Nutrient Control of Phytoplankton Abundance and Biomass, and Microplankton Assemblage Structure in the Lower Columbia River (Vancouver, Washington, USA)
Nutrient limitation of phytoplankton is common but by no means universal in large temperate rivers. Previous field studies in the Columbia River, USA, are suggestive of nutrient limitations of phytoplankton, especially during summer, but this has never been tested experimentally. We therefore undert...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/10/1599 |
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| author | Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens Kristin A. Connelly Stephen M. Bollens Julie Zimmerman Alixandra Coker |
| author_facet | Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens Kristin A. Connelly Stephen M. Bollens Julie Zimmerman Alixandra Coker |
| author_sort | Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Nutrient limitation of phytoplankton is common but by no means universal in large temperate rivers. Previous field studies in the Columbia River, USA, are suggestive of nutrient limitations of phytoplankton, especially during summer, but this has never been tested experimentally. We therefore undertook monthly 5-day nutrient amendment incubation experiments from May–September 2018 using Columbia River water collected at Vancouver, Washington, USA. We compared replicate treatment bottles containing natural microplankton assemblages and amended nutrients (NO<sub>3</sub>, PO<sub>4</sub> and SiO<sub>4</sub> in combination) with replicate control bottles containing natural microplankton assemblages and ambient nutrients. Phytoplankton abundance and biomass were compared between treatments and controls on each day of each experiment, and microplankton assemblage structure was evaluated using Permutational Multivariate Analysis of Variance and Non-Metric Multi-Dimensional Scaling ordination on Day 0 (ambient) and Day 5 of each experiment. Nutrient amendment significantly affected phytoplankton abundance and biomass, particularly in June–August, although this varied between taxa (e.g., cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates, flagellates and ciliates showed more frequent positive responses than chlorophytes and diatoms did). Abundance-based microplankton assemblage structure was significantly correlated with PO<sub>4</sub>, SiO<sub>4</sub> and NO<sub>3</sub> concentrations, and BIOENV procedure in R revealed that the best subset of explanatory variables included SiO<sub>4</sub> and NO<sub>3</sub> concentrations. Biomass-based assemblage structure was significantly correlated with SiO<sub>4</sub> and NO<sub>3</sub>, although BIOENV explanatory variables included only SiO<sub>4</sub>. These results are suggestive of summertime nutrient control of phytoplankton abundance and biomass, as well as microplankton composition, in the lower Columbia River, at least during some months. Since eutrophication is increasing in the watershed, this could have important implications for higher level consumers (e.g., zooplankton and out-migrating juvenile salmon). |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:34:23Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:34:23Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-3ceff352c9c74f7ea598473b8e81d2aa2023-11-23T13:34:56ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412022-05-011410159910.3390/w14101599Nutrient Control of Phytoplankton Abundance and Biomass, and Microplankton Assemblage Structure in the Lower Columbia River (Vancouver, Washington, USA)Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens0Kristin A. Connelly1Stephen M. Bollens2Julie Zimmerman3Alixandra Coker4School of the Environment, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA 98686, USASchool of the Environment, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA 98686, USASchool of the Environment, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA 98686, USASchool of the Environment, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA 98686, USACamas High School, Camas, WA 98607, USANutrient limitation of phytoplankton is common but by no means universal in large temperate rivers. Previous field studies in the Columbia River, USA, are suggestive of nutrient limitations of phytoplankton, especially during summer, but this has never been tested experimentally. We therefore undertook monthly 5-day nutrient amendment incubation experiments from May–September 2018 using Columbia River water collected at Vancouver, Washington, USA. We compared replicate treatment bottles containing natural microplankton assemblages and amended nutrients (NO<sub>3</sub>, PO<sub>4</sub> and SiO<sub>4</sub> in combination) with replicate control bottles containing natural microplankton assemblages and ambient nutrients. Phytoplankton abundance and biomass were compared between treatments and controls on each day of each experiment, and microplankton assemblage structure was evaluated using Permutational Multivariate Analysis of Variance and Non-Metric Multi-Dimensional Scaling ordination on Day 0 (ambient) and Day 5 of each experiment. Nutrient amendment significantly affected phytoplankton abundance and biomass, particularly in June–August, although this varied between taxa (e.g., cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates, flagellates and ciliates showed more frequent positive responses than chlorophytes and diatoms did). Abundance-based microplankton assemblage structure was significantly correlated with PO<sub>4</sub>, SiO<sub>4</sub> and NO<sub>3</sub> concentrations, and BIOENV procedure in R revealed that the best subset of explanatory variables included SiO<sub>4</sub> and NO<sub>3</sub> concentrations. Biomass-based assemblage structure was significantly correlated with SiO<sub>4</sub> and NO<sub>3</sub>, although BIOENV explanatory variables included only SiO<sub>4</sub>. These results are suggestive of summertime nutrient control of phytoplankton abundance and biomass, as well as microplankton composition, in the lower Columbia River, at least during some months. Since eutrophication is increasing in the watershed, this could have important implications for higher level consumers (e.g., zooplankton and out-migrating juvenile salmon).https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/10/1599temperate riversplankton community structurenutrient limitation |
| spellingShingle | Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens Kristin A. Connelly Stephen M. Bollens Julie Zimmerman Alixandra Coker Nutrient Control of Phytoplankton Abundance and Biomass, and Microplankton Assemblage Structure in the Lower Columbia River (Vancouver, Washington, USA) Water temperate rivers plankton community structure nutrient limitation |
| title | Nutrient Control of Phytoplankton Abundance and Biomass, and Microplankton Assemblage Structure in the Lower Columbia River (Vancouver, Washington, USA) |
| title_full | Nutrient Control of Phytoplankton Abundance and Biomass, and Microplankton Assemblage Structure in the Lower Columbia River (Vancouver, Washington, USA) |
| title_fullStr | Nutrient Control of Phytoplankton Abundance and Biomass, and Microplankton Assemblage Structure in the Lower Columbia River (Vancouver, Washington, USA) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nutrient Control of Phytoplankton Abundance and Biomass, and Microplankton Assemblage Structure in the Lower Columbia River (Vancouver, Washington, USA) |
| title_short | Nutrient Control of Phytoplankton Abundance and Biomass, and Microplankton Assemblage Structure in the Lower Columbia River (Vancouver, Washington, USA) |
| title_sort | nutrient control of phytoplankton abundance and biomass and microplankton assemblage structure in the lower columbia river vancouver washington usa |
| topic | temperate rivers plankton community structure nutrient limitation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/10/1599 |
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