title: Assessing in situ dominance pattern of phytoplankton classes by dominance analysis as a proxy for realized niches.
abstract: This study looks at two facets of dominant phytoplankton classes during phytoplankton succession. A detailed assessment of this issue is of special interest with regard to realized niches from a theoretical point of view but also for lake management as practical application. A realized niche mirrors the functional adaptability of an organism in a lake-specific constellation of environmental parameters. Therefore, the characterization of realized niches could be a key factor for management of problematic waters. Different strategies exist to control eutrophication and the risk of blooms by harmful algae. During the last decades, many restoration measures were initiated to manage eutrophicated inland lakes. In the past, it has become evident several times that restoration strategies do not necessarily lead to a reduction of biomass of undesirable cyanobacteria but can even promote their development. Due to this uncertainty of success and the high costs for remediation strategies, new prediction tools are required - ideally, based on routine monitoring data. Therefore, we developed a new method to extract potential optimal growth conditions (POGC) as indicators of realized niches for different phytoplankton taxa from existing data to improve existing strategies used in lake remediation and restoration. The analysis presented in this work is based on dominance pattern of different phytoplankton groups relative to environmental variables. Interpretation of these dominance patterns as indicators of POGC showed distinct pattern for several phytoplankton classes for all investigated objects. We identified low nitrogen and phosphate concentrations as favorable condition for cyanobacteria in Lake Auensee and Lake Feldberger Haussee. The reservoir Bleilochtalsperre showed a high N/P-concentration and cyanobacteria dominance was generally very low.
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH - UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany; German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Deutscher Platz 5a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany. Electronic address: susanne.dunker@ufz.de.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dunker
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biology, Department of Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, University of Leipzig, Johannisallee 21, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nadrowski
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biology, Department of Plant Physiology, University of Leipzig, Johannisallee 23, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jakob
authors.affiliation: Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Alte Fischerhütte 2, OT Neuglobsow, 16775 Stechlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kasprzak
authors.affiliation: Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), Am Mainzer Tor 1, 56068 Koblenz, Germany.
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Physiology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Weinbergweg 10, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany.
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Langner
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biology, Department of Plant Physiology, University of Leipzig, Johannisallee 23, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Christfried
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kunath
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH - UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany; German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Deutscher Platz 5a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Stan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harpole
authors.affiliation: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Deutscher Platz 5a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Biology, Department of Plant Physiology, University of Leipzig, Johannisallee 23, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wilhelm
mesh_terms: D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000502:physiology*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005068:Eutrophication; D060106:Lakes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology; D010839:Phytoplankton / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Cyanobacteria; Dominance; Eutrophic conditions; Phytoplankton dynamics; Potential optimal growth conditions