Many boreal lakes are colored brown due to strong light absorption by chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), which reduces light penetration into the water column. However, the influence of CDOM on the fraction of photosynthetically utilizable radiation (PUR) absorbed by phytoplankton from the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) entering the lake (i.e., PUR/PAR) remains largely unknown. Here, we (1) quantified PUR/PAR values and examined the major water quality parameters determining PUR/PAR from 128 sampled boreal lakes, (2) predicted PUR/PAR values for 2250 reference boreal lakes, and (3) estimated the response of PUR/PAR to typical browning trends reported in earlier studies. The PUR/PAR values ranged from 0.4% to 17% in the sampled lakes, and a logarithmic model including CDOM and chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration was the most parsimonious for predicting PUR/PAR values. Applying the model to the reference lakes, PUR/PAR values ranged from 0.5% to 20% (median 3%). In the model, an increase in CDOM content decreases the PUR/PAR value, but a concurrent increase in Chl a concentration with the CDOM partly compensates the negative effect of CDOM on the PUR/PAR values. Assuming that browning increases both CDOM and Chl a contents, as found for our reference lakes, our model suggests that the decrease in light absorption by phytoplankton in response to a typical degree of browning is only moderate. The moderate response of the PUR/PAR to browning may be explained by photoacclimation of phytoplankton to lowered light availability, and/or an increased loading of nutrients to lakes both leading to higher Chl a concentration.

The depth of the mixed layer is a major determinant of nutrient and light availability for phytoplankton in stratified waterbodies. Ongoing climate change influences surface waters through meteorological forcing, which modifies the physical structure of fresh waters including the mixed layer, but effects on phytoplankton biomass are poorly known. To determine the responses of phytoplankton biomass to the depth of the mixed layer, light availability and associated meteorological forcing, we followed daily changes in weather and water column properties in a boreal lake over the first half of a summer stratification period. Phytoplankton biomass increased with the deepening of the mixed layer associated with high wind speeds and low air temperature relative to the temperature of the mixed layer (T-air-T-mix < 0), whereas heatwave conditions-shallow mixed layer driven by high T-air-T-mix value and low wind speed-reduced the biomass. Improving light availability from low to moderate light conditions increased the phytoplankton biomass, while the highest light availability was associated with low phytoplankton biomass. Our study demonstrates that the climatic impact-drivers wind speed and T-air-T-mix are major drivers of mixed layer depth, which controlled phytoplankton biomass during the early summer stratification period. Our study suggests that increasing air temperature relative to water temperature and declining wind speeds have potential to lead to reduced phytoplankton biomass due to a shallower mixed layer during the first half of the stratification period in non-eutrophic lakes with sufficient light availability.

Subarctic lakes are getting warmer and more productive due to the joint effects of climate change and intensive land-use practices (e.g. forest clear-cutting and peatland ditching), processes that potentially increase leaching of peat- and soil-stored mercury into lake ecosystems. We sampled biotic communities from primary producers (algae) to top consumers (piscivorous fish), in 19 subarctic lakes situated on a latitudinal (69.0–66.5° N), climatic (+3.2 °C temperature and +30% precipitation from north to south) and catchment land-use (pristine to intensive forestry areas) gradient. We first tested how the joint effects of climate and productivity influence mercury biomagnification in food webs focusing on the trophic magnification slope (TMS) and mercury baseline (THg baseline) level, both derived from linear regression between total mercury (log10THg) and organism trophic level (TL). We examined a suite of environmental and biotic variables thought to explain THg baseline and TMS with stepwise generalized multiple regression models. Finally, we assessed how climate and lake productivity affect the THg content of top predators in subarctic lakes. We found biomagnification of mercury in all studied lakes, but with variable TMS and THg baseline values. In stepwise multiple regression models, TMS was best explained by negative relationships with food chain length, climate-productivity gradient, catchment properties, and elemental C:N ratio of the top predator (full model R2 = 0.90, p < 0.001). The model examining variation in THg baseline values included the same variables with positive relationships (R2 = 0.69, p = 0.014). Mass-standardized THg content of a common top predator (1 kg northern pike, Esox lucius) increased towards warmer and more productive lakes. Results indicate that increasing eutrophication via forestry-related land-use activities increase the THg levels at the base of the food web and in top predators, suggesting that the sources of nutrients and mercury should be considered in future bioaccumulation and biomagnification studies.

In seasonal environments, strong gradients of environmental parameters can shape life cycles of phytoplankton. Depending on the rate of environmental fluctuation, specialist or generalist strategies may be favored, potentially affecting life cycle transitions. The present study examined life cycle transitions of the toxin producing Baltic dinoflagellate Alexandrium ostenfeldii and their regulation by environmental factors (temperature and nutrients). This investigation aimed to determine whether genetic recombination of different strains is required for resting cyst formation and whether newly formed cysts are dormant. Field data (temperature and salinity) and sediment surface samples were collected from a site with recurrent blooms and germination and encystment experiments were conducted under controlled laboratory conditions. Results indicate a lack of seasonal germination pattern, set by an endogenous rhythm, as commonly found with other dinoflagellates from the Baltic Sea. Germination of quiescent cysts was triggered by temperatures exceeding 10°C and combined nutrient limitation of nitrogen and phosphorus or a drop in temperature from 16 to 10°C triggered encystment most efficiently. Genetic recombination was not mandatory for the formation of resting cysts, but supported higher numbers of resistant cysts and enhanced germination capacity after a resting period. Findings from this study confirm that A. ostenfeldii follows a generalist germination and cyst formation strategy, driven by strong seasonality, which may support its persistence and possibly expansion in marginal environments in the future, if higher temperatures facilitate a longer growth season.

Climate change is resulting in increased temperatures and precipitation in subarctic regions of Europe. These changes are extending tree lines to higher altitudes and latitudes, and enhancing tree growth enabling intensification of forestry into previously inhospitable subarctic regions. The combined effects of climate change and land-use intensification extend the warm, open-water season in subarctic lakes and increase lake productivity and may also increase leaching andmethylation activity of mercury within the lakes. To assess the joint effects of climate and productivity on total mercury (THg) bioaccumulation in fish, we conducted a space-for-time substitution study in 18 tributary lakes of a subarcticwatercourse forming a gradient fromcold pristine oligotrophic lakes in the northern headwaters to warmer and increasingly human-altered mesotrophic and eutrophic systems in the southern lower reaches. Increasing temperature, precipitation, and lake productivity were predicted to elevate length-and age-adjusted THg concentrations, as well as THg bioaccumulation rate (the rate of THg bioaccumulation relative to length or age) in muscle tissue of European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus), vendace (Coregonus albula), perch (Perca fluviatilis), pike (Esox lucius), roach (Rutilus rutilus) and ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernua). A significant positive relationship was observed between age-adjusted THg concentration and lake climateproductivity in vendace (r(2) = 0.50), perch (r(2) = 0.51), pike (r(2) = 0.55) and roach (r(2) = 0.61). Higher climate-productivity values of the lakes also had a positive linear (pike; r(2) = 0.40 and whitefish; r(2)= 0.72) or u-shaped (perch; r(2) = 0.64 and ruffe; r(2) = 0.50) relationship with THg bioaccumulation rate. Our findings of increased adjusted THg concentrations in planktivores and piscivores reveal adverse effects of warming climate and increasing productivity on these subarctic fishes, whereas less distinct trends in THg bioaccumulation rate suggest more complex underlying processes. Joint environmental stressors such as climate and productivity should be considered in ongoing and future monitoring of mercury concentrations. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.