Length-Weight Regression Equations Used to Estimate Individual Zooplankton Dry Weight (W in Μg) from Body Length (L in Mm)
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HISTORY OF CHEMICAL, PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL METHODS, SAMPLE LOCATIONS AND LAKE MORPHOMETRY FOR THE DORSET ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE CENTRE (1973 - 2006) Report prepared by: R.E. Girard B.J. Clark1, N.D. Yan1, 2 R.A. Reid1, S.M. David3, R.G. Ingram1 and J.G. Findeis1, 4 1 Ontario Ministry of the Environment Dorset Environmental Science Centre P. O. Box 39 Dorset, Ontario P0A 1E0 2 York University, Department of Biology 4700 Keele Street Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3 3 SMD Technical Services P.O.Box 331 Dorset, Ontario P0A 1E0 4 Trent University Environmental and Resource Studies 1600 West Bank Drive Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8 DATA REPORT 2007/ PREFACE This report is published to provide a readily available source of basic environmental, limnological and water quality information collected on lakes and watersheds from many regions of Ontario by staff of the Dorset Environmental Science Centre. These data were collected as part of aquatic research and monitoring programs that were developed to support major Provincial and Federal pollution abatement initiatives beginning in 1973 when the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) was created from the former Ontario Water Resources Commission (OWRC). One of the most intensive aquatic research studies in North America began with the limnological portion of the Sudbury Environmental Study (1973-1980). This study was initiated to investigate the effects of acidification on aquatic habitats in the greater Sudbury area and to characterize the distance and direction of long range transport of the smelter emissions. The core set of four study lakes have been monitored throughout the ice-free seasons of 1973-2006 and provides temporal data for chemical, physical and biological variables. The limnological portion of the Lakeshore Capacity Study (1975-1981) was initiated to investigate the relationships between lakeshore development and lake trophic status in low ionic strength Precambrian Shield lakes. The Acid Precipitation in Ontario Study (1979-1989) was initiated, in part, to investigate the effects of the deposition of strong acids on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in Ontario. The Dorset Environmental Science Centre, presently part of the MOE’s Environmental Monitoring and Reporting Branch, continues to investigate the aforementioned lakes for the effects of anthropogenic stressors on aquatic ecosystems in Ontario. The primary findings of these studies have been, and will continue to be, published as peer-reviewed papers in international scientific journals, technical reports, and conference proceedings. i ABSTRACT This data report summarizes the water chemical, physical and biological sampling methods routinely used from 1973-2006 by field personnel of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment at the Dorset Environmental Science Centre (DESC). The purpose of this report is to consolidate and summarize the methods previously reported in DESC studies with special attention to chronicling methodological changes over time. All of the morphometric data developed throughout the studies by the DESC over the period 1973-2006 are provided and include revisions to the previously reported sub-basin morphometry for lakes Muskoka, Joseph and Rosseau. All water sampling procedures, protocols and apportioned sample volumes utilized in the volume-weighted composite technique are presented herein. Similarly, all biological sample collection methods (phytoplankton, zooplankton, macroinvertebrates, and crayfish) and taxonomic references used by staff of the DESC for the identification of zooplankton and macroinvertebrate species during the period 1973 –2006 are also summarized. R. E. Girard, B.J. Clark, N.D. Yan, R.A. Reid, S.M. David, R.G. Ingram and J.G. Findeis. 2007 History of chemical, physical and biological methods, sample locations and lake morphometry for the Dorset Environmental Science Centre (1973 - 2006) Ont. Min. Envir. Technical Report 2007/. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE........................................................................................................................................ i ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................... ii TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES...........................................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF APPENDICES................................................................................................................ vi 1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................1 2. Methods........................................................................................................................................3 2.1 Historical context...........................................................................................................3 3. Chemical parameter test groups for routine sampling programmes ..........................................16 3.1 Chemical sampling methods........................................................................................20 3.2 Ministry of the Environment – Laboratory remarks codes..........................................23 4. Thermal Stratification ................................................................................................................29 4.1 Sampling protocol for chemistry with depth enforced layers......................................29 4.2 Depth enforced limnetic layers ....................................................................................29 4.3 Thermal energy content of the routine study lakes......................................................31 5. Lake Morphometry ....................................................................................................................34 5.1 Morpometric parameters..............................................................................................34 5.2 Hydrological data calculations for the study lake water balance analysis...................38 5.3 Areal units and associated calculations........................................................................38 6. Lake Station location, abbreviation and identification codes ....................................................41 7. Biological Sampling Methods....................................................................................................69 7.1 Light, phytoplankton, chlorophyll ...............................................................................69 7.2 Zooplankton (1976-2006) ............................................................................................70 -Special Sampling for Bythotrephes longimanus (Leydig, 1860)..........................72 -Sample preservation.............................................................................................74 -Sample enumeration .............................................................................................74 -Zooplankton identification and enumeration: a working example.......................75 iii 7.3 Benthic Invertebrate Communities (1988-2006) .........................................................83 - Lake and site selection (Littoral zone benthos)...................................................85 - Laboratory processing.........................................................................................88 - Crayfish (1988-2006)..........................................................................................90 - Fish presence / absence........................................................................................96 8. Acknowledgements..................................................................................................................113 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................114 General taxonomic references for macroinvertebrates ....................................................124 Specialized macroinvertebrate references........................................................................125 General taxonomic references for zooplankton ...............................................................128 Specialized zooplankton references.................................................................................129 Crustacean zooplankton length - weight relationship references: ...................................134 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Ice-off and ice-on Dates for Dorset (DESC) Lakes (Day equals the Julian calendar day)..................................................................................................................9 Table 2a. Summary of study lakes: sampling period, protocol and frequency (1973-2006).......10 Table 2a. Multiple basin sample locations established in 1986-1989 showing field ID .............12 Table 2b. Rice and Sturgeon lakes Nutrient Budget Study 1986-1989 Flow weighted sampling regime used by local observers at tributary water quality monitoring stations .........................................................................................................................14 Table 2c. Multiple basin sample locations, 1986-1989 showing field