Variation of particulate organic carbon and its relationship with bio-optical properties during a phytoplankton bloom in the Pearl River estuary   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Wang G  Zhou W  Cao W  Yin J  Yang Y  Sun Z  Zhang Y  Zhao J 《Marine pollution bulletin》2011,62(9):1939-1947

In this study, variations in the particulate organic carbon (POC) were monitored during a phytoplankton bloom event, and the corresponding changes in bio-optical properties were tracked at one station (114.29°E, 22.06°N) located in the Pearl River estuary. A greater than 10-fold increase in POC (112.29-1173.36 mg m⁻³) was observed during the bloom, with the chlorophyll a concentration (Chl-a) varying from 0.984 to 25.941 mg m⁻³. A power law function is used to describe the relationship between POC and Chl-a, and the POC:Chl-a ratio tends to change inversely with Chl-a. Phytoplankton carbon concentration is indirectly estimated using the conceptual model proposed by Sathyendranath et al. (2009), and this carbon is found to contribute 47.21% (±10.65%) to total POC. The estimated carbon-to-chlorophyll ratio of phytoplankton in diatom-dominated waters is found to be comparable with results reported in the literature. Empirical algorithms for determining the concentrations of Chl-a and POC were developed based on the relationships of these variables with the blue-to-green reflectance ratio. With these bio-optical models, the levels of particulate organic carbon and Chl-a could be predicted from the radiometric data measured by a marine optical buoy, which showed much more detailed information about the variability in biogeochemical parameters during this bloom event.  相似文献   

2012年夏季三江平原湿地抚远地区浮游植物群落结构及多样性   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

国超旋  刘妍  范亚文  李慧 《湖泊科学》2014,26(5):759-766

2012年6月(夏季)对三江平原湿地抚远地区水域的浮游植物进行调查,设置了10个采样点,经鉴定共有浮游植物262个分类单元,包括239种19变种4变型,隶属于7门9纲22目32科73属.通过对浮游植物群落结构的初步分析,得出三江平原湿地抚远地区水域浮游植物群落结构组成以绿藻门、硅藻门、裸藻门为主,种类数为绿藻门(42.6％)＞硅藻门(22.8％)＞裸藻门(20.9％),细胞密度在3.88×104～278.07×104cells/L之间.聚类分析结果显示,可以将10个采样点分为两组,即农场区5个样点为一组,非农场区5个样点为另一组,两大区域的浮游植物群落结构差异明显,水体类型及生态环境的不同是其存在差异的主要原因.浮游植物多样性指数相对较为一致,Shannon-Wiener多样性指数均在2左右,Margalef丰富度指数均大于3,Pielou均匀度指数在0.3 ～0.5之间.综合群落结构以及多样性分析表明,三江平原湿地抚远地区水域浮游植物物种丰富度较高,多样性良好.  相似文献   

Effect of upwelling on phytoplankton productivity of the outer southeastern United States continental shelf     

James A. Yoder  Larry P. Atkinson  S. Stephen Bishop  Eileen E. Hofmann  Thomas N. Lee 《Continental Shelf Research》1983,1(4):385-404

Gulf Stream frontal disturbances cause nutrient-rich waters to frequently upwell and intrude onto the southeastern United States continental shelf between Cape Canaveral, Florida and Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Phytoplankton response in upwelled waters was determined with three interdisciplinary studies conducted during April 1979 and 1980, and in summer 1978. The results show that when shelf waters are not stratified, upwelling causes productive phytoplankton (diatom) blooms on the outer shelf. Phytoplankton production averages about 2 g C m⁻² d⁻¹ during upwelling events, and ‘new’ production is 50% or more of the total. When shelf waters are stratified, upwelled waters penetrate well onto the shelf as a subsurface intrusion in which phytoplankton production averages about fives times higher than the nutrient-depleted overlying mixed layer. Phytoplankton within the intrusion deplete upwelled NO₃ in about 7 to 10 days, at which point no further net increase in phytoplankton biomass occurs.Current meter records show that upwelling occurs roughly 50% of the time on the outer shelf during November to April (shelf not stratified), and we estimate that seasonal primary production in upwelled waters is 175 g C m⁻² 6 months⁻¹ of which at least 50% is ‘new’ production. More than 90% of outer shelf primary and ‘new’ production occurs during upwelling and thus upwelling is the dominant process affecting primary productivity of the outer shelf. Our seasonal estimates of outer shelf primary and ‘new’ production are, respectively, three and ten times higher than previous estimates that did not account for upwelling.  相似文献   

Effect of sewage nutrients on algal production,biomass and pigments in tropical tidal creeks     

《Marine pollution bulletin》2012,65(12):2671-2680

Microalgal blooms can result from anthropogenic nutrient loadings in coastal ecosystems. However, differentiating sources of nutrients remains a challenge. The response of phytoplankton and benthic microalgae (BMA) to nutrient loads was compared across tropical tidal creeks with and without secondary treated sewage. Primary productivity in the water column was limited by nitrogen availability in absence of sewage, with nitrogen saturation in the presence of sewage. Phytoplankton primary productivity rates and chlorophyll a concentrations increased in response to sewage, and there was a greater response than for BMA. There was no change in algal pigment proportions within the phytoplankton or BMA communities. Concentrations of the sewage marker, coprostanol, were higher near sewage discharge points decreasing downstream, correlating with a decline in nutrient concentrations. This suggests that sewage was the main source of nitrogen and phosphorus. This study highlights the scale and type of response of algal communities to sewage nutrients.  相似文献   

Algal bioassays: their significance in monitoring water quality with respect to nutrients and toxicants     

Pierre Couture  Simon A. Visser  Raymond van Coillie  Christian Blaise 《Aquatic Sciences - Research Across Boundaries》1985,47(2):127-158

The review focuses on the use of primary producers as a biological tool for evaluating the impact of damage by human activity (eutrophication, toxicity) on the aquatic environment. Studies are discussed following a reductionist approach by using algal bioassays (Selenastrum capricornutum). Variations of algal growth potential (AGP) within watersheds show the impact of human activities such as agriculture and urbanization, on water quality. The study of variation of the AGP in time allowed the investigation of the effect of abiotic (temperature, flow rate) and biotic factors (indigenous primary production) on the concentration of nutrients potentially available to phytoplankton. Seasonal changes of the AGP have further shown the impact of non-point (runoff) or point sources (sewage effluents) on the aquatic system. A staggered relationship was observed between AGP values and chlorophyll a content of indigenous phytoplankton. Values obtained in the laboratory by means of this type of approach would therefore appear to be transferably to natural systems. S. capricornutum was also used to identify toxic characteristics of substances (in pure form or used in formulations) and effluents released into the environment. It was shown that the user of bioassays should use care when evaluating results from tests requiring pretreatment such as storage, autoclaving and filtration. Cautious interpretation is also recommended in order to distinguish between effects of growth-limiting essential elements and the presence of toxic substances. In general it appears from this review that the AGP provides helpful information for a sound management of the aquatic environment.  相似文献   

一座新建水库——广东剑潭水库浮游植物动态特征   总被引：3，自引：1，他引：2  

李莹  肖利娟  林秋奇  李传红  谭镇 《湖泊科学》2010,22(2):227-234

剑潭水库是珠江水系东江下游新建水库,2006年10月开始蓄水,2007年6月蓄水完毕.该水库属直流型水库,2008年水力滞留时间为0.46-3.62d.2006-2008年调查了该水库浮游植物的动态特征.结果表明,调查期间浮游植物丰度为182-6267cells/ml,从空间变化看,在调查期间,浮游植物丰度由上游向下游呈上升趋势.从年间变化看,蓄水后第一年坝区浮游植物丰度不仅明显高于蓄水前和蓄水期间,并且浮游植物最高丰度出现在蓄水后第一年的枯水期(12月).与此同时,在蓄水过程中,浮游植物群落结构也逐渐发生了变化,蓝藻相对丰度明显上升,绿藻相对丰度呈下降趋势.水力滞留时间、透明度和总磷是影响剑潭水库浮游植物时空变化的重要因素.高的平流损失率和低的透明度使得浮游植物现存量与水库氮、磷水平并不相符.相对较长的水力滞留时间、较高的透明度和总磷导致了浮游植物在蓄水后第一年(2008年)的枯水期出现一个峰值.  相似文献   

Phytoplankton biomass size structure and its regulation in the Southern Yellow Sea (China): Seasonal variability   总被引：7，自引：0，他引：7  

Mingzhu Fu  Zongling Wang  Yan Li  Ruixiang Li  Ping Sun  Xiuhua Wei  Xuezheng Lin  Jingsong Guo 《Continental Shelf Research》2009,29(18):2178-2194

Phytoplankton size structure plays a significant role in controlling the carbon flux of marine pelagic ecosystems. The mesoscale distribution and seasonal variation of total and size-fractionated phytoplankton biomass in surface waters, as measured by chlorophyll a (Chl a), was studied in the Southern Yellow Sea using data from four cruises during 2006–2007. The distribution of Chl a showed a high degree of spatial and temporal variation in the study area. Chl a concentrations were relatively high in the summer and autumn, with a mean of 1.42 and 1.27 mg m⁻³, respectively. Conversely, in the winter and spring, the average Chl a levels were only 0.98 and 0.99 mg m⁻³. Total Chl a showed a clear decreasing gradient from coastal areas to the open sea in the summer, autumn and winter cruises. Patches of high Chl a were observed in the central part of the Southern Yellow Sea in the spring due to the onset of the phytoplankton bloom. The eutrophic coastal waters contributed at least 68% of the total phytoplankton biomass in the surface layer. Picophytoplankton showed a consistent and absolute dominance in the central region of the Southern Yellow Sea (>40%) in all of the cruises, while the proportion of microphytoplankton was the highest in coastal waters. The relative proportions of pico- and nanophytoplankton decreased with total biomass, whereas the proportion of the micro-fraction increased with total biomass. Relationships between phytoplankton biomass and environmental factors were also analysed. The results showed that the onset of the spring bloom was highly dependent on water column stability. Phytoplankton growth was limited by nutrient availability in the summer due to the strong thermocline. The combined effects of P-limitation and vertical mixing in the autumn restrained the further increase of phytoplankton biomass in the surface layer. The low phytoplankton biomass in winter was caused by vertical dispersion due to intense mixing. Compared with the availability of nutrients, temperature did not seem to cause direct effects on phytoplankton biomass and its size structure. Although interactions of many different environmental factors affected phytoplankton distributions, hydrodynamic conditions seemed to be the dominant factor. Phytoplankton size structure was determined mainly by the size-differential capacity in acquiring resource. Short time scale events, such as the spring bloom and the extension of Yangtze River plume, can have substantial influences, both on the total Chl a concentration and on the size structure of the phytoplankton.  相似文献   

湖光岩玛珥湖春季浮游植物对溶解态氮的吸收   总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0  

张国维  李长玲  黄翔鹄  古滨河 《湖泊科学》2015,27(3):527-534

利用15N稳定同位素示踪技术,采用现场挂瓶培养的方法测定了湖光岩玛珥湖浮游植物群落对铵态氮、硝态氮和尿素态氮的吸收速率,研究了湖光岩玛珥湖浮游植物群落氮吸收及其吸收动力学特征.结果表明:湖光岩玛珥湖共检测到浮游植物7门54种(包括变种和变型),主要为蓝藻门、硅藻门和绿藻门种类,分别占浮游植物总量的44.68%、26.70%和19.21%,其中水华微囊藻(Microcystis flos-aquae)与铜绿微囊藻(Microcystis aeruginosa)为绝对优势种,优势度分别为0.39与0.28.湖光岩玛珥湖浮游植物群落对铵态氮的绝对吸收速率最高,分别是对硝态氮、尿素态氮绝对吸收速率的5.8和4.2倍,占3种溶解态氮总吸收量的73.3%.铵态氮、硝态氮和尿素态氮的相对优先指数分别为2.907、0.190和1.192,说明浮游植物群落优先吸收铵态氮,其次为尿素态氮,最后为硝态氮.铵态氮、硝态氮和尿素态氮的周转时间分别为3.72、57.03和9.07 h.湖光岩玛珥湖浮游植物对溶解态氮的吸收可用Michaelis-Menten酶动力学方程描述,最大比吸收速率表现为铵态氮尿素态氮硝态氮,亲和力表现为硝态氮铵态氮尿素态氮.湖光岩玛珥湖浮游植物群落对铵态氮具有较高的吸收潜力,并且对硝态氮具有一定的亲和力,具备利用硝态氮的能力.  相似文献   

淮河流域春季浮游植物群落结构特征及其水质评价   总被引：7，自引：2，他引：5  

朱为菊  庞婉婷  尤庆敏  王全喜 《湖泊科学》2017,29(3):637-645

浮游植物是内陆水体生态系统的主要初级生产者,其群落结构能反映水体的水质状况.为了全面了解淮河流域内浮游植物群落结构及水质现状,于2013年5月在流域内设置217个样点采集浮游植物样品.共鉴定浮游植物244种(含变种和变型),隶属于8门104属,绿藻门和硅藻门的种类最丰富.浮游植物生物量为3.93 mg/L,在0.04~83.62 mg/L之间变动,生物量组成主要为甲藻门、硅藻门和隐藻门.浮游植物种类数和生物量在河流的中游较高,溪流以及下游入江入海河道较低.浮游植物优势种主要为隐藻门的啮蚀隐藻(Cryptomonas erosa)、尖尾蓝隐藻(Chroomonas acuta),硅藻门的梅尼小环藻(Cyclotella meneghiniana),甲藻门的角甲藻(Ceratium hirundinella),其相对生物量均大于5%.淮河流域浮游植物多样性指数较低,流域内多数样点处于中-重污染状态.  相似文献   

Factors structuring phytoplankton community in a large tropical river: Case study in the Red River (Vietnam)     

《Limnologica》2019

Algal assemblages have been widely used as an ecological indicator of aquatic ecosystem health conditions because of their specific sensitivity to a wide variety of environmental conditions. In turbid rivers, as in other aquatic systems, phytoplankton structure plays an important role in structuring aquatic food webs. Worldwide, phytoplankton is less studied in turbid, large tropical rivers compared to temperate river systems. The present study aimed to describe the phytoplankton diversity and abundance in a turbid tropical river (the Red River, northern part of Vietnam from 20°00 to 25°30 North; from 100°00 to 107°10 East) and to determine the importance of a series of environmental variables in controlling the phytoplankton community composition. Phytoplankton community was composed of 169 phytoplankton taxa from six algal groups including Bacillariophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Cryptophyceae, Euglenophyceae, Dinophyceae and Cyanobacteria. Community composition varied both spatially and with season. Sixteen measurement environmental variables were used as input variables for a three-layer backpropagation neural network that was developed to predict the phytoplankton abundance. Phytoplankton abundance was successfully predicted using the tagsig transfer function and the Levenberg-Marquardt backpropagation algorithm. The network was trained to provide a good overall linear fit to the total data set with a slope (R) and mean square error (MSE) of 0.808 and 0.0107, respectively. The sensitivity analysis and neutral interpretation diagram revealed that total phosphorus (TP), flow discharge, water temperature and P-PO₄³⁻ were the significant variables. The results showed that the developed ANN model was able to simulate phytoplankton abundance in the Red River. These findings can help for gaining insight into and the relationship between phytoplankton and environmental factors in this complex, turbid, tropical river.  相似文献   

Phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing in the continental shelf area of northeastern South China Sea after Typhoon Fengshen   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Linbin Zhou  Yehui Tan  Liangmin HuangJianrong Huang  Huaxue LiuXiping Lian 《Continental Shelf Research》2011,31(16):1663-1671

Dilution experiments were used to investigate the phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing in the continental shelf area of northeastern South China Sea during 30 June and 7 July, 2008, occurring about a week after Typhoon Fengshen. We detected negative phytoplankton growth rates (−0.03 to −2.02 d⁻¹) and measured grazing rates of microzooplankton on phytoplankton in size-fractionations of 20-200 μm (1.25±0.44 d⁻¹), 3-20 μm (1.48±0.63 d⁻¹) and <3 μm (1.02±0.42 d⁻¹). Results showed significant correlations between phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing rates, between phytoplankton and ciliate abundance, and between the dominant phytoplankton Thalassionema nitzschioides and the dominant ciliate Helicostomella longa (p<0.05). Phytoplankton decay, due to nutrient-limited conditions occurring with the fading of upwelling and spreading of freshwater plume after Typhoon Fengshen, may account for negative phytoplankton growth rates in this study. Synergism in the specific size-selective grazing of various species, including ciliates and heterotrophic dinoflagellates, may contribute to similar grazing rate on phytoplankton in different size-fractionations, at the integrated level. Interactions between phytoplankton and microzooplankton, including grazing selectivity, top-down and bottom-up control between phytoplankton and microzooplankton may contribute to these findings. Our results indicate that under conditions of negative phytoplankton growth microzooplankton grazing may reduce energy loss from the epipelagic waters by retrieving energy from the decaying phytoplankton community.  相似文献   

2002-2017年千岛湖浮游植物群落结构变化及其影响因素   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

笪文怡  朱广伟  吴志旭  黎云祥  许海  朱梦圆  兰佳  郑文婷  张运林  秦伯强 《湖泊科学》2019,31(5):1320-1333

为认识大型水库中浮游植物群落结构的演替特征及其驱动机制,以钱塘江流域新安江水库（下称"千岛湖"）为例,基于2002-2017年16年的水库浮游植物数据,结合同期千岛湖水质与水文气象资料,分析了千岛湖浮游植物结构及优势属的长期变化特征,探讨了影响浮游植物群落结构变化的主要因素.结果表明：2002-2017年千岛湖共鉴定出浮游植物7门93属,主要由硅藻门、绿藻门、蓝藻门及隐藻门种类组成.16年间,浮游植物年均丰度和群落结构经历了4个阶段：2008年前丰度持续低值且蓝藻不是主要类群,2009-2012年丰度较高且蓝藻成为主要类群,及2013-2015丰度降低且蓝藻占比降低,2016-2017年丰度增加且蓝藻再次成为主要类群.浮游植物门类变化的同时伴随着优势属的变化：浮游植物年优势属从2002-2008年的小环藻属（Cyclotella）、隐藻属（Cryptomonas）和蓝隐藻属（Chroomonas）转变为2009-2012年的颤藻属（Oscillatoria）、小球藻属（Chlorella）、小环藻属和蓝隐藻属,2013-2017年又转变为鱼腥藻属（Anabaena）、束丝藻属（Aphanizomenon）、小环藻属、针杆藻属（Synedra）、直链藻属（Melosira）、栅藻属（Scenedesmus）和蓝隐藻属.冗余分析表明,气温、风速、水位、入库流量等气象水文因子和总氮浓度、电导率、氮磷比、透明度等水质因子与浮游植物群落结构变化关系密切.研究结果表明,在千岛湖这种大型贫-中营养水库,浮游植物群落结构不仅受来水营养盐负荷的影响,还在很大程度上受水文、气象条件的影响,给水库藻类水华等生态风险的预测以及水库水质管理带来了挑战.  相似文献   

Ecological engineering in a eutrophic lake: A case study of large aquatic macrophyte enclosures in Baima Lake,China     

《Limnologica》2021

Ecological restoration of eutrophic lakes using aquatic macrophytes is an important and practical technology. Here, we investigated the response of phytoplankton and zooplankton to a large-scale 2015-built aquatic macrophyte enclosure (AME, 200,000 m²) screened of by a PVC net in Baima Lake, a eutrophic lake, from spring to autumn of 2019. AME significantly improved water quality by increasing water transparency, and reducing total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a content during the growing season. AME significantly decreased phytoplankton abundance and biomass and marginally increased zooplankton abundance and biomass. Phytoplankton and zooplankton communities were closely related to environmental factors, such as water temperature, conductivity, total phosphorus, chemical oxygen demand, and chlorophyll-a inside and outside the AME. The zooplankton:phytoplankton biomass ratio inside was slightly higher than outside the AME. Zooplankton and phytoplankton biomass were significantly positively correlated inside and outside the AME, as were chlorophyll-a and total phosphorus. We found phosphorus to be a key factor limiting primary productivity in Baima Lake, and that bottom-up effects were the main driver to control phytoplankton in the AME. Using aquatic macrophytes to reduce nutrient loads is an effective way to manage eutrophication in Baima Lake.  相似文献   

贵州百花湖麦西河河口浮游植物群落结构及与环境因子关系   总被引：4，自引：1，他引：3  

李秋华  陈丽丽  夏品华  刘送平  陈峰峰  余德民  李存雄 《湖泊科学》2011,23(4):612-618

2009年7月至2010年6月,以每月一次的频率对百花湖(水库)麦西河河口浮游植物群落结构和环境因子进行调查.监测到浮游植物66种(属),浮游植物主要由绿藻、硅藻和蓝藻组成,夏秋季湖泊假鱼腥藻(Pseudanabaena limnetica)为优势浮游植物,而冬春季梅尼小环藻(Cyclotella meneghinia...  相似文献   

河蟹生态养殖池浮游植物功能类群的结构特征   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

郝俊  马旭洲  王武  王高龙  王友成  郎月林  李星星 《湖泊科学》2016,28(5):1047-1056

为探究河蟹生态养殖池浮游植物群落的结构及动态,2013年4-10月对上海松江泖港地区河蟹养殖池的浮游植物进行了调查,分析其种类构成、密度、生物量和生物多样性.共检测到浮游植物105种,其中河蟹生态养殖池优势种11种,分别属于B、D、J、LO、X1、WO、X2、S1和MP功能群.河蟹养殖池浮游植物平均密度为282.58×10~4cells/L,平均生物量为1.59 mg/L,Shannon-Wiener多样性指数变化范围为2.11~3.09.水源浮游植物平均密度为175.13×104cells/L,平均生物量为0.99 mg/L,Shannon-Wiener多样性指数变化范围为1.70~2.79.河蟹养殖池浮游植物平均密度分别于5月14日-6月14日和7月29日-8月29日与水源差异显著;河蟹养殖池浮游植物平均生物量分别于5月30日、6月14日和7月29日-8月29日与水源差异显著;河蟹养殖池浮游植物Shannon-Wiener生物多样性指数分别于5月14日-6月14日和8月14日-9月15日与水源差异显著.河蟹养殖池浮游植物的平均密度、平均生物量和生物多样性指数与水源水体变化趋势基本一致,均高于水源,群落稳定.  相似文献   

水体氮、磷营养盐水平对蓝藻优势形成的影响   总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0  

许海  陈洁  朱广伟  秦伯强  张运林 《湖泊科学》2019,31(5):1239-1247

以江苏省南京市富营养化程度不同的清溪、护城河、玄武湖、月牙湖、琵琶湖和前湖为研究对象,调查各水体浮游植物的群落特征和优势种,并结合藻类生长潜力试验,探究不同氮、磷营养水平的自然水体对铜绿微囊藻（Microcystis aeruginosa）和斜生栅藻（Scenedesmus obliquus）生长与竞争的影响.野外调查发现不同营养水平水体浮游植物优势种不同,按水体富营养化程度从高到底依次以绿藻、蓝藻、硅藻和隐藻分别占优势.单一藻种培养时,铜绿微囊藻在清溪、护城河和玄武湖水体中生长均较好,而斜生栅藻仅在高氮、磷浓度的清溪和护城河水体中有较大生长量,说明斜生栅藻对氮、磷的需求高于铜绿微囊藻;两种藻共培养时,清溪水体中斜生栅藻占优势,护城河和玄武湖水体中铜绿微囊藻占优势,但其他水体中两种藻均不能生长,说明氮、磷浓度过高或过低都不利于蓝藻形成优势.对低营养水平的玄武湖、琵琶湖、月牙湖和前湖水体进行氮、磷加富后,两种藻均能较好地生长,且各组没有显著差异,说明藻类在这些水体中生长受到氮、磷的限制,氮、磷浓度升高会增加水华发生的风险.本研究将野外调查和藻类生长潜力实验相结合,深入探究了蓝藻优势形成与水体氮、磷营养水平的关系,揭示了蓝藻水华是湖泊富营养化发展到特定阶段的产物,水体氮、磷浓度过高或过低均不易产生蓝藻优势.  相似文献   

Projections of future deterioration in UK river quality are hampered by climatic uncertainty under extreme conditions     

M.G. Hutchins  R.J. Williams  C. Prudhomme  M.J. Bowes  H.E. Brown  A.J. Waylett 《水文科学杂志》2013,58(16):2818-2833

ABSTRACT

A modelling study was undertaken to quantify effects that the climate likely to prevail in the 2050s might have on water quality in two contrasting UK rivers. In so doing, it pinpointed the extent to which time series of climate model output, for some variables derived following bias correction, are fit for purpose when used as a basis for projecting future water quality. Working at daily time step, the method involved linking regional climate model (HadRM3-PPE) projections, Future Flows Hydrology (rainfall–runoff modelling) and the QUESTOR river network water quality model. In the River Thames, the number of days when temperature, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand and phytoplankton exceeded undesirable values (>25°C, <6 mg L^?1, >4 mg L^?1 and >0.03 mg L^?1, respectively) was estimated to increase by 4.1–26.7 days per year. The changes do not reflect impacts of any possible change in land use or land management. In the River Ure, smaller increases in occurrence of undesirable water quality are likely to occur in the future (by 1.0–11.5 days per year) and some scenarios suggested no change. Results from 11 scenarios of the hydroclimatic inputs revealed considerable uncertainty around the levels of change, which prompted analysis of the sensitivity of the QUESTOR model to simulations of current climate and hydrology. Hydrological model errors were deemed of less significance than those associated with the derivation and downscaling of driving climatic variables (rainfall, air temperature and solar radiation). Errors associated with incomplete understanding of river water quality interactions with the aquatic ecosystem were found likely to be more substantial than those associated with hydrology, but less than those related to climate model inputs. These errors are largely a manifestation of uncertainty concerning the extent to which phytoplankton biomass is controlled by invertebrate grazers, particularly in mid-summer; and the degree to which this varies from year to year. The quality of data from climate models for generating flows and defining driving variables at the extremes of their distributions has been highlighted as the major source of uncertainty in water quality model outputs.