Influence of invasive quagga mussels, phosphorus loads, and climate on spatial and temporal patterns of productivity in Lake Michigan: A biophysical modeling study

Details

• Journal Title:
  Limnology and Oceanography
• Personal Author:
  Rowe, Mark D. ; Anderson, Eric J. ; Vanderploeg, Henry A. ; Pothoven, Steven A. ; Elgin, Ashley K. ; Wang, Jia ; Yousef, Foad
• NOAA Program & Office:
  GLERL (Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory) ; OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research) ; CILER (Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research)
• Description:
  We applied a three-dimensional biophysical model to Lake Michigan for the years 2000, 2005, and 2010 to consider the mechanisms controlling spatial and temporal patterns of phytoplankton abundance (chlorophyll a) and lake-wide productivity. Model skill was assessed by comparison to satellite-derived Chl a and field-measured water quality variables. We evaluated model sensitivity to scenarios of varying mussel filter feeding intensity, tributary phosphorus loads, and warm vs. cool winter-spring climate scenarios. During the winter-spring phytoplankton bloom, spatial patterns of Chl a were controlled by variables that influenced surface mixed layer depth: deep mixing reduced net phytoplankton growth through light limitation and by exposing the full water column to mussel filter feeding. Onset of summer and winter stratification promoted higher surface Chl a initially by increasing mean light exposure and by separating the euphotic zone from mussels. During the summer stratified period, areas of relatively high Chl a were associated with coastal plumes influenced by tributary-derived nutrients and coastal upwelling-downwelling. While mussels influenced spatial and temporal distribution of Chl a, lake-wide, annual mean primary production was more sensitive to phosphorus and warm/cool meteorology scenarios than to mussel filter feeding scenarios. Although Chl a and primary production declined over the quagga mussel invasion, our results suggest that increased nutrient loads would increase lake-wide productivity even in the presence of mussels; however, altered spatial and temporal patterns of productivity caused by mussel filter feeding would likely persist.
• Source:
  Limnology and Oceanography, 62(6), 2629-2649.
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10595
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  Grant no. NA12OAR4320071
• Rights Information:
  Other
• Compliance:
  Submitted
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:c71031ddef0395b16ad9099d366a2cd9a8c6adf84cb0a53c1369f0405f2208e4
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/20834/noaa_20834_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.56 MB ]