Cyanobacteria as biological drivers of lake nitrogen and phosphorus cycling

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dc.contributor.authorCottingham, Kathryn L.en
dc.contributor.authorEwing, Holly A.en
dc.contributor.authorGreer, Meredith L.en
dc.contributor.authorCarey, Cayelan C.en
dc.contributor.authorWeathers, Kathleen C.en
dc.contributor.departmentBiological Sciencesen
dc.date.accessioned2019-05-08T17:52:14Zen
dc.date.available2019-05-08T17:52:14Zen
dc.date.issued2015-01en
dc.description.abstractHere we draw attention to the potential for pelagic bloom-forming cyanobacteria to have substantial effects on nutrient cycling and ecosystem resilience across a wide range of lakes. Specifically, we hypothesize that cyanobacterial blooms can influence lake nutrient cycling, resilience, and regime shifts by tapping into pools of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) not usually accessible to phytoplankton. The ability of many cyanobacterial taxa to fix dissolved N-2 gas is a well-known potential source of N, but some taxa can also access pools of P in sediments and bottom waters. Both of these nutrients can be released to the water column via leakage or mortality, thereby increasing nutrient availability for other phytoplankton and microbes. Moreover, cyanobacterial blooms are not restricted to high nutrient (eutrophic) lakes: blooms also occur in lakes with low nutrient concentrations, suggesting that changes in nutrient cycling and ecosystem resilience mediated by cyanobacteria could affect lakes across a gradient of nutrient concentrations. We used a simple model of coupled N and P cycles to explore the effects of cyanobacteria on nutrient dynamics and resilience. Consistent with our hypothesis, parameters reflecting cyanobacterial modification of N and P cycling alter the number, location, and/or stability of model equilibria. In particular, the model demonstrates that blooms of cyanobacteria in low-nutrient conditions can facilitate a shift to the high-nutrient state by reducing the resilience of the low-nutrient state. This suggests that cyanobacterial blooms warrant attention as potential drivers of the transition from a low-nutrient, clear-water regime to a high-nutrient, turbid-water regime, a prediction of particular concern given that such blooms are reported to be increasing in many regions of the world due in part to global climate change.en
dc.description.notesWe thank Nina Caraco, Jon Cole, Sam Fey, Laurie Griesinger, Cristina Herren, Elizabeth Traver, Nelson Hairston Jr., Alex Flecker, Emil Rydin, Jessica Trout-Haney, Peter Leavitt, Mike Vanni, Lars-Anders Hansson, and Sabrina Hepburn for helpful discussions; Amanda Lindsey for data support; and Chris Klausmeier for Mathematica tips. Tony Ives, Mireia Bartrons, Sam Fey, and four anonymous reviewers provided comments on earlier drafts. We appreciate financial support from the U.S. National Science Foundation, including DEB-0749022 to K. L. Cottingham., K. C. Weathers, and H. A. Ewing; EF-0842267 to K. L. Cottingham; EF-0842112 to H. A. Ewing; EF-0842125 to K. C. Weathers; DEB-1010862 to C. C. Carey and Nelson G. Hairston, Jr.; and a Graduate Research Fellowship to C. C. Carey. Our work has also been supported by Dartmouth, Bates, and the American-Scandinavian Foundation.en
dc.description.sponsorshipU.S. National Science Foundation [DEB-0749022, EF-0842267, EF-0842112, EF-0842125, DEB-1010862]en
dc.description.sponsorshipDartmouthen
dc.description.sponsorshipBatesen
dc.description.sponsorshipAmerican-Scandinavian Foundationen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1890/ES14-00174.1en
dc.identifier.eissn2150-8925en
dc.identifier.issue1en
dc.identifier.other1en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/89390en
dc.identifier.volume6en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherEcological Society of Americaen
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.subjectbloomen
dc.subjecteutrophicationen
dc.subjectoligotrophicen
dc.subjectphytoplanktonen
dc.subjectregime shiften
dc.subjectresilienceen
dc.titleCyanobacteria as biological drivers of lake nitrogen and phosphorus cyclingen
dc.title.serialEcosphereen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten

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