Using paleolimnology to assess the effects of multiple stressors on Boreal Shield lakes

利用古湖泊学评估多种压力源对北地盾湖泊的影响

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-04327
• 负责人: Paterson, Andrew
• 金额: $ 1.82万
• 依托单位: Queen's University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=714771
• 关键词: Using; paleolimnology; assess; effects; multiple

The structure, function and biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems are being altered by multiple environmental stressors that often interact in complex ways. A diverse set of approaches are needed to understand the impacts of these stressors of inland lakes, and on the ecological services they provide (e.g., recreation, fishing, drinking water). For example, an understanding of baseline conditions prior to the onset of recent disturbances can be used to distinguish novel trends from natural variability or long-term cycles. Moreover, long-term data can be used to place recent changes in a historical context, providing realistic lake management targets for resource managers. To provide a long-term context, my research will use a combination of long-term monitoring data (seasons to decades), spatial surveys, and information preserved in lake sediments (decades to centuries), to assess the unique and interactive effects of multiple stressors on water quality and biological communities in Boreal Shield lakes. My students and I will explore the drivers and the ecological and management implications of two important issues presently affecting inland lakes within the southern Boreal Shield: 1) increasing dissolved organic carbon concentrations (i.e., lake brownification); and 2) increasing chloride concentrations associated with road salt applications. My research on the long-term drivers of lake brownification will be used to update predictive models for assessing impacts of land-use change and shoreline development on deep water oxygen concentrations in lake trout lakes. These models are used daily by resource managers in Ontario, as they make decisions regarding >1000 new or redeveloped cottage lots per year. New research that quantifies ecological thresholds from road salt application is also urgently needed, given recent results showing that current water quality guidelines for chloride may not adequately protect aquatic life in nutrient-poor lakes. In closing, my Discovery Grant will train eight HQP (four graduate and four undergraduate students), and the research generated will contribute the novel and defensible science needed to develop effective lake management guidelines and policies.

淡水生态系统的结构、功能和生物多样性正受到多种环境压力因素的改变，这些压力因素往往以复杂的方式相互作用。需要一套不同的方法来了解这些内陆湖压力源的影响，以及它们提供的生态服务（例如，娱乐、捕鱼、饮用水）。例如，在最近的扰动开始之前对基线条件的了解可用于区分新趋势与自然变率或长期周期。此外，长期数据可用于将最近的变化置于历史背景中，为资源管理者提供现实的湖泊管理目标。为了提供一个长期的背景，我的研究将结合长期监测数据（季节到几十年）、空间调查和保存在湖泊沉积物中的信息（几十年到几个世纪），来评估多种压力源对北方盾湖水质和生物群落的独特和互动影响。我和我的学生将探讨目前影响北方地盾南部内陆湖泊的两个重要问题的驱动因素以及生态和管理意义：1)增加溶解有机碳浓度（即湖泊褐化）；2)与道路盐施用有关的氯浓度增加。我对湖泊褐化的长期驱动因素的研究将用于更新预测模型，以评估土地利用变化和海岸线开发对湖鳟鱼湖深水氧浓度的影响。这些模型每天都被安大略省的资源管理人员使用，因为他们每年要对1000个新建或重新开发的平房地块做出决策。鉴于最近的结果表明，目前的氯化物水质准则可能无法充分保护营养贫乏湖泊中的水生生物，因此迫切需要量化道路盐应用的生态阈值的新研究。最后，我的发现基金将培训8名HQP（4名研究生和4名本科生），所产生的研究将有助于制定有效的湖泊管理指导方针和政策所需的新颖和可辩护的科学。