conditions;identify the optimum water depth range for colonization of P.crispus;and pre-dict the succession course for P.crispus in Lake Taihu.Methods A long-term in situ experiment was performed to study the effects of water depth on the growth and morphology of P.crispus across the entire life cycle.Plants were grown in the improved cross type of rhizotrons for 30 weeks at three different water depths(60,120 and 200 cm)in Dongtaihu Bay of Lake Taihu.We measured the plant height,root length,the length and width of leaves and counted the numbers of leaves,ramets,turion spikes and roots of each plant on each observation day during the experiment.Important Findings Water depths ranging from 60 to 120 cm were favourable for above-ground vegetation growth,root tissue growth and the reproductive ability of P.crispus.At water depth of 200 cm or beyond,the distri-bution of P.crispus will be limited in the following year because of the lack of turion formation and the severe inhibition of ramet pro-duction.The relationship between above-ground biomass and growth time at three different water depths fits a logistic growth curve well(P<0.001).The rapid growth and distribution with high density of P.crispus at water depth near 60 cm during the reproductive stage is not favourable for growth of other submerged species.So a continuous water depth of~60-120 cm is the optimum growth depth range for the conservation and restoration of P.crispus in Lake Taihu.In addi-tion,the morphological parameters values acquired can replace or provide the ranges for the value of GmaxSB(the maximum growth rate of submerged plants,in the unit of d^(−1))obtained via calibration in the control equations of submerged plant growth in the Eco-Taihu model,which is a three-dimensional ecological model of Lake Taihu.

INFLUENCE OF SEEPAGE FACE OBLIQUITY ON DISCHARGE OF GROUNDWATER AND ITS POLLUTANT INTO LAKE FROM A TYPICAL UNCONFINED AQUIFER

Lab experiment and mathematical simulation Modular three dimensional finite difference groundwater （MODFLOW） were performed in a soil tank to simulate the hydrogeochemical interaction between lake and typical unconfined aquifer. Results show that the velocity decreases exponentially with the transect distance on seepage face. The maximal velocity occurs at the top point of seepage face. The obliquity of seepage face has a great influence on the maximum and distribution of seepage velocity. With the increase of the obliquity of seepage face, the maximal velocity decreases quickly and the velocity distribution becomes much more even. Most of groundwater flow and pollutant flux discharges through a narrow portion near the top of seepage face. The flow and mass concentrated in the narrow portion increase with the decrease of the obliquity of seepage face. These will benefit to design a reasonable and economical scenario to manage lakeshore and to control the pollution of lake water near lakeshore.

THEORETICAL ESTIMATION OF GROUNDWATER DISCHARGE AND ASSOCIATED NUTRIENT LOADING TO A LAKE WITH GENTLE SLOPE BOTTOM

A simple estimation model of groundwater discharge and nutrient flux from nearshore unconfined aquifer to lake was studied. It was supposed that the aquifer was permeable isotropic homogeneously and its thickness approximated to the depth of lake. Distribution of the hydraulic gradient and the specific discharge along the transect of the discharge zone were discussed. Results show that the groundwater discharge patterns vary with the inclination angle of lakeshore bottom. For a shallow lake with gentle slope bottom, the rate of discharge of groundwater to lake is not constant across a discharge zone, but the discharge is concentrated in a narrow portion of the littoral zone where the Dupuit assumptions are invalid. The width of the discharge zone is correlative with aquifer thickness and slope of the lake bottom. The distribution functions of hydraulic gradient and groundwater discharge rates accord exponentially with offshore distance.