Benthic macroinvertebrate and fish communities in Lake Huron are linked to submerged groundwater vents

Abstract

AB Aquatic Biology Contact the journal Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections AB 12:1-11 (2011) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00318 FEATURE ARTICLEBenthic macroinvertebrate and fish communities in Lake Huron are linked to submerged groundwater vents T. Garrison Sanders Jr.1,4,*, Bopaiah A. Biddanda1, Craig A. Stricker2, Stephen C. Nold3 1Annis Water Resources Institute, Grand Valley State University, 740 W. Shoreline Drive, Muskegon, Michigan 49441, USA 2USGS Stable Isotope Laboratory, DFC, Building 21, MS 963, Denver, Colorado 80225, USA 3University of Wisconsin-Stout, Department of Biology, 213 Jarvis Hall, Science Wing, Menomonie, Wisconsin 54751, USA 4Present address: Crooked River Watershed Council, 498 SE Lynn Blvd, Prineville, Oregon 97754, USA *Email: garrysanders@gmail.com ABSTRACT: Groundwater can be an important source of nutrients and energy to aquatic ecosystems, but quantifying the inputs and biogeochemical importance remains challenging. A series of submerged groundwater vents in northern Lake Huron were examined to determine the linkage between groundwater nutrients and aquatic food webs. We collected samples of key food-web components from groundwater vent and reference habitats and analyzed them for 13C, 15N, and 34S isotopes. Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in the groundwater was depleted in 13C, while aqueous sulfate was enriched in 34S (mean differences between groundwater and reference sites were –3.9‰ and +12.0‰, respectively). Benthic primary producers, macroinvertebrates, and benthivorous fish had significantly lower δ13C values in groundwater environments, and benthivorous fish were somewhat depleted (–2.5‰) in δ34S at groundwater sites compared to reference sites. However, δ15N values were not different between groundwater and reference sites, and pelagic components of the ecosystems (plankton and planktivorous and piscivorous fish) were similar in both δ13C and δ15N. These data suggest benthic metazoan communities surrounding groundwater vents are partially linked to groundwater-derived benthic primary production, while planktivorous and piscivorous communities not directly associated with the benthos do not rely on groundwater nutrients. KEY WORDS: Stable isotopes · Submerged sinkholes · Groundwater · Food web · Lake Huron Full text in pdf format Information about this Feature Article NextCite this article as: Sanders TG Jr, Biddanda BA, Stricker CA, Nold SC (2011) Benthic macroinvertebrate and fish communities in Lake Huron are linked to submerged groundwater vents. Aquat Biol 12:1-11. https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00318 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in AB Vol. 12, No. 1. Online publication date: March 03, 2011 Print ISSN: 1864-7782; Online ISSN: 1864-7790 Copyright © 2011 Inter-Research.