Premium
Flow history explains temporal and spatial variation of carbon fractionationin stream periphyton
Author(s) -
Singer Gabriel A.,
Panzenböck Michaela,
Weigelhofer Gabriele,
Marchesani Christina,
Waringer Johann,
Wanek Wolfgang,
Battin Tom J.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.2005.50.2.0706
Subject(s) - periphyton , environmental science , hydrograph , fractionation , spatial variability , flume , hydrology (agriculture) , dissolved organic carbon , flow (mathematics) , water column , δ13c , ecology , environmental chemistry , nutrient , geology , chemistry , biology , stable isotope ratio , surface runoff , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , statistics , mathematics , geotechnical engineering , physics , geometry
We investigated factors that contribute to isotopic carbon fractionation in periphytic biofilms in a human‐altered headwater stream with a flashy hydrograph. Water velocity had an important effect on periphyton Δ 13 C, explaining both temporal and spatial variation. We found that water velocity averaged over a certain period before sampling, rather than the instantaneous water velocity, explained a high percentage of both temporal and spatial variation of the periphyton d13C signature. The relationship between water velocity and periphyton Δ 13 C signature was particularly influenced by individual flow events during the recent flow history. A simple model based on a flow history of 3–4 weeks reliably estimated the Δ 13 C signature of periphyton from distinct reaches. The model clearly identified signature shifts caused by the deposition of activated sludge particles from a wastewater treatment plant onto the periphytic biofilms. We highlight the high spatial and temporal variability of periphyton Δ 13 C signatures (i.e., up to 3–6‰) in a heterogeneous flow environment with inputs from a wastewater treatment plant, and we explore its implications for food web analysis.