Anoxia begets anoxia: A positive feedback to the deoxygenation of temperate lakes

Abigail S.L. Lewis; Maximilian P. Lau; Stephen F. Jane; Kevin C. Rose; Yaron Be'eri-Shlevin; Sarah H. Burnet; François Clayer; Heidrun Feuchtmayr; Hans Peter Grossart; Dexter W. Howard; Heather Mariash; Jordi Delgado Martin; Rebecca L. North; Isabella Oleksy; Rachel M. Pilla; Amy P. Smagula; Ruben Sommaruga; Sara E. Steiner; Piet Verburg; Danielle Wain; Gesa A. Weyhenmeyer; Cayelan C. Carey

doi:10.1111/gcb.17046

Anoxia begets anoxia: A positive feedback to the deoxygenation of temperate lakes

Abigail S.L. Lewis, Maximilian P. Lau, Stephen F. Jane, Kevin C. Rose, Yaron Be'eri-Shlevin, Sarah H. Burnet, François Clayer, Heidrun Feuchtmayr, Hans Peter Grossart, Dexter W. Howard, Heather Mariash, Jordi Delgado Martin, Rebecca L. North, Isabella Oleksy, Rachel M. Pilla, Amy P. Smagula, Ruben Sommaruga, Sara E. Steiner, Piet Verburg, Danielle WainGesa A. Weyhenmeyer, Cayelan C. Carey

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Declining oxygen concentrations in the deep waters of lakes worldwide pose a pressing environmental and societal challenge. Existing theory suggests that low deep-water dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations could trigger a positive feedback through which anoxia (i.e., very low DO) during a given summer begets increasingly severe occurrences of anoxia in following summers. Specifically, anoxic conditions can promote nutrient release from sediments, thereby stimulating phytoplankton growth, and subsequent phytoplankton decomposition can fuel heterotrophic respiration, resulting in increased spatial extent and duration of anoxia. However, while the individual relationships in this feedback are well established, to our knowledge, there has not been a systematic analysis within or across lakes that simultaneously demonstrates all of the mechanisms necessary to produce a positive feedback that reinforces anoxia. Here, we compiled data from 656 widespread temperate lakes and reservoirs to analyze the proposed anoxia begets anoxia feedback. Lakes in the dataset span a broad range of surface area (1–126,909 ha), maximum depth (6–370 m), and morphometry, with a median time-series duration of 30 years at each lake. Using linear mixed models, we found support for each of the positive feedback relationships between anoxia, phosphorus concentrations, chlorophyll a concentrations, and oxygen demand across the 656-lake dataset. Likewise, we found further support for these relationships by analyzing time-series data from individual lakes. Our results indicate that the strength of these feedback relationships may vary with lake-specific characteristics: For example, we found that surface phosphorus concentrations were more positively associated with chlorophyll a in high-phosphorus lakes, and oxygen demand had a stronger influence on the extent of anoxia in deep lakes. Taken together, these results support the existence of a positive feedback that could magnify the effects of climate change and other anthropogenic pressures driving the development of anoxia in lakes around the world.

Original language	English
Article number	e17046
Journal	Global Change Biology
Volume	30
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17046
State	Published - Jan 2024

Funding

Many thanks to the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) Metabolism Working Group for catalyzing this analysis. Specifically, Ted Harris, Paul Hanson, Jim Rusak, Oxana Erina, Jim Watkins, and April James contributed to the development of this manuscript. Thanks to Arpita Das for helping to match the lakes in this study with lake IDs from HydroLAKES and Filazzola et al. (2020), to Young Ho Yun for aiding in statistical analyses, and to the Virginia Tech Reservoir Group for feedback throughout the manuscript development process. We are grateful to Gertrud Nürnberg for providing constructive comments that substantially improved this manuscript. This analysis would not have been possible without long-term data collection across many institutions. We thank the many researchers and community members who have collected, analyzed, and compiled the data used in this study. In particular, we would like to acknowledge Catherine Hein and Jacob Dickmann from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources who facilitated use of data from many Wisconsin lakes. Data collection and manuscript development for this project have been supported by numerous grants. Abigail S. L. Lewis is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) graduate research fellowship program (DGE-1840995), NSF grant 1753639, the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS), and the College of Science Roundtable at Virginia Tech. Cayelan C. Carey receives support from NSF grants 1753639, 1933016, and 1737424. Stephen F. Jane is supported by the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability. Rebecca L. North acknowledges support from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, which funds the Missouri Statewide Lake Assessment Program (SLAP) coordinated by the University of Missouri (MU) Limnology Laboratory. Hans-Peter Grossart receives support from the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Biology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) and teams of scientists and technicians who run the Stechlin and Müggelsee long-term monitoring, as well as the German Research Foundation (DFG), which funds Project Pycnotrap (GR1540/37-1). Rachel M. Pilla notes that this research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Water Power Technologies Office, and Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. DOE under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725. Kevin C. Rose acknowledges support from NSF grants 1754265 and 2048031. Ruben Sommaruga acknowledges support from the LTSER platform Tyrolean Alps (LTER-Austria). Gesa A. Weyhenmeyer received financial support for this study from the Swedish Research Council (VR; Grant No. 2020-03222) and the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS; Grant No. 2020-01091). Piet Verburg acknowledges support from MBIE under grant number C01X2205. Jordi Delgado Martin acknowledges support from the EMALCSA Chair. Isabella Oleksy receives support from the NSF under grant EPS-2019528. Heidrun Feuchtmayr acknowledges support from the Natural Environmental Research Council award number NE/R016429/1 as part of the UK-SCaPE programme delivering National Capability. Many thanks to all of the funding sources that enabled this international lake analysis. Data collection and manuscript development for this project have been supported by numerous grants. Abigail S. L. Lewis is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) graduate research fellowship program (DGE‐1840995), NSF grant 1753639, the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS), and the College of Science Roundtable at Virginia Tech. Cayelan C. Carey receives support from NSF grants 1753639, 1933016, and 1737424. Stephen F. Jane is supported by the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability. Rebecca L. North acknowledges support from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, which funds the Missouri Statewide Lake Assessment Program (SLAP) coordinated by the University of Missouri (MU) Limnology Laboratory. Hans‐Peter Grossart receives support from the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Biology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) and teams of scientists and technicians who run the Stechlin and Müggelsee long‐term monitoring, as well as the German Research Foundation (DFG), which funds Project Pycnotrap (GR1540/37‐1). Rachel M. Pilla notes that this research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Water Power Technologies Office, and Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). ORNL is managed by UT‐Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. DOE under contract DE‐AC05‐00OR22725. Kevin C. Rose acknowledges support from NSF grants 1754265 and 2048031. Ruben Sommaruga acknowledges support from the LTSER platform Tyrolean Alps (LTER‐Austria). Gesa A. Weyhenmeyer received financial support for this study from the Swedish Research Council (VR; Grant No. 2020‐03222) and the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS; Grant No. 2020‐01091). Piet Verburg acknowledges support from MBIE under grant number C01X2205. Jordi Delgado Martin acknowledges support from the EMALCSA Chair. Isabella Oleksy receives support from the NSF under grant EPS‐2019528. Heidrun Feuchtmayr acknowledges support from the Natural Environmental Research Council award number NE/R016429/1 as part of the UK‐SCaPE programme delivering National Capability. Many thanks to all of the funding sources that enabled this international lake analysis.

Funders	Funder number
LTER-Austria
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Water Power Technologies Office
National Science Foundation	1753639, DGE‐1840995
U.S. Department of Energy
California Department of Fish and Game	GR1540/37‐1
Oak Ridge National Laboratory	1754265, DE‐AC05‐00OR22725, 2048031
University of Missouri
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science	1933016, 1737424
Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, Cornell University
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Natural Environment Research Council	NE/R016429/1
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas	2020‐01091
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment	EPS‐2019528, C01X2205
Vetenskapsrådet	2020‐03222
Leibniz-Institut für Gewässerökologie und Binnenfischerei

Keywords

air temperature
anoxia
chlorophyll a
dissolved oxygen
feedback
hypolimnion
lake
oxygen demand
phosphorus
residence time

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1111/gcb.17046

Cite this

Lewis, A. S. L., Lau, M. P., Jane, S. F., Rose, K. C., Be'eri-Shlevin, Y., Burnet, S. H., Clayer, F., Feuchtmayr, H., Grossart, H. P., Howard, D. W., Mariash, H., Delgado Martin, J., North, R. L., Oleksy, I., Pilla, R. M., Smagula, A. P., Sommaruga, R., Steiner, S. E., Verburg, P., ... Carey, C. C. (2024). Anoxia begets anoxia: A positive feedback to the deoxygenation of temperate lakes. Global Change Biology, 30(1), Article e17046. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17046

@article{7202d582d5a14e7ca76bd2ac00f7141d,

title = "Anoxia begets anoxia: A positive feedback to the deoxygenation of temperate lakes",

abstract = "Declining oxygen concentrations in the deep waters of lakes worldwide pose a pressing environmental and societal challenge. Existing theory suggests that low deep-water dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations could trigger a positive feedback through which anoxia (i.e., very low DO) during a given summer begets increasingly severe occurrences of anoxia in following summers. Specifically, anoxic conditions can promote nutrient release from sediments, thereby stimulating phytoplankton growth, and subsequent phytoplankton decomposition can fuel heterotrophic respiration, resulting in increased spatial extent and duration of anoxia. However, while the individual relationships in this feedback are well established, to our knowledge, there has not been a systematic analysis within or across lakes that simultaneously demonstrates all of the mechanisms necessary to produce a positive feedback that reinforces anoxia. Here, we compiled data from 656 widespread temperate lakes and reservoirs to analyze the proposed anoxia begets anoxia feedback. Lakes in the dataset span a broad range of surface area (1–126,909 ha), maximum depth (6–370 m), and morphometry, with a median time-series duration of 30 years at each lake. Using linear mixed models, we found support for each of the positive feedback relationships between anoxia, phosphorus concentrations, chlorophyll a concentrations, and oxygen demand across the 656-lake dataset. Likewise, we found further support for these relationships by analyzing time-series data from individual lakes. Our results indicate that the strength of these feedback relationships may vary with lake-specific characteristics: For example, we found that surface phosphorus concentrations were more positively associated with chlorophyll a in high-phosphorus lakes, and oxygen demand had a stronger influence on the extent of anoxia in deep lakes. Taken together, these results support the existence of a positive feedback that could magnify the effects of climate change and other anthropogenic pressures driving the development of anoxia in lakes around the world.",

keywords = "air temperature, anoxia, chlorophyll a, dissolved oxygen, feedback, hypolimnion, lake, oxygen demand, phosphorus, residence time",

author = "Lewis, {Abigail S.L.} and Lau, {Maximilian P.} and Jane, {Stephen F.} and Rose, {Kevin C.} and Yaron Be'eri-Shlevin and Burnet, {Sarah H.} and Fran{\c c}ois Clayer and Heidrun Feuchtmayr and Grossart, {Hans Peter} and Howard, {Dexter W.} and Heather Mariash and Jordi Delgado Martin and North, {Rebecca L.} and Isabella Oleksy and Pilla, {Rachel M.} and Smagula, {Amy P.} and Ruben Sommaruga and Steiner, {Sara E.} and Piet Verburg and Danielle Wain and Weyhenmeyer, {Gesa A.} and Carey, {Cayelan C.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 Oak Ridge National Laboratory and The Authors. Global Change Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.",

year = "2024",

month = jan,

doi = "10.1111/gcb.17046",

language = "English",

volume = "30",

journal = "Global Change Biology",

issn = "1354-1013",

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Lewis, ASL, Lau, MP, Jane, SF, Rose, KC, Be'eri-Shlevin, Y, Burnet, SH, Clayer, F, Feuchtmayr, H, Grossart, HP, Howard, DW, Mariash, H, Delgado Martin, J, North, RL, Oleksy, I, Pilla, RM, Smagula, AP, Sommaruga, R, Steiner, SE, Verburg, P, Wain, D, Weyhenmeyer, GA & Carey, CC 2024, 'Anoxia begets anoxia: A positive feedback to the deoxygenation of temperate lakes', Global Change Biology, vol. 30, no. 1, e17046. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17046

TY - JOUR

T1 - Anoxia begets anoxia

T2 - A positive feedback to the deoxygenation of temperate lakes

AU - Lewis, Abigail S.L.

AU - Lau, Maximilian P.

AU - Jane, Stephen F.

AU - Rose, Kevin C.

AU - Be'eri-Shlevin, Yaron

AU - Burnet, Sarah H.

AU - Clayer, François

AU - Feuchtmayr, Heidrun

AU - Grossart, Hans Peter

AU - Howard, Dexter W.

AU - Mariash, Heather

AU - Delgado Martin, Jordi

AU - North, Rebecca L.

AU - Oleksy, Isabella

AU - Pilla, Rachel M.

AU - Smagula, Amy P.

AU - Sommaruga, Ruben

AU - Steiner, Sara E.

AU - Verburg, Piet

AU - Wain, Danielle

AU - Weyhenmeyer, Gesa A.

AU - Carey, Cayelan C.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 Oak Ridge National Laboratory and The Authors. Global Change Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.

PY - 2024/1

Y1 - 2024/1

N2 - Declining oxygen concentrations in the deep waters of lakes worldwide pose a pressing environmental and societal challenge. Existing theory suggests that low deep-water dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations could trigger a positive feedback through which anoxia (i.e., very low DO) during a given summer begets increasingly severe occurrences of anoxia in following summers. Specifically, anoxic conditions can promote nutrient release from sediments, thereby stimulating phytoplankton growth, and subsequent phytoplankton decomposition can fuel heterotrophic respiration, resulting in increased spatial extent and duration of anoxia. However, while the individual relationships in this feedback are well established, to our knowledge, there has not been a systematic analysis within or across lakes that simultaneously demonstrates all of the mechanisms necessary to produce a positive feedback that reinforces anoxia. Here, we compiled data from 656 widespread temperate lakes and reservoirs to analyze the proposed anoxia begets anoxia feedback. Lakes in the dataset span a broad range of surface area (1–126,909 ha), maximum depth (6–370 m), and morphometry, with a median time-series duration of 30 years at each lake. Using linear mixed models, we found support for each of the positive feedback relationships between anoxia, phosphorus concentrations, chlorophyll a concentrations, and oxygen demand across the 656-lake dataset. Likewise, we found further support for these relationships by analyzing time-series data from individual lakes. Our results indicate that the strength of these feedback relationships may vary with lake-specific characteristics: For example, we found that surface phosphorus concentrations were more positively associated with chlorophyll a in high-phosphorus lakes, and oxygen demand had a stronger influence on the extent of anoxia in deep lakes. Taken together, these results support the existence of a positive feedback that could magnify the effects of climate change and other anthropogenic pressures driving the development of anoxia in lakes around the world.

AB - Declining oxygen concentrations in the deep waters of lakes worldwide pose a pressing environmental and societal challenge. Existing theory suggests that low deep-water dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations could trigger a positive feedback through which anoxia (i.e., very low DO) during a given summer begets increasingly severe occurrences of anoxia in following summers. Specifically, anoxic conditions can promote nutrient release from sediments, thereby stimulating phytoplankton growth, and subsequent phytoplankton decomposition can fuel heterotrophic respiration, resulting in increased spatial extent and duration of anoxia. However, while the individual relationships in this feedback are well established, to our knowledge, there has not been a systematic analysis within or across lakes that simultaneously demonstrates all of the mechanisms necessary to produce a positive feedback that reinforces anoxia. Here, we compiled data from 656 widespread temperate lakes and reservoirs to analyze the proposed anoxia begets anoxia feedback. Lakes in the dataset span a broad range of surface area (1–126,909 ha), maximum depth (6–370 m), and morphometry, with a median time-series duration of 30 years at each lake. Using linear mixed models, we found support for each of the positive feedback relationships between anoxia, phosphorus concentrations, chlorophyll a concentrations, and oxygen demand across the 656-lake dataset. Likewise, we found further support for these relationships by analyzing time-series data from individual lakes. Our results indicate that the strength of these feedback relationships may vary with lake-specific characteristics: For example, we found that surface phosphorus concentrations were more positively associated with chlorophyll a in high-phosphorus lakes, and oxygen demand had a stronger influence on the extent of anoxia in deep lakes. Taken together, these results support the existence of a positive feedback that could magnify the effects of climate change and other anthropogenic pressures driving the development of anoxia in lakes around the world.

KW - air temperature

KW - anoxia

KW - chlorophyll a

KW - dissolved oxygen

KW - feedback

KW - hypolimnion

KW - lake

KW - oxygen demand

KW - phosphorus

KW - residence time

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85178897044&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/gcb.17046

DO - 10.1111/gcb.17046

M3 - Article

C2 - 38273535

AN - SCOPUS:85178897044

SN - 1354-1013

VL - 30

JO - Global Change Biology

JF - Global Change Biology

IS - 1

M1 - e17046

ER -

Anoxia begets anoxia: A positive feedback to the deoxygenation of temperate lakes

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

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