thumbnail

Hydrogeomorphic features mediate the effects of land use/cover on reservoir productivity and food webs

Limnology and Oceanography
By: , and 

Links

  • The Publications Warehouse does not have links to digital versions of this publication at this time
  • Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core

Abstract

Although effects of land use/cover on nutrient concentrations in aquatic systems are well known, half or more of the variation in nutrient concentration remains unexplained by land use/cover alone. Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) landscape features can explain much remaining variation and influence food web interactions. To explore complex linkages among land use/cover, HGM features, reservoir productivity, and food webs, we sampled 11 Ohio reservoirs, ranging broadly in agricultural catchment land use/cover, for 3 years. We hypothesized that HGM features mediate the bottom-up effects of land use/cover on reservoir productivity, chlorophyll a, zooplankton, and recruitment of gizzard shad, an omnivorous fish species common throughout southeastern U.S. reservoirs and capable of exerting strong effects on food web and nutrient dynamics. We tested specific hypotheses using a model selection approach. Percent variation explained was highest for total nitrogen (R2 = 0.92), moderately high for total phosphorus, chlorophyll a, and rotifer biomass (R2 = 0.57 to 0.67), relatively low for crustacean zooplankton biomass and larval gizzard shad hatch abundance (R2 = 0.43 and 0.42), and high for larval gizzard shad survivor abundance (R2 = 0.79). The trophic status models included agricultural land use/cover and an HGM predictor, whereas the zooplankton models had few HGM predictors. The larval gizzard shad models had the highest complexity, including more than one HGM feature and food web components. We demonstrate the importance of integrating land use/cover, HGM features, and food web interactions to investigate critical interactions and feedbacks among physical, chemical, and biological components of linked land-water ecosystems.
Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Hydrogeomorphic features mediate the effects of land use/cover on reservoir productivity and food webs
Series title Limnology and Oceanography
Volume 53
Issue 4
Year Published 2008
Language English
Contributing office(s) Great Lakes Science Center
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title Limnology and Oceanography
First page 1420
Last page 1433
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details