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Do rivermouths alter nutrient and seston delivery to the nearshore?
Tributary inputs to lakes and seas are measured at riverine gages, upstream of lentic influence. Between these riverine gages and the nearshore zones of large waterbodies lie rivermouths, which may retain, transform and contribute materials to the nearshore zone. During the summer of 2011, twenty-three tributary systems of the Laurentian Great Lakes were sampled from river to nearshore for dissolved and particulate carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations, as well as bulk seston and chlorohyll a concentrations. Rivermouths had higher concentrations of C and P than nearshore areas and more chlorophyll a than upstream river waters. Compared to a conservative mixing model, rivermouths as a class appeared to be summer-time sources of N, P and chlorophyll a. Substantial among-rivermouth variation occurred both in the effect size and direction for all constituents. Using principal components analysis, two groups of rivermouths were apparent. Rivermouths that had a large effect on most constituents, or those that had very little effect on any of the measured constituents. “High-effect” rivermouths had more abundant upstream croplands, presumably reflecting greater sources of inorganic nutrients. Cross-validated models built using characteristics of the rivermouth were not good predictors of variation in rivermouth effects on most constituents. For filter feeding consumers and microbes directly taking up dissolved nutrients, rivermouths are more resource-rich than upstream riverine or nearby lake waters. Given declines over time in open lake productivity within the Great Lakes, rivermouths may contribute more productivity than their size would suggest to the Great Lakes food web.
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| description | Tributary inputs to lakes and seas are measured at riverine gages, upstream of lentic influence. Between these riverine gages and the nearshore zones of large waterbodies lie rivermouths, which may retain, transform and contribute materials to the nearshore zone. During the summer of 2011, twenty-three tributary systems of the Laurentian Great Lakes were sampled from river to nearshore for dissolved and particulate carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations, as well as bulk seston and chlorohyll a concentrations. Rivermouths had higher concentrations of C and P than nearshore areas and more chlorophyll a than upstream river waters. Compared to a conservative mixing model, rivermouths as a class appeared to be summer-time sources of N, P and chlorophyll a. Substantial among-rivermouth variation occurred both in the effect size and direction for all constituents. Using principal components analysis, two groups of rivermouths were apparent. Rivermouths that had a large effect on most constituents, or those that had very little effect on any of the measured constituents. “High-effect” rivermouths had more abundant upstream croplands, presumably reflecting greater sources of inorganic nutrients. Cross-validated models built using characteristics of the rivermouth were not good predictors of variation in rivermouth effects on most constituents. For filter feeding consumers and microbes directly taking up dissolved nutrients, rivermouths are more resource-rich than upstream riverine or nearby lake waters. Given declines over time in open lake productivity within the Great Lakes, rivermouths may contribute more productivity than their size would suggest to the Great Lakes food web. |
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| modified | 2021-09-08T00:00:00Z |
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| title | Do rivermouths alter nutrient and seston delivery to the nearshore? |
