Phytoplankton blooms in Lake Winnipeg linked to selective water-gatekeeper connectivity

Abstract Lake Winnipeg was coined “Canada’s sickest lake” and “the most threatened lake in the World” due to its recurrent algal blooms caused by nutrient-rich water inputs. While conceptual frameworks link bloom occurrence to hydrologic connectivity, data-based validation is lacking. We analyzed 35...

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Autores principales:	Genevieve Ali, Carolyn English
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2019
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/8c2826db4465447d85cc961fb65bf52a
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:8c2826db4465447d85cc961fb65bf52a2021-12-02T15:09:33ZPhytoplankton blooms in Lake Winnipeg linked to selective water-gatekeeper connectivity10.1038/s41598-019-44717-y2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/8c2826db4465447d85cc961fb65bf52a2019-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44717-yhttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Lake Winnipeg was coined “Canada’s sickest lake” and “the most threatened lake in the World” due to its recurrent algal blooms caused by nutrient-rich water inputs. While conceptual frameworks link bloom occurrence to hydrologic connectivity, data-based validation is lacking. We analyzed 355 multi-year satellite-derived images to quantify phytoplankton biomass in Lake Winnipeg and the timing of runoff activation and hydrologic connectivity in the Lake Winnipeg Watershed. Our analyses reveal that the majority of watershed runoff-producing areas exhibit a strong coupling between runoff activation and hydrologic connectivity: they are proximal to rivers and become hydrologically connected to them multiple times a year. Conversely, a smaller number of runoff-producing areas are located further upslope and connect to rivers much less frequently. The latter act as water gatekeepers by selectively enabling the downstream transfer of runoff from headwater regions. Major blooms in Lake Winnipeg only occur when 50% of the water gatekeepers enable headwater-downstream connectivity during 31.5% (or more) of the spring-fall period. We conclude that an explicit assessment of the timing of runoff activation and hydrologic connectivity serves as a predictor of bloom occurrence and provides new information about the influence of a small number of locations on Lake Winnipeg.Genevieve AliCarolyn EnglishNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 9, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2019)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Genevieve Ali Carolyn English Phytoplankton blooms in Lake Winnipeg linked to selective water-gatekeeper connectivity
description	Abstract Lake Winnipeg was coined “Canada’s sickest lake” and “the most threatened lake in the World” due to its recurrent algal blooms caused by nutrient-rich water inputs. While conceptual frameworks link bloom occurrence to hydrologic connectivity, data-based validation is lacking. We analyzed 355 multi-year satellite-derived images to quantify phytoplankton biomass in Lake Winnipeg and the timing of runoff activation and hydrologic connectivity in the Lake Winnipeg Watershed. Our analyses reveal that the majority of watershed runoff-producing areas exhibit a strong coupling between runoff activation and hydrologic connectivity: they are proximal to rivers and become hydrologically connected to them multiple times a year. Conversely, a smaller number of runoff-producing areas are located further upslope and connect to rivers much less frequently. The latter act as water gatekeepers by selectively enabling the downstream transfer of runoff from headwater regions. Major blooms in Lake Winnipeg only occur when 50% of the water gatekeepers enable headwater-downstream connectivity during 31.5% (or more) of the spring-fall period. We conclude that an explicit assessment of the timing of runoff activation and hydrologic connectivity serves as a predictor of bloom occurrence and provides new information about the influence of a small number of locations on Lake Winnipeg.
format	article
author	Genevieve Ali Carolyn English
author_facet	Genevieve Ali Carolyn English
author_sort	Genevieve Ali
title	Phytoplankton blooms in Lake Winnipeg linked to selective water-gatekeeper connectivity
title_short	Phytoplankton blooms in Lake Winnipeg linked to selective water-gatekeeper connectivity
title_full	Phytoplankton blooms in Lake Winnipeg linked to selective water-gatekeeper connectivity
title_fullStr	Phytoplankton blooms in Lake Winnipeg linked to selective water-gatekeeper connectivity
title_full_unstemmed	Phytoplankton blooms in Lake Winnipeg linked to selective water-gatekeeper connectivity
title_sort	phytoplankton blooms in lake winnipeg linked to selective water-gatekeeper connectivity
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2019
url	https://doaj.org/article/8c2826db4465447d85cc961fb65bf52a
work_keys_str_mv	AT genevieveali phytoplanktonbloomsinlakewinnipeglinkedtoselectivewatergatekeeperconnectivity AT carolynenglish phytoplanktonbloomsinlakewinnipeglinkedtoselectivewatergatekeeperconnectivity
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Phytoplankton blooms in Lake Winnipeg linked to selective water-gatekeeper connectivity

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