Agricultural runoff transports sediments and nutrients that deteriorate water quality erratically, posing a challenge to ground-based monitoring. Satellites provide data at spatial-temporal scales that can be used for water quality monitoring. PlanetScope nanosatellites have spatial (3 m) and temporal (daily) resolutions that may help improve water quality monitoring compared to coarser-resolution satellites. This work compared PlanetScope to Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 in their ability to detect key water quality parameters. Spectral bands of each satellite were regressed against chlorophyll a, turbidity, and Secchi depth data from 13 reservoirs in Oklahoma over three years (2017–2020). We developed significant regression models for each satellite. Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 explained more variation in chlorophyll a than PlanetScope, likely because they have more spectral bands. PlanetScope and Sentinel-2 explained relatively similar amounts of variations in turbidity and Secchi Disk data, while Landsat-8 explained less variation in these parameters. Since PlanetScope is a commercial satellite, its application may be limited to cases where the application of coarser-resolution satellites is not feasible. We identified scenarios where PS may be more beneficial than Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2. These include measuring water quality parameters that vary daily, in small ponds and narrow coves of reservoirs, and at reservoir edges.

Recent changes in climate and eutrophication have caused increases in oxygen depletion in both freshwater and marine ecosystems. However, the impact of oxygen stress on zooplankton, which is the major trophic link between primary producers and fish, remains largely unknown in lakes. Therefore, we studied 41 lakes with different trophic and oxygen conditions to assess the role of oxygen stress on zooplankton communities and carbon transfer between phytoplankton and zooplankton. Samples were collected from each lake at the peak of summer stratification from three depth layers (the epilimnion, metalimnion, and hypolimnion). Our results revealed that freshwater zooplankton were relatively tolerant to anoxic conditions and the greatest changes in community structure were found in lakes with the highest oxygen deficits. This caused a switch in dominance from large to small species and reduced the zooplankton biomass in lower, anoxic layers of water, but not in the upper layers of water where the oxygen deficits began. This upper anoxic layer could thus be a very important refuge for zooplankton to avoid predation during the day. However, the reduction of zooplankton in the lower water layers was the main factor that reduced the effectiveness of carbon transfer between the phytoplankton and zooplankton.

Northern Eurasia is extensive and includes terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems that cover several natural zones and access to the seas of three oceans. As a result, it has been invaded by numerous invasive alien species (IAS) over large temporal and spatial scales. The purpose of this research was to assess invasion trends and construct species distribution models for the Russian TOP-100 most dangerous IAS. Environmentally suitable regions for IAS were established based on alien species attribute databases, datasets of 169,709 species occurrence records (SOR) and raster layers of environmental variables using species distribution modelling (MaxEnt). The objectives of this research were to (1) create databases of SOR for the TOP-100 IAS in Russia; 2) determine pathways, residence time, donor regions and trends of invasions; (3) determine the main types of spatial distributions of invasive species and their relation to residence time; and (4) distinguish regions with the highest richness of IAS that have a strong impact on the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of Russia. We found that although species invasions date back over 400 years, the number of naturalized IAS has increased non-linearly over the past 76 years. The TOP-100 list is mainly represented by unintentionally introduced species (62%) which are characterized by different introduction pathways. Species occurrence records revealed that 56 IAS are distributed locally, 26 are distributed regionally and 18 are widespread in Russia. Species with local, regional or widespread distributions were characterized by residence times of 55, 126 or 190 years, respectively. We found that IAS with local distribution can expand their range into suitable regions more extensively (expected increase by 32%) than widespread species (expected increase by only 7%). The procedure of identifying hot/cold spots locations based on SOR allowed us to identify the Russian regions with the highest richness of IAS. Our results and the integrated database that we created provide a framework for studying IAS over large temporal and spatial scales that can be used in the development of management plans for dangerous IAS.

Algal blooms in freshwater ecosystems can negatively impact aquatic and human health. Satellite remote sensing of chlorophyll a (Chl-a) is often used to help determine the severity of algal blooms. However, satellite revisit flyover schedules may not match the erratic nature of algal blooms. Studies have paired satellite and ground-based data that were not collected on the same day, assuming Chl-a concentrations did not change significantly by the flyover date. We determined the effects of an increasing time window between satellite overpass dates and field-based collection of Chl-a on algorithms for Landsat 5, Landsat 8, and Sentinel-2, using 14 years (2006–2020) of Chl-a data from 10 Oklahoma reservoirs. Multiple regression models were built, and selected statistics were used to rank the time windows. The Sentinel-2 results showed strong relationships between Chl-a and satellite data collected up to a ±5-day window. The strength of these relationships decreased beyond a ±3-day time window for Landsat 8 and a ±1-day time window for Landsat 5. Our results suggest that the time window between field sampling and satellite overpass can impact the use of satellite data for Chl-a monitoring in reservoirs. Furthermore, longer time windows can be used with higher resolution (spatial, spectral) satellites.