scholarly journals Comparison of Diatom Paleo-Assemblages with Adjacent Limno-Terrestrial Communities on Vega Island, Antarctic Peninsula

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Bulínová ◽  
Tyler J. Kohler ◽  
Jan Kavan ◽  
Bart Van de Vijver ◽  
Daniel Nývlt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lake Sediment ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Landscape Connectivity ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Ecological Monitoring ◽  
Transitional Zone ◽  
Assemblage Structure ◽  
Diatom Assemblages ◽  
Ongoing Research

Diatoms are useful ecological and paleolimnological indicators routinely used to reconstruct past conditions and monitor environmental change. Despite this, diatom assemblages from lake sediment cores are often difficult to interpret due to a limited knowledge of the ecology of some species, some of which may originate from the adjacent limno-terrestrial landscape. Here, we compare diatom assemblages from two recently published Antarctic lake sediment cores collected from the northeast and southwest sides of Vega Island, Antarctic Peninsula. We further compare the sediment core assemblages with adjacent modern communities inhabiting four different limno-terrestrial habitat types to gauge the importance of landscape connectivity in determining paleo-assemblage structure. We found that diatom assemblage composition was significantly different between the two cores, and our survey of modern habitats further revealed habitat type to be an important factor determining the composition of limno-terrestrial samples. Differences in modern habitats were driven primarily by Chamaepinnularia krookiformis in mosses, Nitzschia paleacea in ponds, and Fistulifera pelliculosa in streams. When modern communities were compared with paleo-assemblages through ordination, the cored lake from the northeast side, which exhibited greater hydrological connectivity with its surroundings, clustered more closely with the adjacent modern samples. Meanwhile, the cored lake from the southwest side, which was more hydrologically isolated, formed a distinct cluster separate from the others. Overall, species richness and diversity were greater on the southwest side of the island than the northeast, and the known distributions of diatom taxa supported the notion that Vega Island was a transitional zone between the Maritime and Continental Antarctic bioregions. These results collectively suggested that while environmental and spatial controls may be influential in determining diatom community composition, the unique hydrogeological setting of individual waterbodies was an important consideration for determining the assemblage structure of lake cores. This paper furthermore expanded ongoing research of diatom diversity and distributions on maritime Antarctic islands, which will improve diatom-based interpretations for regional ecological monitoring and paleolimnology in the future.

A reference typology of low alkalinity lakes in the UK based on pre-acidification diatom assemblages from lake sediment cores

2010 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 489-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard W. Battarbee ◽  
Gavin L. Simpson ◽  
Helen Bennion ◽  
Christopher Curtis
Keyword(s):  
Lake Sediment ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Diatom Assemblages ◽  
The Uk

An Assessment of Environmental Changes in Three Lakes from King's County (Nova Scotia, Canada) Using Diatom-Based Paleolimnological Techniques

2008 ◽  
Vol 43 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 85-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua R. Thienpont ◽  
Brian K. Ginn ◽  
Brian F. Cumming ◽  
John P. Smol
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Lake Management ◽  
River System ◽  
210Pb Dating ◽  
Hydroelectric Power ◽  
Diatom Assemblages ◽  
Shoreline Development ◽  
Before And After

Abstract Paleolimnological approaches using sedimentary diatom assemblages were used to assess water quality changes over the last approximately 200 years in three lakes from King's County, Nova Scotia. In particular, the role of recent shoreline development in accelerating eutrophication in these systems was assessed. Sediment cores collected from each lake were analyzed for their diatom assemblages at approximately 5-year intervals, as determined by 210Pb dating. Analyses showed that each system has changed, but tracked different ecosystem changes. Tupper and George lakes recorded shifts, which are likely primarily related to climatic warming, with diatom assemblages changing from a preindustrial dominance by Aulacoseira spp. to present-day dominance by Cyclotella stelligera. In addition to the recent climatic-related changes, further diatom changes in the Tupper Lake core between approximately 1820 and 1970 were coincident with watershed disturbances (farming, forestry, and construction of hydroelectric power infrastructure). Black River Lake has recorded an increase in diatom-inferred total phosphorus since about 1950, likely due to impoundment of the Black River system for hydroelectric generation and subsequent changes in land runoff. Before-and-after (i.e., top-bottom) sediment analyses of six other lakes from King's County provided further evidence that the region is being influenced by climatic change (decreases in Aulacoseira spp., increases in planktonic diatom taxa), as well as showing other environmental stressors (e.g., acidification). However, we recorded no marked increase in diatom-inferred nutrient levels coincident with shoreline cottage development in any of the nine study lakes. Paleolimnological studies such as these allow lake managers to place the current limnological conditions into a long-term context, and thereby provide important background data for effective lake management.

The History of Human Impacts in the Clear Lake Watershed ( California) as Deduced from Lake Sediment Cores*

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Nelson ◽  
Alan Heyvaert ◽  
Laurent Meillier ◽  
Jae Kim ◽  
Xiaoping Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lake Sediment ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Clear Lake ◽  
History Of

scholarly journals Contrasting the ecological effects of decreasing ice cover versus accelerated glacial melt on the High Arctic's largest lake

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1929) ◽  
pp. 20201185
Author(s):  
Neal Michelutti ◽  
Marianne S. V. Douglas ◽  
Dermot Antoniades ◽  
Igor Lehnherr ◽  
Vincent L. St. Louis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Mass Gain ◽  
Ecological Change ◽  
Diatom Assemblages ◽  
Lake Ice ◽  
Glacial Meltwater ◽  
Glacial Runoff ◽  
Common Era ◽  
Ecological Functioning

Lake Hazen, the High Arctic's largest lake, has received an approximately 10-fold increase in glacial meltwater since its catchment glaciers shifted from net mass gain to net mass loss in 2007 common era (CE), concurrent with recent warming. Increased glacial meltwater can alter the ecological functioning of recipient aquatic ecosystems via changes to nutrient budgets, turbidity and thermal regimes. Here, we examine a rare set of five high-resolution sediment cores collected in Lake Hazen between 1990 and 2017 CE to investigate the influence of increased glacial meltwater versus alterations to lake ice phenology on ecological change. Subfossil diatom assemblages in all cores show two major shifts over the past approximately 200 years including: (i) a proliferation of pioneering, benthic taxa at approximately 1900 CE from previously depauperate populations; and (ii) a rise in planktonic taxa beginning at approximately 1980 CE to present-day dominance. The topmost intervals from each sequentially collected core provide exact dates and demonstrate that diatom regime shifts occurred decades prior to accelerated glacial inputs. These data show that diatom assemblages in Lake Hazen are responding primarily to intrinsic lake factors linked to decreasing duration of lake ice and snow cover rather than to limnological impacts associated with increased glacial runoff.

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