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Variability in ice cover does not affect annual metabolism estimates in a small eutrophic reservoir
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  • Dexter W Howard,
  • Jennifer A Brentrup,
  • David C Richardson,
  • Abigail S. L. Lewis,
  • Freya Olsson,
  • Cayelan Carey
Dexter W Howard
Virginia Tech

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Jennifer A Brentrup
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
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David C Richardson
State University of New York at New Paltz
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Abigail S. L. Lewis
Virginia Tech
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Freya Olsson
Virginia Tech
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Cayelan Carey
Virginia Tech
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Abstract

Temperate reservoirs and lakes worldwide are experiencing decreases in ice cover, which will likely alter the net balance of gross primary production (GPP) and respiration (R) in these ecosystems. However, most metabolism studies to date have focused on summer dynamics, thereby excluding winter dynamics from annual metabolism budgets. To address this gap, we analyzed six years of year-round high-frequency dissolved oxygen data to estimate daily rates of net ecosystem production (NEP), GPP, and R in a eutrophic, dimictic reservoir that has intermittent ice cover. Over six years, the reservoir exhibited slight heterotrophy during both summer and winter. We found winter and summer metabolism rates to be similar: summer NEP had a median rate of -0.06 mg O2 L-1 day-1 (range: -15.86 to 3.20 mg O2 L-1 day-1), while median winter NEP was -0.02 mg O2 L-1 day-1 (range: -8.19 to 0.53 mg O2 L-1 day-1). Despite large differences in the duration of ice cover among years, there were minimal differences in NEP among winters. Overall, the inclusion of winter data had a limited effect on annual metabolism estimates, likely due to short winter periods in this reservoir (ice durations 0–35 days) relative to higher-latitude lakes. Our work reveals a smaller difference between winter and summer NEP than in lakes with continuous ice cover. Ultimately, our work underscores the importance of studying full-year metabolism dynamics in a range of aquatic ecosystems to help anticipate the effects of declining ice cover across lakes worldwide.
02 Feb 2024Submitted to ESS Open Archive
02 Feb 2024Published in ESS Open Archive