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The Abel Lake Reservoir in Stafford County, Virginia, was investigated to evaluate the lake's temporal and spatial dynamics with respect to water quality and water treatment problems. A limnological survey was conducted. The survey included all conventional parameters for the characterization of hydrodynamics and lake-water quality. Abel Lake was found to be a typical temperate-zone lake that stratifies thermally in the summer, and the hypolimnetic water quality subsequently degrades with the depletion of oxygen. The lake then circulates in the fall in a process that begins in the shallow, upstream area of the lake and progresses downstream gradually until the deepest regions have circulated. The circulation process brings poor quality water from the hypolimnion to the surface where it is drawn into the treatment facility and creates treatment problems. Results also show that algal growth and nutrient concentrations were moderate during the study, however, the potential for cultural eutrophication is present should unmonitored development of the watershed occur. / Master of Science

During four growing seasons, aquatic vascular plant production and distribution were studied in Pat Mayse Lake, Texas, a 2425 hectare oligo-mesotrophic reservoir. The dominant macrophyte population was Myriophyllum spicatum L. Growth rates and regrowth rates of mechanically harvested Myriophyllum beds were found to be dissimilar. Based on estimates of watermilfoil nutrient content, there were insufficient nutrients in the entire population to alter the trophic status of this reservoir should all of the nutrients be instantaneously released. Sediments were the primary nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) sink. Bank erosion and solids transport from the watershed appear to contribute most of the sediments and a lake-wide mean sedimentation rate of 2.5 cm/year was estimated from sediment trap and core sample data.

Shallow lakes are an important ecological and socio-economic resource. However, the impact of human pressures, both at the lake and catchment scale, has precipitated a decline in the ecological status of many shallow lakes, both in the UK, and throughout Europe. There is now, as direct consequence, unprecedented interest in the assessment and monitoring of ecological status and trajectory in shallow lakes, not least in response to the European Union Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). In this context, the spatially-resolving and panoramic data provided by remote sensing platforms may be of immense value in the construction of effective and efficient strategies for the assessment and monitoring of ecological status in shallow lakes and, moreover, in providing new, spatially-explicit, insights into the function of these ecosystems and how they respond to change. This thesis examined the use of remote sensing data for the assessment of (i) phytoplankton abundance and species composition and (ii) aquatic vegetation distribution and ecophysiological status in shallow lakes with a view to establishing the credence of such an approach and its value in limnological research and monitoring activities. High resolution in-situ and airborne remote sensing data was collected during a 2-year sampling campaign in the shallow lakes of the Norfolk Broads. It was demonstrated that semi-empirical algorithms could be formulated and used to provide accurate and robust estimations of the concentration of chlorophyll-a, even in these optically-complex waters. It was further shown that it was possible to differentiate and quantify the abundance of cyanobacteria using the biomarker pigment C-phycocyanin. The subsequent calibration of the imagery obtained from the airborne reconnaissance missions permitted the construction of diurnal and seasonal regional-scale time-series of phytoplankton dynamics in the Norfolk Broads. This approach was able to deliver unique spatial insights into the migratory behaviour of a potentially-toxic cyanobacterial bloom. It was further shown that remote sensing can be used to map the distribution of aquatic plants in shallow lakes, importantly including the extent of submerged vegetation, which is central to the assessment of ecological status. This research theme was subsequently extended in an exploration of the use of remote sensing for assessing the ecophysiological response of wetland plants to nutrient enrichment. It was shown that remote sensing metrics could be constructed for the quantification of plant vigour. The extrapolation of these techniques enabled spatial heterogeneity in the ecophysiological response of Phragmites australis to lake nutrient enrichment to be characterised and assisted the formulation of a mechanistic explanation for the variation in reedswamp performance in these shallow lakes. It is therefore argued that the spatially synoptic data provided by remote sensing has much to offer the assessment, monitoring and policing of ecological status in shallow lakes and, in particular, for facilitating the development of pan-European scale lake surveillance capabilities for the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). It is also suggested that remote sensing can make a valuable contribution to furthering ecological understanding and, most significantly, in enabling ecosystem processes and functions to be examined at the lake-scale.

This study determined effects of addition of secondarily treated municipal wastewater effluent on an urban reservoir receiving system. Monthly water quality monitoring of the receiving reservoir and the wastewater, chemical analysis, and monthly laboratory algal assays, were conducted from September 1984 to September 1985. The nutrient status and algal growth potential of the receiving water and the wastewater confirmed the biostimulatory properties of the wastewater. Field validation studies were conducted using limnocorrals. Tertiary treatment of the wastewater using chemical coagulation precipitation with alum and ferric chloride reduced phosphorus concentrations in the wastewater to levels which supported significantly less algal biomass than untreated wastewater. These studies indicate ferric chloride to be a more effective coagulant for phosphorous removal alum.

The responses at three trophic levels (phytoplankton, zooplankton, young-of-the-year bluegill) were compared between a limed and unlimed arm in a moderately fertile, circumneutral reservoir that was sensitive to acidification, but had not yet shown signs of damage. The east arm (25.5 ha) of Flat Top Lake was treated with 28.8 dry metric tonnes of calcite using slurry box technology between July 13-20, 1987. The design was confounded because calcite dissolution products diffused into the unlimed (west) arm after the treatment which made total alkalinity similar between the arms within 1 month. Phytoplankton gross productivity and chlorophyll a was similar between the arms for the pre- and post-treatment samples as well as for the period after the treatment when total alkalinity was relatively higher in the limed arm. Zooplankton biomass was higher in the unlimed than limed arm in the pre-treatment samples but was similar between the arms in the post-treatments samples; however, the changes in zooplankton biomass after treatment in the limed arm could not be attributed to the treatment. Phytoplankton community composition for the common netplankton and nannoplankton was similar between the limed and unlimed arms for the combined pre- and post-treatment samples: however, Gemellicystis spp., Gloeocystis spp., and Dinobryon spp. showed an order of magnitude higher density in the limed relative to the unlimed arm on the initial post-treatment sample. This difference, as well as the observed post-treatment differences in zooplankton community composition between the two arms could not be attributed to the treatment because there were minimal impacts on nutrient levels (e.g., CO2, total phosphorus) and zooplankton-phytoplankton interactions. Lake transparency was significantly deeper in the limed arm relative to the unlimed arm for the post-treatment samples; however, a corresponding lower dissolved organic carbon concentration was not measured in the limed arm. Young-of-the-year bluegill (e.g., primarily those 15-20 d old) showed significantly higher growth rates in the unlimed arm during the period when total alkalinity was higher in the limed arm, apparently due to a higher density of suitable pelagic zooplankton in the unlimed arm during this period. In conclusion, no significant positive or negative responses to the treatment were detected because of trophic level interactions. The high pre-treatment pH (7.07), small change in post-treatment pH, low dissolution percentage (8-10%), the inability of the sediment dose to neutralize the acidic sediments and induce phosphorus release, and phosphorus rather than carbon dioxide limited primary productivity were the main factors why no significant post-treatment biological responses were detected. / Master of Science

No description available.

Qualitative and microcosm models were used to predict effects of herbicide application for control of Myriophyllum spicatum. Predictions were compared to data from Pat Mayse Lake, a Texas reservoir, where localized areas were treated with endothall. Although milf oil was temporarily eliminated, when endothall was used according to manufacturer's directions, no ecologically significant direct or indirect effects were observed on nontarget species or abiotic water quality. Comparisons of the predictions with field data confirmed the capabilities of this approach for estimating risk and emphasizing the importance of identifying regulating or driving factors that modify environmental impacts of aquatic weed control programs so they can be incorporated into future risk assessments.

Selected limnologic characteristics were examined at an east-central Indiana borrow pit lake to determine the role of submerged aquatic plants in water chemistry dynamics. During the summer of 1978 the lake was sampled at approximately weekly intervals in the evening and again the following morning in the shallow macrophyte area and the deeper open water control area void of macrophytes. Alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, and pH were evaluated for changes induced by macrophytes and Aufwuchs.Maximum macrophyte dry weight biomass was observed in the middle of July, after which the plants died off quickly. Potamogeton pusillus and P. pectinatus were the dominant species present.Dissolved oxygen levels were found to be higher in the evening and lower in the morning due to photosynthesis and respiration of aquatic plants at the macrophyte siteas compared to the control site. Daily variations in alkalinity at the macrophyte site were more intense than recorded at the control site. During the day, bicarbonate alkalinity was decreased and carbonate alkalinity increased at the macrophyte site. Diurnal fluctuation of hydrogen ion concentration was also greater at the macrophyte site than at the control site. Metabolism by macrophytes and Aufwuchs greatly influenced the water chemistry of Dumpert's Borrow Pit Lake.Laboratory studies have identified fluctuating levels of dissolved oxygen as a stress on fish resulting in reduced growth. A pilot experiment was conducted to determine the effects of macrophyte and Aufwuchs induced diurnal fluctuations of dissolved oxygen on growth, food consumption, and food conversion by adult bluegill fed mealworms ad libitum. Average growth, food consumption, and food conversion were lower for bluegill exposed to macrophyte-induced water quality changes. None of the differences were significant, however, due to variability and the small sample size.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306

No description available.