21-6 Water Column Respiration in the Tatnuck Brook Watershed

Session: Functions of River Corridors, Floodplains and Wetlands (Posters)

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Abstract:

Aquatic ecosystem metabolism can be divided into two key processes: carbon fixation and ecosystem respiration. Stream and river total ecosystem respiration (ERtot) can further be divided by location: respiration that occurs within the open water column (ERwc) and respiration that occurs within the sediments (ERsed). Most literature indicates that ERsed is often the dominant contributor to ERtot. However, recent studies imply that the relative influence of sediment-associated processes versus water column processes can be highly variable in both space and time. Because of these heterogeneities, it is challenging to isolate the drivers of spatial and temporal variability in water column respiration. Here we focus on determining water column aerobic respiration rates across multiple stream sites within the Tatnuck Brook watershed, a tributary watershed of the Upper Blackstone river in south-central Massachusetts.  Aerobic respiration was measured using in-situ dark bottle incubations during the summer of 2025. Concurrent with these incubations, a small suite of water quality data was collected. Our results indicate that while our water column respiration rates are generally low, they fall within the expected range of literature data, and also show interesting correlations with some water quality parameters.  

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 58, No. 2, 2026

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