Morphological and biomechanical response to eutrophication and hydrodynamic stresses

Abstract

Eutrophication and hydrodynamics determine the final distribution patterns of aquatic macrophytes; however, there is limited available knowledge regarding their interactive effects. Morphological and biomechanical responses to eutrophication and hydrodynamic stresses were assessed by sampling five abundant and dominant species, Potamogeton maackianus, P. pectinatus, P. lucens, Ceratophyllum demersum and Myriophyllum spicatum, in three macrophyte beds in Lake Erhai, Yunnan Province, China: one exposed to eutrophication and moderate southeast (SE) wind; one with mesotrophication, but sheltered by the lakeshore, with weak wind disturbance; and one with meso-eutrophication and strong SE wind. The results showed significant interactive effects of eutrophication and hydrodynamics on most biomechanical traits and some morphological traits, suggesting that aquatic macrophytes preferentially undergo biomechanical adjustments to resist the coexisting eutrophication and hydrodynamic stresses. In particular, hydrodynamics increased both the tensile force and tensile strain of P. maackianus under meso-eutrophication and dramatically decreased them in eutrophic areas, suggesting that eutrophication triggers mechanical failure in this species. Additionally, P. pectinatus, C. demersum and M. spicatum showed the lowest and highest values for the biomechanical variables (greater values for M. spicatum) in the most eutrophic and hydrodynamic areas, respectively, implying that increases in hydrodynamics primarily induce mechanical damage in eutrophic species. The plants generally exhibited greater tensile strain in both shallow and deep waters and the greatest tensile force at moderate depths. The stem cross-sectional area, plant height, stem length, internode length, and branch traits were all responsible for determining the biomechanical variables. This study reveals that hydrodynamic changes primarily induce mechanical damage in eutrophic species, whereas eutrophication triggers mechanical damage in sensitive species.

Keywords: Canopy-forming macrophytes; Eutrophic lake; Plant adjustment; Stepwise regression analysis; Water depth; Wind-wave disturbance.