Established Hydrilla Verticillata Impacts on Dissolved Oxygen Levels: Finding Low but Stable Oxygen Concentrations around Lake Norman, North Carolina

Established Hydrilla Verticillata Impacts on Dissolved Oxygen Levels: Finding Low but Stable Oxygen Concentrations around Lake Norman, North Carolina | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Short Report Established Hydrilla Verticillata Impacts on Dissolved Oxygen Levels: Finding Low but Stable Oxygen Concentrations around Lake Norman, North Carolina William Graham Yates, Laura A. Chapman This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6558410/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Hydrilla verticillata invasions impact freshwater ecosystems across America, with one key factor being the depletion of dissolved oxygen (DO) levels. This study examined the relationship between Hydrilla presence and DO dynamics in a beaver pond connected to Lake Norman in North Carolina. DO levels were compared between a Hydrilla -infested pond and a clean, Hydrilla -free pond over an eight-week period. The results indicated that while Hydrilla contributed to lower DO levels, it also stabilized these levels over time, in contrast to the clean pond, where DO declined progressively over the summer. Statistical analyses revealed a significant difference in DO concentrations between the two ponds (t (30) = 12.928, p < 0.001). Over time, the clean pond showed a decrease in DO levels (r = -0.644, p = 0.007), whereas the Hydrilla pond showed no significant trend (r = 0.320, p = 0.227). These findings suggest that Hydrilla may create a more consistent low-DO environment, potentially buffering against environmental fluctuations. This stability could have important implications for managing Hydrilla invasions, as it may contribute to a dangerous feedback loop in which degraded water quality fosters further invasion, complicating eradication efforts. Future research should focus on more frequent DO sampling and post-removal studies to assess potential DO recovery. Marine and Freshwater Ecology Hydrilla Invasion Dissolved oxygen Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6558410","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Short Report","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":449819208,"identity":"d1bce6ba-73ef-4a6a-913e-c623d0230dc6","order_by":0,"name":"William Graham Yates","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABBElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBADHj52xgYGBgMbORDvwAO8ipkhWtiYQVoq0ozBWhKI0MLABqbPHE5sANH4tBgcP3/w4Q+GwzJszMyNn262MafPDzv8EGiLnZxuAw4tZ5KZjXkYDoMc1iyd28aWu/F2mgFQS7Kx2QEcWg4ks0kzMNwG+wWohSd34+wEkJYDidtwaTn/mP3nD4iW5t+5bRLphrPTP+DXciOZjYEHoqVNOueMQYK8dA5+WyRvPDaW5jH4D9ZinVORYLhBOqfgQIIBbr/wnU98+PFHRZo9P3v749s5Bv/l5Wenb/7wocJODpcWBbC4AUqAoIugAfkGwiKjYBSMglEw0gEAk0xcUs8vd6sAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1228-6599","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"William","middleName":"Graham","lastName":"Yates","suffix":""},{"id":449819783,"identity":"c6e4465b-4499-48dd-83a5-d13f01b128b0","order_by":1,"name":"Laura A. Chapman","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7297-8006","institution":"University of York","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Laura","middleName":"A.","lastName":"Chapman","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-04-29 16:43:51","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6558410/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6558410/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":81675919,"identity":"336cbcc1-2b7c-4759-abba-72cc3e0bf2ea","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-30 07:25:50","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":511943,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"HydrillaVerticillataInvasionNotes.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6558410/v1_covered_b43acb45-84cd-4709-ac8f-2a972b5e9313.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEstablished \u003c/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHydrilla Verticillata\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Impacts on Dissolved Oxygen Levels: Finding Low but Stable Oxygen Concentrations around Lake Norman, North Carolina\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"University of York","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Hydrilla, Invasion, Dissolved oxygen ","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6558410/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6558410/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHydrilla verticillata\u003c/em\u003e invasions impact freshwater ecosystems across America, with one key factor being the depletion of dissolved oxygen (DO) levels. This study examined the relationship between \u003cem\u003eHydrilla\u003c/em\u003e presence and DO dynamics in a beaver pond connected to Lake Norman in North Carolina. DO levels were compared between a \u003cem\u003eHydrilla\u003c/em\u003e-infested pond and a clean, \u003cem\u003eHydrilla\u003c/em\u003e-free pond over an eight-week period. The results indicated that while \u003cem\u003eHydrilla\u003c/em\u003e contributed to lower DO levels, it also stabilized these levels over time, in contrast to the clean pond, where DO declined progressively over the summer. Statistical analyses revealed a significant difference in DO concentrations between the two ponds (t\u003csub\u003e(30)\u003c/sub\u003e = 12.928, p \u0026lt; 0.001). Over time, the clean pond showed a decrease in DO levels (r = -0.644, p = 0.007), whereas the \u003cem\u003eHydrilla\u003c/em\u003e pond showed no significant trend (r = 0.320, p = 0.227). These findings suggest that \u003cem\u003eHydrilla\u003c/em\u003e may create a more consistent low-DO environment, potentially buffering against environmental fluctuations. This stability could have important implications for managing \u003cem\u003eHydrilla\u003c/em\u003e invasions, as it may contribute to a dangerous feedback loop in which degraded water quality fosters further invasion, complicating eradication efforts. Future research should focus on more frequent DO sampling and post-removal studies to assess potential DO recovery.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Established Hydrilla Verticillata Impacts on Dissolved Oxygen Levels: Finding Low but Stable Oxygen Concentrations around Lake Norman, North Carolina","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-04-30 07:17:43","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6558410/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"79daeb0b-6b1e-4de2-9b09-95d6cab9c585","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 30th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":47890571,"name":"Marine and Freshwater Ecology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-04-30T07:17:43+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-04-30 07:17:43","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6558410","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6558410","identity":"rs-6558410","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}