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1. On the sensitivity of plankton ecosystem models to the formulation of zooplankton grazing

   https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252033  

   Chenillat, Fanny; Rivière, Pascal; Ohman, Mark D. (May 2021, PLOS ONE)

   Gorokhova, Elena (Ed.)

   Model representations of plankton structure and dynamics have consequences for a broad spectrum of ocean processes. Here we focus on the representation of zooplankton and their grazing dynamics in such models. It remains unclear whether phytoplankton community composition, growth rates, and spatial patterns in plankton ecosystem models are especially sensitive to the specific means of representing zooplankton grazing. We conduct a series of numerical experiments that explicitly address this question. We focus our study on the form of the functional response to changes in prey density, including the formulation of a grazing refuge. We use a contemporary biogeochemical model based on continuum size-structured organization, including phytoplankton diversity, coupled to a physical model of the California Current System. This region is of particular interest because it exhibits strong spatial gradients. We find that small changes in grazing refuge formulation across a range of plausible functional forms drive fundamental differences in spatial patterns of plankton concentrations, species richness, pathways of grazing fluxes, and underlying seasonal cycles. An explicit grazing refuge, with refuge prey concentration dependent on grazers’ body size, using allometric scaling, is likely to provide more coherent plankton ecosystem dynamics compared to classic formulations or size-independent threshold refugia. We recommend that future plankton ecosystem models pay particular attention to the grazing formulation and implement a threshold refuge incorporating size-dependence, and we call for a new suite of experimental grazing studies. 

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2. Hypolimnetic Hypoxia Increases the Biomass Variability and Compositional Variability of Crustacean Zooplankton Communities

   https://doi.org/10.3390/w11102179  

   Doubek, Jonathan P.; Campbell, Kylie L.; Lofton, Mary E.; McClure, Ryan P.; Carey, Cayelan C. (October 2019, Water)

   In freshwater lakes and reservoirs, climate change and eutrophication are increasing the occurrence of low-dissolved oxygen concentrations (hypoxia), which has the potential to alter the variability of zooplankton seasonal dynamics. We sampled zooplankton and physical, chemical and biological variables (e.g., temperature, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll a) in four reservoirs during the summer stratified period for three consecutive years. The hypolimnion (bottom waters) of two reservoirs remained oxic throughout the entire stratified period, whereas the hypolimnion of the other two reservoirs became hypoxic during the stratified period. Biomass variability (measured as the coefficient of the variation of zooplankton biomass) and compositional variability (measured as the community composition of zooplankton) of crustacean zooplankton communities were similar throughout the summer in the oxic reservoirs; however, biomass variability and compositional variability significantly increased after the onset of hypoxia in the two seasonally-hypoxic reservoirs. The increase in biomass variability in the seasonally-hypoxic reservoirs was driven largely by an increase in the variability of copepod biomass, while the increase in compositional variability was driven by increased variability in the dominance (proportion of total crustacean zooplankton biomass) of copepod taxa. Our results suggest that hypoxia may increase the seasonal variability of crustacean zooplankton communities. 

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3. Paleolimnological evidence for primary producer change linked to hydrologic connectivity and human impacts in Lake Carlton, Florida, USA

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-024-00318-y  

   Clift, Troy L.; Waters, Matthew N. (April 2024, Journal of Paleolimnology)

   Guangjie Chen (Ed.)

   Abstract Hypereutrophic conditions in lake ecosystems are generally associated with nutrient inputs from surrounding terrestrial landscapes. However, some systems can receive primary nutrient inputs through hydrologic connections such as rivers or canals. Lake Carlton, Florida, USA is a small, shallow, polymictic lake that ends a hydrologically connected string of lacustrine systems with hypereutrophic lakes Beauclair and Apopka. Lake Beauclair and Lake Apopka were connected hydrologically when a system of canals was constructed beginning in 1893 CE. These lakes have maintained hypereutrophic conditions despite extensive management to reduce nutrient inputs. Here, we collected a sediment core from Lake Carlton to accomplish two primary research objectives: 1) reconstruct the nutrient input for Lake Carlton throughout the last ~ 150 years to conduct source assessment, and 2) link primary producer changes with management actions between lakes Apopka, Beauclair, and Carlton. Paleolimnological tools were applied to a 165-cm sediment core and analyzed for bulk density, organic matter content, nutrients (C, N, P), photosynthetic pigments, and total microcystins. Sediments were dated using²¹⁰Pb and results indicate that the core represents over 150 years of sediment accumulation. Sedimentary nutrient concentrations show that the primary driver of nutrient inputs resulted from canal construction, beginning in 1893 CE, which corresponded to increased nutrient deposition. Photosynthetic pigment data indicate dramatic increases in most primary producer groups coinciding with the hydrologic modification. However, around ~ 1970 CE, primary producer communities shifted from diatom dominance to cyanobacterial dominance, which appeared to be linked to internal nutrient dynamics and competition among phytoplankters within the lake ecosystem. Cyanotoxin production records show a significant lag between cyanobacterial dominance and peak cyanotoxin production with toxins increasing in the last 30 years. These data demonstrate that local nutrient inputs do not govern all phytoplankton dynamics in shallow lake systems but must be interpreted considering hydrologic alterations and management practices. 

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4. Surface macro- and micro-nutrients within the Copper River plume region respond to along-shore winds

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2025.104508  

   Ortega, ELS; Reister, I; Danielson, SL; Aguilar-Islas, AM (May 2025, Marine Chemistry)

   T he Copper River is a major source of freshwater to the Northern Gulf of Alaska (NGA) shelf with a seasonal cycle t hat reaches peak discharge in summer. This glacially-fed river also provides a large input of dissolved chemicals t o the NGA, and because of its large particle load, it impacts the distribution of particle-reactive elements. Summertime sampling of shelf water properties was carried out within the Copper River plume region during two y ears: first during a period of upwelling-favorable winds and higher river discharge (4–7 July 2019) and later during lower river discharge and more typical downwelling conditions (11–13 July 2020). Although these wind conditions were observed in separate years, both can occur over the course of a single summer. We found that the e xport of most nutrients to surface shelf waters was enhanced under upwelling-favorable winds accompanied by higher river discharge compared to downwelling conditions and lower discharge. For example, greater cross- shelf plume transport in 2019 resulted in higher mid-shelf surface inventories for nitrate +nitrite (N +N), silicic acid (H4 SiO 4 ), phosphate (PO4 3 − ), dissolved Fe (dFe), and dissolved Cu (dCu) compared to 2020. Entrainment of relatively macronutrient-rich subsurface waters under upwelling conditions may also have contributed t o the enhancement of these mid-shelf nutrient inventories. The observed high N:P ratios in plume waters were likely driven by the scavenging of P within particle-laden plume waters. Similarly, we observed lower than expected [dFe] (1.58 to 6.12 nM) in particle-laden plume waters, likely a result of enhanced scavenging combined with low concentrations of dissolved Fe-binding ligands. Although dNi and dZn have a river source, we observed lower concentrations in surface shelf waters under upwelling conditions, suggesting enhanced dilution b y relatively micronutrient-poor subsurface waters. Results highlight the influence of sub-seasonal variations in atmospheric forcing on nutrient distributions and suggest that this forcing also impacts the location and timing of primary production hotspots during summer, adding to the ecological mosaic of the NGA across a range of temporal and spatial scales. 

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5. Fish feces reveal diverse nutrient sources for coral reefs

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4119  

   Van_Wert, Jacey_C; Ezzat, Leïla; Munsterman, Katrina_S; Landfield, Kaitlyn; Schiettekatte, Nina_M_D; Parravicini, Valeriano; Casey, Jordan_M; Brandl, Simon_J; Burkepile, Deron_E; Eliason, Erika_J (June 2023, Ecology)

   Abstract Consumers mediate nutrient cycling through excretion and egestion across most ecosystems. In nutrient‐poor tropical waters such as coral reefs, nutrient cycling is critical for maintaining productivity. While the cycling of fish‐derived inorganic nutrients via excretion has been extensively investigated, the role of egestion for nutrient cycling has remained poorly explored. We sampled the fecal contents of 570 individual fishes across 40 species, representing six dominant trophic guilds of coral reef fishes in Moorea, French Polynesia. We measured fecal macro‐ (proteins, carbohydrates, lipids) and micro‐ (calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, zinc) nutrients and compared the fecal nutrient quantity and quality across trophic guilds, taxa, and body size. Macro‐ and micronutrient concentrations in fish feces varied markedly across species. Genera and trophic guild best predicted fecal nutrient concentrations. In addition, nutrient composition in feces was unique among species within both trophic guilds (herbivores and corallivores) and genera (AcanthurusandChaetodon). Particularly, certain coral reef fishes (e.g.,Thalassoma hardwicke,Chromis xanthura,Chaetodon pelewensisandAcanthurus pyroferus) harbored relatively high concentrations of micronutrients (e.g., Mn, Mg, Zn and Fe, respectively) that are known to contribute to ocean productivity and positively impact coral physiological performances. Given the nutrient‐rich profiles across reef fish feces, conserving holistic reef fish communities ensures the availability of nutritional pools on coral reefs. We therefore suggest that better integration of consumer egestion dynamics into food web models and ecosystem‐scale processes will facilitate an improved understanding of coral reef functioning. 

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