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The Chaoborus pump: Migrating phantom midge larvae sustain hypolimnetic oxygen deficiency and nutrient internal loading in lakes.

  • Tang KW Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK. Electronic address: k.w.tang@swansea.ac.uk.
  • Flury S Department F.-A. Forel for Environmental and Aquatic Sciences (DEFSE), Section of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland; Environmental Engineering Institute, Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
  • Grossart HP Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), 16775 Stechlin, Germany; Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Potsdam University, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
  • McGinnis DF Department F.-A. Forel for Environmental and Aquatic Sciences (DEFSE), Section of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.
  • 2017-06-08
Published in:
  • Water research. - 2017
Chaoborus
Eutrophication
Nutrient
Oxygen
Remediation
Animal Migration
Animals
Diptera
Eutrophication
Geologic Sediments
Hypoxia
Lakes
Larva
Oxygen
Phosphorus
English Hypolimnetic oxygen demand in lakes is often assumed to be driven mainly by sediment microbial processes, while the role of Chaoborus larvae, which are prevalent in eutrophic lakes with hypoxic to anoxic bottoms, has been overlooked. We experimentally measured the respiration rates of C. flavicans at different temperatures yielding a Q10 of 1.44-1.71 and a respiratory quotient of 0.84-0.98. Applying the experimental data in a system analytical approach, we showed that migrating Chaoborus larvae can significantly add to the water column and sediment oxygen demand, and contribute to the observed linear relationship between water column respiration and depth. The estimated phosphorus excretion by Chaoborus in sediment is comparable in magnitude to the required phosphorus loading for eutrophication. Migrating Chaoborus larvae thereby essentially trap nutrients between the water column and the sediment, and this continuous internal loading of nutrients would delay lake remediation even when external inputs are stopped.
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  • English
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green
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https://sonar.rero.ch/global/documents/229756
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