Experimental mesocosm studies of salinity effects on the benthic algal community of a saline lake

As closed-basin systems, saline lakes are prone to fluctuate in level and salinity with climate change and hydrologic alterations. Loss of many Great Basin Cakes has resulted from the diversion of tributary streams for agricultural or municipal uses. At Mono Lake, an alkaline salt lake in eastern California, salinities have risen from 50 to 100 g.L-1 in just 50 years. Experimental mesocosms were established to simulate some of the potential ecological effects that could have accompanied this change. The influence of salinity on diatom diversity,taxonomic structure, and primary Production was tested using mesocosms deployed at Mono Lake. Mesocosm tanks were 500 L in volume, 1 m square, and 0.5 m deep, with open tops covered by I mm mesh net. I;ive treatments (50, 75, 100, 125, and 190 p.L-1) with four replicates per treatment were used over a 2-month period. The diatom-dominated benthic algae were reduced both in standing crop (from 6 to <0.1 g.m(-2)) and diversity (from 30 to 12 taxa) with increased salinity, with most loss occurring in salinities greater than or equal to 75 g.L-1. Photosynthetic oxygen production also was significantly lower at salinities greater than or equal to 75 g.L-1. Diatom indicator taxa for these shifts included Denticula sp., Nitzschia frustulum, N. monoensis, N. communis, and Stephanodiscus oregonicus increasing in relative abundance in higher salinity treatments, accompanied by decreases in Achnanthes minutissima, Cymbella minuta, N. dissipata, and Rhoicosphenia abbreviata. Exhibiting dominance at moderate salinity levels (75 to 125 g.L-1) were Nitzschia frustulum, N. communis, N. palea, and Navicula crucialis. These latter species may be limited by both physiological stress at high salinity and grazing and competition at low salinity. The filamentous chlorophyte, Ctenocladus circinnatus, and cyanobacteria (Oscillatoria spp.) occurred only in salinity treatments from 50 to 100 g.L-1. Diversion of tributary stream flow and resulting salinity increases in this lake threaten sustained benthic primary production and algal species diversity relative to conditions prior to stream diversion. The 1994 decision of the California State Water Resources Control Board to return stream flows to Mono Lake will raise the lake level and reduce salinity to around 75 g.L-1 and is expected to increase the diversity and productivity of the benthic algae of this ecosystem.