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Inland blue holes of the bahamas – chemistry and biology in a unique aquatic environment

Björnerås, Caroline LU ; Škerlep, Martin LU ; Gollnisch, Raphael LU ; Herzog, Simon David LU ; Ugge, Gustaf Ekelund LU orcid ; Hegg, Alexander LU ; Hu, Nan LU ; Johansson, Emma LU orcid ; Lee, Marcus LU orcid and Pärssinen, Varpu LU , et al. (2020) In Fundamental and Applied Limnology 194(2). p.95-106
Abstract

While lake systems in temperate regions have been extensively studied, tropical and subtropical systems have received less attention. Here, we describe the water chemistry and biota of ten inland blue holes on Andros Island, The Bahamas, representative of the morphological, abiotic, and biotic variation among Androsian inland blue holes. The majority of the studied blue holes were vertically stratified with oxic freshwater overlying anoxic saline groundwater of marine origin. Water chemistry (e.g. total phosphorus and nitrogen) in shallow waters was similar among blue holes, while turbidity and water color varied. Presence of hydrogen sulfide and reduced iron in and below the halocline indicate reducing conditions in all stratified blue... (More)

While lake systems in temperate regions have been extensively studied, tropical and subtropical systems have received less attention. Here, we describe the water chemistry and biota of ten inland blue holes on Andros Island, The Bahamas, representative of the morphological, abiotic, and biotic variation among Androsian inland blue holes. The majority of the studied blue holes were vertically stratified with oxic freshwater overlying anoxic saline groundwater of marine origin. Water chemistry (e.g. total phosphorus and nitrogen) in shallow waters was similar among blue holes, while turbidity and water color varied. Presence of hydrogen sulfide and reduced iron in and below the halocline indicate reducing conditions in all stratified blue holes. The biota above the halocline was also similar among blue holes with a few taxa dominating the phytoplankton community, and the zooplankton community consisting of copepods and rotifers. The Bahamas mosquitofish (Gambusia hubbsi) was present in all investigated blue holes, often accompanied by other small planktivorous fish, while the piscivorous bigmouth sleeper (Gobiomorus dormitor) was only present in some of the blue holes. Our field study reinforces that inland blue holes are highly interesting for biogeochemical research, and provide naturally replicated systems for evolutionary studies.

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type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Anchialine caves, Andros Island, Aquatic ecosystems, Halocline, sub-tropical, Redox biogeochemistry
in
Fundamental and Applied Limnology
volume
194
issue
2
pages
95 - 106
publisher
E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung
external identifiers
  • scopus:85094855103
ISSN
1863-9135
DOI
10.1127/fal/2020/1330
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2020 E. The authors.
id
28eff9ba-dc24-4de4-af74-012c9877b684
date added to LUP
2021-12-14 06:54:40
date last changed
2024-05-04 18:37:35
@article{28eff9ba-dc24-4de4-af74-012c9877b684,
  abstract     = {{<p>While lake systems in temperate regions have been extensively studied, tropical and subtropical systems have received less attention. Here, we describe the water chemistry and biota of ten inland blue holes on Andros Island, The Bahamas, representative of the morphological, abiotic, and biotic variation among Androsian inland blue holes. The majority of the studied blue holes were vertically stratified with oxic freshwater overlying anoxic saline groundwater of marine origin. Water chemistry (e.g. total phosphorus and nitrogen) in shallow waters was similar among blue holes, while turbidity and water color varied. Presence of hydrogen sulfide and reduced iron in and below the halocline indicate reducing conditions in all stratified blue holes. The biota above the halocline was also similar among blue holes with a few taxa dominating the phytoplankton community, and the zooplankton community consisting of copepods and rotifers. The Bahamas mosquitofish (Gambusia hubbsi) was present in all investigated blue holes, often accompanied by other small planktivorous fish, while the piscivorous bigmouth sleeper (Gobiomorus dormitor) was only present in some of the blue holes. Our field study reinforces that inland blue holes are highly interesting for biogeochemical research, and provide naturally replicated systems for evolutionary studies.</p>}},
  author       = {{Björnerås, Caroline and Škerlep, Martin and Gollnisch, Raphael and Herzog, Simon David and Ugge, Gustaf Ekelund and Hegg, Alexander and Hu, Nan and Johansson, Emma and Lee, Marcus and Pärssinen, Varpu and Sha, Yongcui and Vinterstare, Jerker and Zhang, Huan and Hulthén, Kaj and Brönmark, Christer and Hansson, Lars Anders and Anders Nilsson, P. and Rengefors, Karin and Brian Langerhans, R.}},
  issn         = {{1863-9135}},
  keywords     = {{Anchialine caves; Andros Island; Aquatic ecosystems; Halocline, sub-tropical; Redox biogeochemistry}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{95--106}},
  publisher    = {{E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung}},
  series       = {{Fundamental and Applied Limnology}},
  title        = {{Inland blue holes of the bahamas – chemistry and biology in a unique aquatic environment}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1127/fal/2020/1330}},
  doi          = {{10.1127/fal/2020/1330}},
  volume       = {{194}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}