A model for inferring past conductivity in low salinity waters derived from Murray River (Australia) diatom plankton
John Tibby A D and Michael A. Reid B CA Geographical and Environmental Studies, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
B Centre for Palynology and Palaeoecology, School of Geography and Environmental Science, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic. 3800, Australia.
C Present address: National Institute for Water and Atmosphere Christchurch, PO Box 8602, Christchurch, New Zealand.
D Corresponding author. Email: John.Tibby@adelaide.edu.au
Marine and Freshwater Research 55(6) 597-607 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF04032
Submitted: 20 February 2004 Accepted: 10 May 2004 Published: 14 September 2004
Abstract
Detecting human-induced salinisation in rivers and wetlands of the Murray-Darling Basin has proved problematic. A diatom-based model that permits the estimation of past electrical conductivity (EC) from sedimentary diatom sequences has been developed from Murray River planktonic diatoms. Canonical Correspondence Analysis indicates that EC explains the greatest amount of variance in Murray River planktonic diatoms and that its influence is partially independent of that associated with velocity, turbidity, pH and nutrients. A weighted-averaging based model for inferring past EC was therefore derived from the relationship between diatom composition and EC in Murray River plankton samples. The model works well when comparisons are made between measured and diatom-inferred EC determined by jackknifing based leave-one-out computer resampling (r2jack = 0.71, root-mean-square-error of prediction = 115 μS cm−1). Application of the model will enhance understanding of the nature of pre-European variability in electrical conductivity and permit detection of changes in conductivity through the period of European occupation at key sites. Such reconstructions will provide a firm empirical basis for assessing European impact on aquatic ecosystems and a means by which to assess restoration efforts.
Extra keywords: baseline, human impact, palaeolimnology, transfer function, wetland.
Acknowledgments
Jody Swirepik, Murray-Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) gave permission for the MDBC’s samples to be accessed and Cris Diaconu (MDBC) provided water quality data. Velocity data or cross-section data used to calculate velocity were provided by Barbara Dworakowski, THIESS Environmental Services (Euston, Merbein, Swan Hill, Torrumbarry), Rod Kerr, New South Wales Department of Land and Water Conservation (Heywood’s Bridge and Yarrawonga) and Barry Porter, South Australian Department of Water Resources (Morgan). Andy Close (MDBC) provided river distances. Andy Moores processed the diatom samples. Carl Sayer provided valuable advice about the identification of Stephanodiscus and Cyclostephanos species. Dave Ryves provided useful comments on an earlier manuscript. The study was funded by a Strategic Monash University Research Grant to Peter Kershaw and others.
Battarbee, R. W. (1999). The importance of palaeolimnology to lake restoration. Hydrobiologia 395–396, 149–159.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Birks, H. J. B. (1998). Numerical tools in palaeolimnology – Progress, potentialities, and problems. Journal of Paleolimnology 20, 307–332.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Denys, L. , Muylaert, K. , Krammer, K. , Joosten, T. , Reid, M. , and Rioual, P. (2003). Aulacoseira subborealis stat. nov. (Bacillariphyceae): a common but neglected plankton diatom from eutrophic waters. Nova Hedwigia 77, 407–427.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fritz, S. C. , Juggins, S. , and Battarbee, R. W. (1993). Diatom assemblages and ionic charaterization of lakes of the Northern Great Plains, North America: A tool for reconstructing past salinity and climate fluctuations. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 50, 1844–1856.
Gasse, F. , Juggins, S. , and BenKhelifa, L. (1995). Diatom-based transfer functions for inferring past hydrochemical characteristics of African lakes. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 117, 31–54.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Gasse, F. , Barker, P. A. , Gell, P. A. , Fritz, S. C. , and Chalie, F. (1997). Diatom-inferred salinity of palaeolakes, an indirect tracer of climate change. Quaternary Science Reviews 16, 547–563.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Gell, P. A. (1997). The development of diatom database for inferring lake salinity, Western Victoria, Australia: Towards a quantitative approach for reconstructing past climates. Australian Journal of Botany 45, 389–423.
Gell, P. A. (1998). Quantitative reconstructions of the Holocene palaeosalinity of paired crater lakes based on a diatom transfer function. Palaeoclimates 3, 83–96.
Gell, P. A. , Sluiter, I. R. , and Fluin, J. (2002). Seasonal and inter-annual variations in diatom assemblages in Murray River-connected wetlands in northwest Victoria, Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research 53, 981–992.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hötzel, G. , and Croome, R. (1996). Population dynamics of Aulacoseira granulata (Ehr.) Simonson (Bacillariophyceae, Centrales), the dominant alga in the Murray River, Australia. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 136, 191–215.
Jolly, I. D. , Williamson, D. R. , Gilfedder, M. , Walker, G. R. , and Morton, R. , et al. (2001). Historical stream salinity trends and catchment salt balances in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research 52, 53–63.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Jones, V. J. , and Juggins, S. (1995). The construction of a diatom-based chlorophyll a transfer function and its application at three lakes on Signy Island (maritime Antarctic) subject to differing degrees of nutrient enrichment. Freshwater Biology 34, 433–445.
Juggins, S., and ter Braak, C. J. F. (1997).
Krammer, K., and Lange-Bertalot, H. (1986).
Krammer, K., and Lange-Bertalot, H. (1988).
Krammer, K., and Lange-Bertalot, H. (1991).
Krammer, K., and Lange-Bertalot, H. (1991).
Leland, H. V. , Brown, L. R. , and Mueller, D. K. (2001). Distribution of algae in the San Joaquin River, California, in relation to nutrient supply, salinity and other environmental factors. Freshwater Biology 46, 1139–1167.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Moss, B. , and Balls, H. (1989). Phytoplankton distribution in a floodplain lake and river system. II. Seasonal changes in the phytoplankton communities and their control by hydrology and nutrient availability. Journal of Plankton Research 11, 839–867.
National Land and Water Audit (2001).
Nicholls, N. (1988). More on early ENSOs: Evidence from Australian documentary sources. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 69, 4–6.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Palmer, M. W. (1993). Putting things in even better order: the advantages of canonical correspondence analysis. Ecology 74, 2215–2230.
Reid, M. , Tibby, J. , Penny, D. , and Gell, P. (1995). The use of diatoms to assess past and present water quality. Australian Journal of Ecology 20, 57–64.
Reid, M. , Fluin, J. , Ogden, R. , Tibby, J. , and Kershaw, P. (2002). Long-term perspectives on human impacts on floodplain-river ecosystems, Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. Verhandlungen der Internationalen Vereinigung für Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie. 28, 710.
Renberg, I. (1990). A procedure for preparing large sets of diatom slides from sediment cores. Journal of Paleolimnology 19, 399–416.
Ryves, D. B. , McGowan, S. , and Anderson, N. J. (2002). Development and evaluation of a diatom-conductivity model from lakes in West Greenland. Freshwater Biology 47, 995–1014.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Siver, P. A. (1999). Development of paleolimnological inference models for pH, total nitrogen and specific conductivity based on planktonic diatoms. Journal of Paleolimnology 21, 45.
Sonneman, J. A., Sincock, A., Fluin, J., Reid, M., Newall, P., Tibby, J., and Gell, P. (1999).
Sullivan, C., Saunders, J., and Welsh, D. (1988).
Taffs, K. H. (2001). Diatoms as indicators of wetland salinity in the Upper South East of South Australia. The Holocene 11, 281–290.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
ter Braak, C. J. F. , and Juggins, S. (1993). Weighted averaging partial least squared regression (WA-PLS): an improved method for reconstructing environmental variables from species assemblages. Hydrobiologia 268, 485–502.
ter Braak, C. J. F. , and Looman, C. W. N. (1986). Weighted averaging, logistic regression and the Gaussian response model. Vegetatio 65, 3–11.
ter Braak, C. J. F. , and Verdonschot, P. F. M. (1995). Canonical correspondence analysis and related multivariate methods in aquatic ecology. Aquatic Sciences 57, 255–289.
Tibby, J. (2001). Diatoms as indicators of sedimentary processes in Burrinjuck reservoir, New South Wales, Australia. Quaternary International 83–85, 245–256.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Tibby, J. (2003). Explaining lake and catchment change using sediment derived and written histories: an Australian perspective. The Science of the Total Environment 310, 61–71.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Verschuren, D. , Tibby, J. , Sabbe, K. , and Roberts, N. (2000). Effects of lake level, salinity and substrate on the benthic invertebrate community of a shallow tropical lake system. Ecology 81, 164–182.
Williams, W. D. (1967). The chemical charaterisation of lentic surface waters in Australia. A review. In
