Analysis of within- and between-day chlorophyll-a dynamics in Mantua Superior Lake, with a continuous spectroradiometric measurement

Eutrophic lakes display unpredictable patterns of phytoplankton growth, distribution, vertical and horizontal migration, likely depending on environmental conditions. Monitoring chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration provides reliable information on the dynamics of primary producers if monitoring is conducted frequently. We present a practical approach that allows continuous monitoring of Chl-a concentration by using a radiometric system that measures optical spectral properties of water. We tested this method in a shallow, nutrient-rich lake in northern Italy, the Mantua Superior Lake,wheretheradiometricsystemcollecteddataallthroughouttheday(i.e.every5min)for,30days.Here,specifically developed algorithms were used to convert water reflectance to Chl-a concentration. The best performing algorithm (R 2 ¼0.863) was applied to a larger dataset collected in September 2011. We characterised intra- and inter-daily Chl-a concentration dynamics and observed a high variability; during a single day, Chl-a concentration varied from 20 to 130mgm � 3 . Values of Chl-a concentration were correlated with meteo-climatic parameters, showing that solar radiance and wind speed are key factors regulating the daily phytoplankton growth and dynamics. Such patterns are usually determined by vertical migration of different phytoplankton species within the water column, as well as by metabolic adaptations to changes in light conditions. Additional keywords: inland water systems, meteorological factors, optical properties, phytoplankton dynamics, water quality.

[1]  B. Osborne,et al.  Light and Photosynthesis in Aquatic Ecosystems. , 1985 .

[2]  J. K. Breteler,et al.  Effects of benthivorous bream (Abramis brama) and carp (Cyprinus carpio) on sediment resuspension and concentrations of nutrients and chlorophyll a , 1994 .

[3]  A. Gitelson,et al.  Estimation of chlorophyll-a concentration in turbid productive waters using airborne hyperspectral data. , 2012, Water research.

[4]  A. Gitelson,et al.  A simple semi-analytical model for remote estimation of chlorophyll-a in turbid waters: Validation , 2008 .

[5]  Diel periodicity in phytoplankton productivity , 1992 .

[6]  Marten Scheffer,et al.  Shallow lakes theory revisited: various alternative regimes driven by climate, nutrients, depth and lake size , 2007, Hydrobiologia.

[7]  R. Michod,et al.  VOLVOX BARBERI, THE FASTEST SWIMMER OF THE VOLVOCALES (CHLOROPHYCEAE) 1 , 2008, Journal of phycology.

[8]  T. Roenneberg.  The complex circadian system of Gonyaulax polyedra , 1996 .

[9]  B. Binder,et al.  Diel cycles in surface waters of the equatorial Pacific , 2002 .

[10]  Seasonal variation in the composition and rate of change of the phytoplankton community in a deep subalpine lake (Lake Garda, Northern Italy). An application of nonmetric multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis , 1996, Hydrobiologia.

[11]  Ter Braak,et al.  Canoco reference manual and CanoDraw for Windows user''s guide: software for canonical community ord , 2002 .

[12]  Anatoly A. Gitelson,et al.  Remote chlorophyll-a retrieval in turbid, productive estuaries : Chesapeake Bay case study , 2007 .

[13]  Cécile Dupouy,et al.  Diel dynamics of chlorophylls in high‐nutrient, low‐chlorophyll waters of the equatorial Pacific (180°): Interactions of growth, grazing, physiological responses, and mixing , 2003 .

[14]  S. Polat.  DAILY VARIATIONS OF COASTAL PHYTOPLANKTON ASSEMBLAGES IN SUMMER CONDITIONS OF THE NORTHEASTERN MEDITERRANEAN (BAY OF İSKENDERUN) , 2005 .

[15]  R. L. Bates,et al.  Glossary of Geology , 1987 .

[16]  David P. Hamilton,et al.  Wave‐induced shear stresses, plant nutrients and chlorophyll in seven shallow lakes , 1997 .

[17]  Ø. Hammer,et al.  PAST: PALEONTOLOGICAL STATISTICAL SOFTWARE PACKAGE FOR EDUCATION AND DATA ANALYSIS , 2001 .

[18]  C. Mobley.  Light and Water: Radiative Transfer in Natural Waters , 1994 .

[19]  G. Dall’Olmo,et al.  Characterization of the bio-optical anomaly and diurnal variability of particulate matter, as seen from scattering and backscattering coefficients, in ultra-oligotrophic eddies of the Mediterranean Sea , 2011 .

[20]  M. Isobe,et al.  Daily change in wind-induced sediment resuspension and phosphorus forms in a shallow eutrophic lake. , 2010 .

[21]  J. Castilla,et al.  Large diurnal temperature fluctuations in the nearshore water column , 2003 .

[22]  Ronghua Ma,et al.  Comparison of different semi-empirical algorithms to estimate chlorophyll-a concentration in inland lake water , 2010, Environmental monitoring and assessment.

[23]  N. Salmaso,et al.  Planktothrix populations in subalpine lakes: selection for strains with strong gas vesicles as a function of lake depth, morphometry and circulation , 2011 .

[24]  G. Harris.  Phytoplankton productivity and growth measurements: past, present and future , 1984 .

[25]  K. Flynn,et al.  The large capacity for dark nitrate-assimilation in diatoms may overcome nitrate limitation of growth. , 2002, The New phytologist.

[26]  D. Doxaran,et al.  Estimation of surface reflection effects on upwelling radiance field measurements in turbid waters , 2004 .

[27]  M. Rossini,et al.  The hyperspectral irradiometer, a new instrument for long-term and unattended field spectroscopy measurements. , 2011, The Review of scientific instruments.

[28]  P. Viaroli,et al.  Net autotrophy in a fluvial lake: the relative role of phytoplankton and floating-leaved macrophytes , 2011, Aquatic Sciences.

[29]  D. Pierson,et al.  The effects of variability in the inherent optical properties on estimations of chlorophyll a by remote sensing in Swedish freshwaters. , 2001, The Science of the total environment.

[30]  S. F. Mitchell,et al.  Does sediment resuspension have persistent effects on phytoplankton? Experimental studies in three shallow lakes , 1998 .

[31]  Michele Meroni,et al.  3S: A novel program for field spectroscopy , 2009, Comput. Geosci..

[32]  Scales of disturbance and their role in plankton ecology , 1993 .

[33]  M. Haeckel,et al.  Bubble-induced porewater mixing: A 3-D model for deep porewater irrigation , 2007 .

[34]  P. Martikainen,et al.  Spatial and seasonal variation in greenhouse gas and nutrient dynamics and their interactions in the sediments of a boreal eutrophic lake , 2003 .

[35]  Richard D. Robarts,et al.  Microcystis Aeruginosa and Underwater Light Attenuation in a Hypertrophic Lake (Hartbeespoort Dam, South Africa) , 1984 .

[36]  H. Schubert,et al.  Primary production in two shallow lakes with contrasting plant form dominance: A paradox of enrichment? , 2006 .

[37]  James E. Cloern,et al.  Patterns and Scales of Phytoplankton Variability in Estuarine–Coastal Ecosystems , 2010 .

[38]  M. Matthews,et al.  An algorithm for detecting trophic status (chlorophyll-a), cyanobacterial-dominance, surface scums and floating vegetation in inland and coastal waters , 2012 .

[39]  A. Rossberg,et al.  Computer simulations of seasonal outbreak and diurnal vertical migration of cyanobacteria , 2008, Limnology.

[40]  B. Sherman,et al.  A model for the light-limited growth of buoyant phytoplankton in a shallow, turbid waterbody , 1994 .

[41]  Daniela Stroppiana,et al.  Assessing remotely sensed chlorophyll-a for the implementation of the Water Framework Directive in European perialpine lakes. , 2011, The Science of the total environment.

[42]  C. Gobler,et al.  The rise of harmful cyanobacteria blooms: The potential roles of eutrophication and climate change , 2012 .

[43]  D. Stramski.  Refractive index of planktonic cells as a measure of cellular carbon and chlorophyll a content , 1999 .

[44]  E. Jeppesen,et al.  Phosphorus release from resuspended sediment in the shallow and wind-exposed Lake Arresø, Denmark , 2004, Hydrobiologia.

[45]  David H. Schoellhamer,et al.  Effects of spatial and temporal variability of turbidity on phytoplankton blooms , 2003 .

[46]  C. Mobley,et al.  Estimation of the remote-sensing reflectance from above-surface measurements. , 1999, Applied optics.

[47]  E. Donk,et al.  Impact of submerged macrophytes including charophytes on phyto- and zooplankton communities: allelopathy versus other mechanisms , 2002 .

[48]  C. Reynolds.  The Ecology of Phytoplankton , 2006 .

[49]  H. Paerl,et al.  Climate change: links to global expansion of harmful cyanobacteria. , 2012, Water research.

[50]  Dariusz Stramski,et al.  Diel variations in the optical properties of a marine diatom , 1993 .

[51]  M. Ragni,et al.  Circadian variability in the photobiology of Phaeodactylum tricornutum: pigment content , 2007 .

[52]  C. Lorenzen,et al.  DETERMINATION OF CHLOROPHYLL AND PHEO‐PIGMENTS: SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC EQUATIONS1 , 1967 .

[53]  E. Jeppesen,et al.  The Impact of Nutrient State and Lake Depth on Top-down Control in the Pelagic Zone of Lakes: A Study of 466 Lakes from the Temperate Zone to the Arctic , 2003, Ecosystems.

[54]  Giorgio Dall'Olmo,et al.  Effect of bio-optical parameter variability on the remote estimation of chlorophyll-a concentration in turbid productive waters: experimental results. , 2005, Applied optics.

[55]  K. Sabbe,et al.  Spring phytoplankton assemblages in and around the maximum turbidity zone of the estuaries of the Elbe (Germany), the Schelde (Belgium/The Netherlands) and the Gironde (France) , 1999 .

[56]  B. Sherman,et al.  Is buoyancy regulation in cyanobacteria an adaptation to exploit separation of light and nutrients , 1999 .

[57]  Marcel Babin,et al.  Diel variations in Prochlorococcus optical properties , 2002 .

[58]  M. Isobe,et al.  Effects of temperature-induced sea breezes on phosphorus dynamics in a shallow eutrophic lake , 2012 .

[59]  Claudia Giardino,et al.  Imaging spectrometry of productive inland waters. Application to the lakes of Mantua , 2009 .

[60]  H. Utermöhl.  Zur Vervollkommnung der quantitativen Phytoplankton-Methodik , 1958 .

[61]  M. Kennish,et al.  Practical Handbook of Marine Science , 1988 .

[62]  M. Stacey,et al.  Intradaily variability of water quality in a shallow tidal lagoon: Mechanisms and implications , 2006 .

[63]  PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CONDITIONS SURROUNDING THE DIURNAL VERTICAL MIGRATION OF CRYPTOMONAS SPP. (CRYPTOPHYCEAE) IN A SEASONALLY STRATIFIED MIDWESTERN RESERVIOR (USA) , 2003 .

[64]  Edward J. Milton,et al.  Estimating the irradiance spectrum from measurements in a limited number of spectral bands , 2006 .

[65]  Michael J. Behrenfeld,et al.  Inferring phytoplankton carbon and eco-physiological rates from diel cycles of spectral particulate beam-attenuation coefficient , 2011 .