Recent Patterns in Lake Erie Phosphorus and Chlorophyll a Concentrations in Response to Changing Loads

Despite the initial success of extensive efforts to reduce phosphorus (P) loading to Lake Erie as a part of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, Lake Erie appears to be undergoing a re-eutrophication and it is plagued by harmful algal blooms. To offer insights into potential lake responses under differing Maumee River loads and reveal recent changes with time, we explored patterns in phosphorus and chlorophyll a data from 2008 to 2018 collected in western Lake Erie near the mouth of the Maumee River. We found high, but relatively stable Maumee River and lake concentrations of total P (TP) and soluble reactive P (SRP) with no discernable annual or seasonal patterns. Maumee spring TP load was not strongly related to lake TP, and lake SRP concentrations were positively but weakly related to SRP loads. Lake TP was a strong predictor of chlorophyll a, but the relationship was weaker at sites closer to the Maumee. These results highlight spatial differences both in P concentration and the relationship between TP and chlorophyll a, and these indicate that spring phosphorus loads are a weak algal biomass predictor in the portion of the western basin of Lake Erie represented by these sampling stations.