A single pulse of diffuse contaminants alters the size
distribution of natural phytoplankton communities

J 2019

A single pulse of diffuse contaminants alters the size distribution of natural phytoplankton communities

BAHO, Didier L., Francesco POMATI, Eva LEU, Dag O. HESSEN, S. Jannicke MOE et. al.

Basic information

Original name

A single pulse of diffuse contaminants alters the size distribution of natural phytoplankton communities

Authors

BAHO, Didier L. (578 Norway), Francesco POMATI (756 Switzerland), Eva LEU (578 Norway), Dag O. HESSEN (578 Norway), S. Jannicke MOE (578 Norway), Jon NORBERG (752 Sweden) and Luca NIZZETTO (380 Italy, guarantor, belonging to the institution)

Edition

Science of the Total Environment, Amsterdam, Elsevier Science, 2019, 0048-9697

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Článek v odborném periodiku

Field of Study

10511 Environmental sciences

Country of publisher

Netherlands

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

Full Text

Impact factor

Impact factor: 6.551

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14310/19:00110460

Organization unit

Faculty of Science

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.229

UT WoS

000471657600059

Keywords in English

Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs); Micropollutants; Scaling law; Size abundance relationship; Phytoplankton communities; Field experiment

Abstract

V originále

The presence of a multitude of bioactive organic pollutants collectively classified as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in freshwaters is of concern, considering that ecological assessments of their potential impacts on natural systems are still scarce. In this field experiment we tested whether a single pulse exposure to a mixture of 12 pharmaceuticals and personal care products, which are commonly found in European inland waters, can influence the size distributions of natural lake phytoplankton communities. Size is one of the most influential determinants of community structure and functioning, particularly in planktonic communities and food webs. Using an in-situ microcosm approach, phytoplankton communities in two lakes with different nutrient levels (mesotrophic and eutrophic) were exposed to a concentration gradient of the PPCPs mixture at five levels. We tested whether sub-lethal PPCPs doses affect the scaling of organisms' abundances with their size, and the slope of these size spectra, which describe changes in the abundances of small relative to large phytoplankton. Our results showed that a large proportion (approximately 80%) of the dataset followed a power-law distribution, thus suggesting evidence of scale invariance of abundances, as expected in steady state ecosystems. PPCPs were however found to induce significant changes in the size spectra and community structure of natural phytoplankton assemblages. The two highest treatment levels of PPCPs were associated with decreased abundance of the most dominant size class (nano-phytoplankton: 2-5 mu m), leading to a flattening of the size spectra slope. These results suggest that a pulse exposure to PPCPs induce changes that potentially lead to unsteady ecosystem states and cascading effects in the aquatic food webs, by favoring larger non-edible algae at the expense of small edible species. We propose higher susceptibility due to higher surface to volume ratio in small species as the likely cause of these structural changes.

Citovat

BAHO, Didier L., Francesco POMATI, Eva LEU, Dag O. HESSEN, S. Jannicke MOE, Jon NORBERG and Luca NIZZETTO. A single pulse of diffuse contaminants alters the size distribution of natural phytoplankton communities. Science of the Total Environment. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science, 2019, vol. 683, September, p. 578-588. ISSN 0048-9697. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.229.

@article{1549878,
   author = {Baho, Didier L. and Pomati, Francesco and Leu, Eva and Hessen, Dag O. and Moe, S. Jannicke and Norberg, Jon and Nizzetto, Luca},
   article_location = {Amsterdam},
   article_number = {September},
   doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.229},
   keywords = {Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs); Micropollutants; Scaling law; Size abundance relationship; Phytoplankton communities; Field experiment},
   language = {eng},
   issn = {0048-9697},
   journal = {Science of the Total Environment},
   title = {A single pulse of diffuse contaminants alters the size distribution of natural phytoplankton communities},
   url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969719322685?via%3Dihub},
   volume = {683},
   year = {2019}
}

TY  - JOUR
ID  - 1549878
AU  - Baho, Didier L. - Pomati, Francesco - Leu, Eva - Hessen, Dag O. - Moe, S. Jannicke - Norberg, Jon - Nizzetto, Luca
PY  - 2019
TI  - A single pulse of diffuse contaminants alters the size distribution of natural phytoplankton communities
JF  - Science of the Total Environment
VL  - 683
IS  - September
SP  - 578-588
EP  - 578-588
PB  - Elsevier Science
SN  - 00489697
KW  - Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs)
KW  - Micropollutants
KW  - Scaling law
KW  - Size abundance relationship
KW  - Phytoplankton communities
KW  - Field experiment
UR  - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969719322685?via%3Dihub
L2  - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969719322685?via%3Dihub
N2  - The presence of a multitude of bioactive organic pollutants collectively classified as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in freshwaters is of concern, considering that ecological assessments of their potential impacts on natural systems are still scarce. In this field experiment we tested whether a single pulse exposure to a mixture of 12 pharmaceuticals and personal care products, which are commonly found in European inland waters, can influence the size distributions of natural lake phytoplankton communities. Size is one of the most influential determinants of community structure and functioning, particularly in planktonic communities and food webs. Using an in-situ microcosm approach, phytoplankton communities in two lakes with different nutrient levels (mesotrophic and eutrophic) were exposed to a concentration gradient of the PPCPs mixture at five levels. We tested whether sub-lethal PPCPs doses affect the scaling of organisms' abundances with their size, and the slope of these size spectra, which describe changes in the abundances of small relative to large phytoplankton. Our results showed that a large proportion (approximately 80%) of the dataset followed a power-law distribution, thus suggesting evidence of scale invariance of abundances, as expected in steady state ecosystems. PPCPs were however found to induce significant changes in the size spectra and community structure of natural phytoplankton assemblages. The two highest treatment levels of PPCPs were associated with decreased abundance of the most dominant size class (nano-phytoplankton: 2-5 mu m), leading to a flattening of the size spectra slope. These results suggest that a pulse exposure to PPCPs induce changes that potentially lead to unsteady ecosystem states and cascading effects in the aquatic food webs, by favoring larger non-edible algae at the expense of small edible species. We propose higher susceptibility due to higher surface to volume ratio in small species as the likely cause of these structural changes.
ER  -

BAHO, Didier L., Francesco POMATI, Eva LEU, Dag O. HESSEN, S. Jannicke MOE, Jon NORBERG and Luca NIZZETTO. A single pulse of diffuse contaminants alters the size distribution of natural phytoplankton communities. \textit{Science of the Total Environment}. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science, 2019, vol.~683, September, p.~578-588. ISSN~0048-9697. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.229.

Detailed Information on Publication Record