Browsing by Author "Fellman, Jason B."
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- Salmon-derived nutrient and organic matter fluxes from a coastal catchment in southeast AlaskaHood, Eran W.; Fellman, Jason B.; Edwards, Rick T.; D'Amore, David V.; Scott, Durelle T. (2019-06)Salmon are important vectors for biogeochemical transport across ecosystem boundaries. Here we quantified salmon contributions to annual catchment fluxes of nutrients (N and P) and organic matter (C, N, and P) from a forested catchment in coastal southeast Alaska. Concentrations of ammonium and soluble reactive phosphorus increased by several orders of magnitude during spawning and were significantly correlated with spawning salmon densities. Nitrate concentrations increased modestly during spawning and were not significantly correlated with salmon densities. Salmon had a modest legacy effect on inorganic N and P as evidenced by elevated streamwater concentrations past the end of the spawning period. Dissolved organic carbon concentrations did not respond to the presence of salmon; however, concentrations of dissolved organic nitrogen and phosphorus showed a significant positive relationship to salmon densities. Changes in spectroscopic properties of the bulk streamwater dissolved organic matter pool indicated that streamwater dissolved organic matter became less aromatic and biolabile during spawning. On an annual basis, salmon were the dominant source of streamwater fluxes of inorganic nutrients, accounting for 92%, 65%, and 74% of annual streamwater fluxes of ammonium, nitrate, and soluble reactive phosphorus, respectively. In contrast, fluxes of organic matter were dominated by catchment sources with salmon accounting for <1% of the annual catchment flux of dissolved organic carbon and 12% and 15% of the annual fluxes of dissolved organic nitrogen and phosphorous respectively. These findings indicate that, in small coastal catchments, salmon can be a quantitatively important source of dissolved streamwater nutrients with implications for productivity in downstream estuarine ecosystems.
- Seasonal variability of organic matter composition in an Alaskan glacier outflow: insights into glacier carbon sourcesSpencer, Robert G. M.; Vermilyea, Andrew; Fellman, Jason B.; Raymond, Peter; Stubbins, Aaron; Scott, Durelle T.; Hood, Eran W. (IOP Publishing, 2014-05-08)Glacier ecosystems are a significant source of bioavailable, yet ancient dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Characterizing DOC in Mendenhall Glacier outflow (southeast Alaska) we document a seasonal persistence to the radiocarbon-depleted signature of DOC, highlighting ancient DOC as a ubiquitous feature of glacier outflow. We observed no systematic depletion in Δ¹⁴C-DOC with increasing discharge during the melt season that would suggest mobilization of an aged subglacial carbon store. However, DOC concentration, δ¹³C-DOC, Δ¹⁴C-DOC and fluorescence signatures appear to have been influenced by runoff from vegetated hillslopes above the glacier during onset and senescence of melt. In the peak glacier melt period, the Δ¹⁴C-DOC of stream samples at the outflow (−181.7 to −355.3‰) was comparable to the Δ¹⁴C-DOC for snow samples from the accumulation zone (−207.2 to −390.9‰), suggesting that ancient DOC from the glacier surface is exported in glacier runoff. The pre-aged DOC in glacier snow and runoff is consistent with contributions from fossil fuel combustion sources similar to those documented previously in ice cores and thus provides evidence for anthropogenic perturbation of the carbon cycle. Overall, our results emphasize the need to further characterize DOC inputs to glacier ecosystems, particularly in light of predicted changes in glacier mass and runoff in the coming century.