Temporal and Seasonal Trends in Nutrient Dynamics and Biomass Measures in Lakes Michigan and Ontario in Response to Phosphorus Control

Abstract

Results from long-term ecological monitoring studies on Lake Michigan (1983–92) and Lake Ontario (1981–92) were compared with regard to changes in phosphorus loads. In Lake Ontario, total phosphorus (TP) loads decreased from 14 000 t∙yr−1 in 1970 to 7500 t∙yr−1 in 1981, and correspondingly, midlake TP concentration decreased from 25 to 16 μg∙L−1 From 1981 to 1991 TP loads remained around 7500 t∙yr−1; however, TP concentration continued to decline from 16 to 10 μg∙L−1. Similarly, mean summer particulate organic carbon (POC), chlorophyll a (CHLa), and nitrate utilization rate decreased by approximately 40, 20, and 50%, respectively. Conversely, silica utilization rates increased markedly after 1983. In Lake Michigan, TP loads also decreased by around 50% from 1974 to 1990 (2000 t∙yr−1); however, TP concentrations at our 100-m station in the southern basin increased during the study period from around 4 to 8 μg∙L−1 There were no distinct trends in CHLa or nutrient utilization patterns; however, POC levels decreased sharply after 1987. Overall, silica utilization rates in Lake Michigan were 50% higher than in Lake Ontario (14.7 vs. 9.6 μg∙L−1∙d−1), whereas nitrate utilization rates were only half (1.4 vs. 4.1 μg∙L−1∙d−1).