Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 119, Issue 9, Pages -Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2115033119
Keywords
biodiversity; climate change; environmental policy; land use; water quality
Categories
Funding
- Canadian Institute for Ecology and Evolution
- Jefferson Project at Lake George
- IBM
- FUND for Lake George
- University of Toledo Faculty Startup Program
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery grant
- Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation
- Serra Hunter Programme of the Generalitat de Catalunya - Dartmouth College
- NSERC Discovery Grants
- Walter and Andree de Nottbeck Foundation - NSF [DEB1354063]
- NSF [DEB-1457737]
- DFG [STR 1383/1-1]
- Postdoctoral Fellowships Programme Beatriu de Pinos - Secretary of Universities and Research (Government of Catalonia)
- Horizon 2020 Programme of Research and Innovation of the European Union [801370, 2017-06421]
- Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsradet)
- Swedish Research Council [2017-00635]
- Erken, and Svartberget (Stortjarn)
- Vinnova [2017-00635] Funding Source: Vinnova
- Swedish Research Council [2017-00635] Funding Source: Swedish Research Council
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Human-induced salinization poses a major threat to freshwater ecosystems. Current water quality guidelines are insufficient to protect lake food webs. New guidelines are urgently needed to safeguard lake ecosystems.
Human-induced salinization caused by the use of road deicing salts, agricultural practices, mining operations, and climate change is a major threat to the biodiversity and functioning of freshwater ecosystems. Yet, it is unclear if freshwater ecosystems are protected from salinization by current water quality guidelines. Leveraging an experimental network of land-based and in-lake mesocosms across North America and Europe, we tested how salinization-indicated as elevated chloride (C-) concentration-will affect lake food webs and if two of the lowest Cl- thresholds found globally are sufficient to protect these food webs. Our results indicated that salinization will cause substantial zooplankton mortality at the lowest Cl- thresholds established in Canada (120 mg Cl-/L) and the United States (230 mg Cl-/L) and throughout Europe where Cl- thresholds are generally higher. For instance, at 73% of our study sites, Cl- concentrations that caused a >= 50% reduction in cladoceran abundance were at or below Cl thresholds in Canada, in the United States, and throughout Europe. Similar trends occurred for copepod and rotifer zooplankton. The loss of zooplankton triggered a cascading effect causing an increase in phytoplankton biomass at 47% of study sites. Such changes in lake food webs could alter nutrient cycling and water clarity and trigger declines in fish production. Current Cl- thresholds across North America and Europe clearly do not adequately protect lake food webs. Water quality guidelines should be developed where they do not exist, and there is an urgent need to reassess existing guidelines to protect lake ecosystems from human-induced salinization.
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