Abstract
Periphyton is an important basal food source for many aquatic consumers by directly or indirectly providing long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA). Although periphyton LC-PUFA content is highly sensitive to aqueous nutrients, the majority of prior studies have been conducted in low-nutrient aquatic environments. Less is known about how periphyton LC-PUFA content may change in response to higher nutrient concentrations in rivers. We conducted a periphyton culturing experiment by manipulating a gradient of aqueous nutrient concentrations from 0.002 to 0.18 mg P/L to investigate how aqueous nutrients affected periphyton FA from oligotrophic to eutrophic waters. Our results showed a significant curvilinear relationship between aqueous water nutrients and periphyton FA. In oligotrophic conditions, periphyton LC-PUFA increased as aqueous nutrients increased, whereas in eutrophic waters, periphyton LC-PUFA decreased as aqueous nutrients increased. The change of taxonomic composition, especially the increase of diatom density, was a significant factor influencing periphyton LC-PUFA content. Additionally, periphyton biomass experienced a significant increase with elevated aqueous nutrients, which differed from periphyton LC-PUFA. Our study detected the response of periphyton FA to aqueous nutrients from oligotrophic to eutrophic conditions, and provided a reference for the protection of river ecosystems.
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Acknowledgements
This work is supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFC3201004), the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province of China (2022A0505050075), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2021A1515110421), the Program for Guangdong Introducing Innovative and Entrepreneurial Teams (2019ZT08L213) and Nansha Key Scientific and Technological Project, Guangdong Province (2023ZD012).
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Zhou, B., Wang, Y., You, J. et al. Response of periphyton fatty acids to experimental changes in aqueous phosphorus. Aquat Ecol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-024-10115-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-024-10115-4