Long-term trends in seasonal plankton dynamics in Lake Mead (Nevada-Arizona, USA) and implications for climate change

Over the past few decades, Lake Mead (Nevada-Arizona, USA) has experienced multiple ecosystem stressors including drought, increased water demand, and establishment of invasive species (quagga mussels, gizzard shad). Despite these potential stressors, zooplankton and phytoplankton community dynamics...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hydrobiologia 2018-10, Vol.822 (1), p.85-109
Main Authors: Beaver, John R., Kirsch, Janet E., Tausz, Claudia E., Samples, Erin E., Renicker, Thomas R., Scotese, Kyle C., McMaster, Heidi A., Blasius-Wert, Becky J., Zimba, Paul V., Casamatta, Dale A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic ecosystems
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Blooms
Climate change
Communities
Cyanobacteria
Drought
Droughts
Dynamics
Ecology
Ecosystems
Environmental changes
Freshwater & Marine Ecology
Freshwater fishes
Global temperature changes
Introduced species
Invasive species
Lakes
Life Sciences
Microcystis
Mussels
Pelagic environment
Phytoplankton
Plankton
Primary Research Paper
Snowpack
Water demand
Zoology
Zooplankton
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Summary:Over the past few decades, Lake Mead (Nevada-Arizona, USA) has experienced multiple ecosystem stressors including drought, increased water demand, and establishment of invasive species (quagga mussels, gizzard shad). Despite these potential stressors, zooplankton and phytoplankton community dynamics in the pelagic regions of Lake Mead have generally followed consistent seasonal patterns. Long-term monitoring results (2007–2015) show that zooplankton and phytoplankton communities remain relatively stable in Lake Mead on an inter-annual basis, but are susceptible to shifts caused by extreme climate fluctuations and alterations in mixing regimes. A warm winter characterized by low snowpack in 2014/2015 preceded a large bloom of toxic cyanobacteria ( Microcystis aeruginosa Kützing) in Las Vegas Bay the following summer. Large bloom events are rare in Lake Mead; however, under future climate scenarios, these types of events may become more frequent. Because of the consistency of plankton community dynamics over an extended period of time, Lake Mead offers an ideal system for the study of future climate change impacts. This study aims to characterize the response of plankton communities in Lake Mead to both linear and dynamic environmental changes.
ISSN:0018-8158
1573-5117
DOI:10.1007/s10750-018-3638-4