IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecomod/v435y2020ics0304380020303525.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Using structural equation modeling to better understand microcystis biovolume dynamics in a mediterranean hypereutrophic reservoir

Author

Listed:
  • Deutsch, Eliza S.
  • Alameddine, Ibrahim
  • Qian, Song S.

Abstract

Cyanobacteria blooms, especially those involving Microcystis, are an increasing problem worldwide. Complex pathways between temperature and nutrient loads are thought to be the major drivers leading to Microcystis dominance in freshwater systems. In this paper, Microcystis dominance in a Mediterranean hypereutrophic reservoir is studied over a period of three years. A Structural Equation Model (SEM) was developed to delineate the main pathways responsible for Microcystis dominance. The model results showed that direct temperature effects appear to be the primary driving force behind Microcystis growth and dominance. Nonetheless, indirect temperature effects, captured through pathways representing water column stratification and internal nutrient release, also influenced Microcystis. While direct nutrient pathways were significant; they were less important than temperature effects, likely due to the eutrophic nature of the reservoir and Microcystis’ high affinity and storage capabilities for phosphorus. Internal nutrient loads were shown to be the main driver sustaining high nutrient concentrations in the reservoir. The model was able to explain 50% of the observed variability in Microcystis biovolume, 81% of the variation in surface TP, and 46% of the variation in stratification magnitude.Overall, the developed SEM proved to be an effective tool towards capturing and quantifying the complex causal relationships leading to the dominance of Microcystis in a hypereutrophic semi-arid Mediterranean reservoir.

Suggested Citation

  • Deutsch, Eliza S. & Alameddine, Ibrahim & Qian, Song S., 2020. "Using structural equation modeling to better understand microcystis biovolume dynamics in a mediterranean hypereutrophic reservoir," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 435(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:435:y:2020:i:c:s0304380020303525
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109282
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304380020303525
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109282?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gupta, Sumeet & Kim, Hee W., 2008. "Linking structural equation modeling to Bayesian networks: Decision support for customer retention in virtual communities," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 190(3), pages 818-833, November.
    2. Chung, S.W. & Imberger, J. & Hipsey, M.R. & Lee, H.S., 2014. "The influence of physical and physiological processes on the spatial heterogeneity of a Microcystis bloom in a stratified reservoir," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 289(C), pages 133-149.
    3. Moe, S. Jannicke & Haande, Sigrid & Couture, Raoul-Marie, 2016. "Climate change, cyanobacteria blooms and ecological status of lakes: A Bayesian network approach," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 337(C), pages 330-347.
    4. Burger, David F. & Hamilton, David P. & Pilditch, Conrad A., 2008. "Modelling the relative importance of internal and external nutrient loads on water column nutrient concentrations and phytoplankton biomass in a shallow polymictic lake," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 211(3), pages 411-423.
    5. Arhonditsis, George B. & Stow, Craig A. & Paerl, Hans W. & Valdes-Weaver, Lexia M. & Steinberg, Laura J. & Reckhow, Kenneth H., 2007. "Delineation of the role of nutrient dynamics and hydrologic forcing on phytoplankton patterns along a freshwater–marine continuum," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 208(2), pages 230-246.
    6. Anderson, Ronald D. & Vastag, Gyula, 2004. "Causal modeling alternatives in operations research: Overview and application," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(1), pages 92-109, July.
    7. Rosseel, Yves, 2012. "lavaan: An R Package for Structural Equation Modeling," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 48(i02).
    8. Liu, Yong & Guo, Huaicheng & Yang, Pingjian, 2010. "Exploring the influence of lake water chemistry on chlorophyll a: A multivariate statistical model analysis," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(4), pages 681-688.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lu, Na & Niu, Jun & Kang, Shaozhong & Singh, Shailesh Kumar & Du, Taisheng, 2021. "A hybrid PCA-SEM-ANN model for the prediction of water use efficiency," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 460(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ünsal-Altuncan, Izel & Vanhoucke, Mario, 2024. "A hybrid forecasting model to predict the duration and cost performance of projects with Bayesian Networks," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 315(2), pages 511-527.
    2. Armstrong, Ronald D. & Kung, Mabel T. & Roussos, Louis A., 2010. "Determining targets for multi-stage adaptive tests using integer programming," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 205(3), pages 709-718, September.
    3. Ülengin, Füsun & Kabak, Özgür & Önsel, Sule & Ülengin, Burç & Aktas, Emel, 2010. "A problem-structuring model for analyzing transportation-environment relationships," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 200(3), pages 844-859, February.
    4. Hanane Rhomad & Karima Khalil & Khalid Elkalay, 2023. "Water Quality Modeling in Atlantic Region: Review, Science Mapping and Future Research Directions," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 37(1), pages 451-499, January.
    5. Kamble, Sachin S. & Gunasekaran, Angappa & Kumar, Vikas & Belhadi, Amine & Foropon, Cyril, 2021. "A machine learning based approach for predicting blockchain adoption in supply Chain," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    6. Jiang Li & Yating Chang & Shaobo Liu & Chang Cai & Qingping Zhou & Xiaoxi Cai & Wenbo Lai & Jialing Qi & Yifeng Ji & Yudan Liu, 2024. "Higher Education in China during the Pandemic: Analyzing Online Self-Learning Motivation Using Bayesian Networks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-16, August.
    7. Sonia Nawrocka & Hans De Witte & Margherita Pasini & Margherita Brondino, 2023. "A Person-Centered Approach to Job Insecurity: Is There a Reciprocal Relationship between the Quantitative and Qualitative Dimensions of Job Insecurity?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(7), pages 1-27, March.
    8. Md. Mominur Rahman & Bilkis Akhter, 2021. "The impact of investment in human capital on bank performance: evidence from Bangladesh," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-13, December.
    9. Masashi Soga & Kevin J. Gaston & Yuichi Yamaura & Kiyo Kurisu & Keisuke Hanaki, 2016. "Both Direct and Vicarious Experiences of Nature Affect Children’s Willingness to Conserve Biodiversity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-12, May.
    10. César Merino-Soto & Gina Chávez-Ventura & Verónica López-Fernández & Guillermo M. Chans & Filiberto Toledano-Toledano, 2022. "Learning Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-L): Psychometric and Measurement Invariance Evidence in Peruvian Undergraduate Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-17, September.
    11. Nathaniel Oliver Iotti & Damiano Menin & Tomas Jungert, 2022. "Early Adolescents’ Motivations to Defend Victims of Cyberbullying," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-9, July.
    12. AJ Golio, 2024. "Whose Neighborhood Now? Gentrification and Community Life in Low-Income Urban Neighborhoods," Working Papers 24-29, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    13. Peter Tavel & Bibiana Jozefiakova & Peter Telicak & Jana Furstova & Michal Puza & Natalia Kascakova, 2022. "Psychometric Analysis of the Shortened Version of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale on the Slovak Population (SWBS-Sk)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-12, January.
    14. Allen, Jaime & Eboli, Laura & Forciniti, Carmen & Mazzulla, Gabriella & Ortúzar, Juan de Dios, 2019. "The role of critical incidents and involvement in transit satisfaction and loyalty," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 57-69.
    15. Önsel Ekici, Şule & Kabak, Özgür & Ülengin, Füsun, 2019. "Improving logistics performance by reforming the pillars of Global Competitiveness Index," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 197-207.
    16. Christoph Dworschak, 2024. "Bias mitigation in empirical peace and conflict studies: A short primer on posttreatment variables," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 61(3), pages 462-476, May.
    17. Andreea-Ionela Puiu & Anca Monica Ardeleanu & Camelia Cojocaru & Anca Bratu, 2021. "Exploring the Effect of Status Quo, Innovativeness, and Involvement Tendencies on Luxury Fashion Innovations: The Mediation Role of Status Consumption," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-18, May.
    18. Slupphaug, KJell & Mehmetoglu, Mehmet & Mittner, Matthias, 2024. "modsem: An R package for estimating latent interactions and quadratic effects," OSF Preprints h3rpw, Center for Open Science.
    19. Andres Trujillo-Barrera & Joost M. E. Pennings & Dianne Hofenk, 2016. "Understanding producers' motives for adopting sustainable practices: the role of expected rewards, risk perception and risk tolerance," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 43(3), pages 359-382.
    20. Daria J. Kuss & Lydia Harkin & Eiman Kanjo & Joel Billieux, 2018. "Problematic Smartphone Use: Investigating Contemporary Experiences Using a Convergent Design," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-16, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:435:y:2020:i:c:s0304380020303525. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecological-modelling .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.