Late-glacial and early-Holocene Coleoptera assemblages as indicators of local environment and climate at Kråkenes Lake, western Norway

Thirty-six Coleoptera (beetle) taxa and other insects were identified from the late-glacial and early-Holocene sediments at Kråkenes Lake. Compared with other Scandinavian late-glacial sites, this is a rather sparse record. The water beetles found in the Allerod are characteristic of a poorly vegetated clear-water lake. The terrestrial fauna is indicative of dwarf-shrub and moss vegetation. A marked decline in the number of species at the start of the Younger Dryas was rather rapid, probably over less than 80 calendar yrs. No obligate tundra species replaced the Allerod fauna. Most of the Younger Dryas is virtually devoid of beetles. The increase in numbers and diversity of both aquatic and terrestrial species at the Younger Dryas/Holocene transition is very rapid. After an initial pioneer stage, beetles associated with dwarf-shrub heath and willow scrub appeared, but no obligate tree or forest taxa were recorded.Mutual Climatic Range (MCR) temperature reconstructions suggest that the Allerod was colder and more continental than present. The near absence of beetles in the Younger Dryas probably reflects very cold conditions. A rapid temperature rise at the start of the Holocene resulted in a warmer and more continental climate than present.     

Postglacial changes in chironomid communities and inferred climate near treeline at Mount Stoyoma, Cascade Mountains, southwestern British Columbia, Canada

Analysis of the distributions of chironomid (midge) and other dipteran subfossils from two high elevation lake sediment cores in the Cascade Mountains reveals changes in midge communities and inferred climate since the late-glacial. Cabin Lake and 3M Pond are located near treeline in the subalpine Engelmann Spruce/Subalpine Fir biogeoclimatic zone of British Columbia. In Cabin Lake, chironomid head capsule assemblages depict a typical late-glacial community, and three distinct Holocene communities. In Cabin Lake, the late-glacial community is composed of cold-stenothermous taxa dominated by Stictochironomus, Mesocricotopus, Heterotrissocladius, Parakiefferiella nigra, Protanypus and Paracladius, whereas warm water midges are absent or rare, indicating cold conditions. A late-glacial chironomid community was not found in 3M Pond. In both lakes the early Holocene is dominated by a diverse warm-adapted assemblage, corresponding to the warm climatic conditions of the xerothermic period. Cabin Lake's mid-Holocene zone records a decrease in relative abundance of the warm water types and is accompanied by an increase in cold-stenotherms. At 3M Pond this period shows a dramatic loss in diversity of warm-adapted taxa, as the temperate genus Dicrotendipes dominates. This zone corresponds to Hebda's (1995) mesothermic period. Further cooling in the late Holocene (to modern conditions) is inferred from continued reduction of warm water midges and persistence (at Cabin Lake) or appearance (at 3M Pond) of a cold-stenothermal community. This late Holocene cooling is similar in timing to Neoglacial advances in the Coast, Cascade, and Rocky Mountains of southern British Columbia. Similarities in the timing of chironomid and vegetation community changes at these high elevation sites, along with the more rapid response time of the Chironomidae, support the sensitivity of midges to postglacial climatic change at high elevation sites.     

Late-glacial and early-Holocene Trichoptera (Insecta) from Kråkenes Lake, western Norway

Fossil Trichoptera (caddisfly) remains have been identified and quantitatively recorded in the late-glacial and early-Holocene sediments from Kråkenes Lake, western Norway. The sediment sequence was deposited between 12,300 and 8850 ¹⁴C BP, covering the Allerød, Younger Dryas, and early-Holocene periods. The first Trichoptera were recorded at 12,000 ¹⁴C BP, and during the Allerod a diverse assemblage of Limnephilidae taxa developed in the lake. By about 11,400 ¹⁴C BP the relatively thermophilous Polycentropus flavomaculatus and Limnephilus rhombicus were present, suggesting that the summer water temperature was at least 17 °C. This temperature fell by 5-8 °C at the start of the Younger Dryas, and the thermophilous taxa were replaced within 20-40 ¹⁴C yrs by Apatania spp., including the arctic-alpine A. zonella, suggesting a maximum summer water temperature of 10-12 °C. The Trichoptera assemblage was impoverished in numbers and in diversity over the next 200 yrs as the severe conditions of the Younger Dryas developed. As soon as temperatures rose and glacial meltwater and silt input ended about 700 ¹⁴C yrs later, the resident Apatania assemblage expanded immediately, within 10 yrs. About 130 yrs later, thermophilous taxa replaced Apatania, and a much more diverse assemblage than in the Allerod occupied the varied habitats made available by the development of the Holocene lake ecosystem. The 130 yr delay may have been caused by a gradual temperature increase crossing a critical threshold, or by the time taken for thermophilous taxa to migrate from their Younger Dryas refugia.     

Fossil chironomid assemblages and inferred summer temperatures for the past 14,000 years from a low-elevation lake in Pacific Canada

Fossil midge remains in a sediment core from Lake Stowell, a low-elevation lake in coastal British Columbia, Canada, were used to assess temporal changes in chironomid communities and to produce quantitative estimates of mean July air temperature (MJAT) for the past 14,000 years based on two different transfer functions. Chironomid assemblages are diverse throughout much of the record, with most taxa present at low relative abundances. The basal portion of the sediment record is characterized by low head capsule concentrations, taxonomic diversity and organic matter content, all of which increase towards the early Holocene. Inferred temperatures suggest a cool late-glacial interval with a minimum MJAT of 12.5 °C, ~2 °C cooler than the inferred modern temperature. Summer temperatures gradually increased from this minimum until a brief cooling of as much as ~3 °C relative to modern that coincides with the Younger Dryas chronozone. An interval of warmer summers with MJAT of ~16 to 18 °C (2–3 °C warmer than modern) is inferred between ~10,500 and 8000 cal year BP. This early Holocene warm period was followed by generally cooler inferred temperatures in the middle and late Holocene. The midge-inferred temperature record from Lake Stowell is generally consistent with other temperature reconstructions from the region based on chironomid remains and other climate proxies. This research underscores the potential of low-elevation, mid-latitude sites for chironomid-based temperature reconstructions. In order to maximize the availability of modern analogues for robust temperature reconstructions from similar sites, calibration datasets should be expanded to include more sites from the warm end of the temperature gradient.     

The late-glacial and early-Holocene palaeoecology of cladoceran microfossil assemblages at Kråkenes, western Norway, with a quantitative reconstruction of temperature changes

Cladoceran microfossil remains were analysed from a sediment core taken from a lake basin at Kråkenes, western Norway. The sequence included immediate post-glacial conditions (ca. 12,300 ¹⁴C BP), the Allerod, Younger Dryas, and early Holocene to approximately 8,500 ¹⁴C BP. The interpretation of changes in the cladoceran assemblages is based on the known ecology of the taxa, the documented environmental history of the study sequence, the variations in the organic content of the sediment, the radiocarbon dates, and the results of analyses of other biotic groups, including diatoms, macrophytes, and chironomids. In addition, a quantitative reconstruction of changes in air temperature is presented for the study period. This reconstruction is based on transfer functions developed from a separate Swiss surface-sediment cladoceran data set.The cladoceran assemblages throughout the sequence are dominated by littoral chydorid taxa. Bosmina, Daphnia, and Simocephalus represent the open-water component of the zooplankton. Chydorus piger and Daphnia were the only immediate post-glacial pioneer taxa. A rapid proliferation of the open-water and littoral cladoceran taxa began with the onset of the Allerod and persisted for approximately 1,000 yrs. At the start of the Younger Dryas a local glacier formed and drained into the lake, causing a sudden decline in chydorid diversity, with only Chydorus sphaericus and Acroperus harpae persisting throughout this period. Chydorid diversity started to recover in the upper Younger Dryas and continued in the early Holocene. Progressive acidification and oligotrophication are also discernible from the cladoceran assemblages present in the Holocene.The reconstructed mean summer air temperature was from 8-21 °C, with prediction errors of 1.8-2.5 °C. The Allerod was only slightly warmer than the Younger Dryas period, but a progressive increase in temperature is apparent during the early Holocene. In conclusion, the results of this study provide a further demonstration of the value of cladocera as indicators of a variety of palaeoenvironmental parameters, including temperature.     

The Kråkenes late-glacial palaeoenvironmental project

Kråkenes is the site of a small lake on the west coast of Norway that contains a long sequence of late-glacial sediments. The Younger Dryas is well represented, as a cirque glacier developed in the catchment at this time. This site offers unique opportunities to reconstruct late-glacial environments from independent sources of evidence; physical evidence (glacial geomorphology, sedimentology, palaeomagnetism, radiocarbon dating), and biological evidence from the remains of animals and plants derived from both the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. This report describes the background to the site, and the international multidisciplinary project to reconstruct late-glacial and early Holocene environmental and climatic changes at Kråkenes.     

Chironomid-inferred late-glacial and early-Holocene mean July air temperatures for Kråkenes Lake, western Norway

A chironomid data-set calibrated to July air temperatures, based on 44 lakes in western Norway, is used to reconstruct mean July air temperatures from late-glacial and early-Holocene fossil chironomid assemblages at Kråkenes Lake. The calibration function is based on Weighted Averaging Partial Least Squares regression and has a root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 1.13 °C, a r² of 0.69, and a maximum bias of 2.66 °C. All these statistics are based on leave-one-out cross-validation. A calibration function based on summer surface-water temperatures has a poorer performance (RMSEP = 2.22 °C, r² = 0.30, maximum bias = 5.29 °C). The reconstructed July air temperatures at Kråkenes rise to 10.5 °C soon after deglaciation, are about 11.5 °C in the Allerød, decrease to 9.5-10 °C in the Younger Dryas, and rise rapidly within 15 yrs to 11.5 °C at the onset of the Holocene. There is a two-step rise to 13 °C or more in the early-Holocene. The likely over-estimation of Younger Dryas temperatures and under-estimation of early-Holocene temperatures probably result from the limited temperature range represented by the existing calibration set. The data set is currently being expanded to include lakes with warmer air temperatures (> 14 °C) and with colder air temperatures (< 8 °C).     

Late-Quaternary history of midge communities and climate from a tundra site near the lower Lena River, Northeast Siberia

Analysis of midge remains in late-Quaternary sediment, recovered from a lake situated north of treeline in northeast Siberia, indicates the occurrence of notable climatic fluctuations during the last 12 ka. The onset of late-glacial warming was disrupted by a marked cooling event – possibly correlative with the Younger Dryas – that occurred between 11,000 and 10,000 yr BP. Increases in the relative abundance of taxa typically found in tundra lakes, such as Hydrobaenus/Oliveridia and Parakiefferiella nigra, and the concurrent decrease in temperate taxa, such as Microtendipes and Corynocera ambigua, suggest climatic deterioration occurred during this interval. At approximately 10,000 yr BP there was a large increase in temperate taxa such as Microtendipes and C. ambigua, and a decline of essentially all cold-water taxa. This suggests that climate was warmer than present since the modern distribution of both Microtendipes and C. ambigua is limited to forested sites in this region. This warm interval lasted until approximately 6000 yr BP when there was a precipitous decline in temperate chironomid taxa and an increase in cold-water chironomid taxa, such as Paracladius, Hydrobaenus/Oliveridia, Abiskomyia, and Parakiefferiella nigra. This cooling continued through the late-Holocene and the modern tundra chironomid assemblage developed by approximately 1400 yr BP.     

新仙女木事件在热带湖光岩玛珥湖的记录

湖光岩玛珥湖沉积物总有机碳，总氮，总氢，生物硅等有机地球化学指标以及AMS^14C年代明确地指示了新仙女木事件在中国南方地区的存在，它不仅表现为降水的显著减少，而且表现为气温的降低，显示了凉干的气候环境，反映了季风系统在很短的时间内进行了大规模重组，夏季风强度显著减弱的事实，这为西北太平洋低续度区存在YD事件提供了新的来自于陆地的证据。     

An expanded surface-water palaeotemperature inference model for use with fossil midges from eastern Canada

Using an expanded surface sample data set, representing lakes distributed across a transect from southernmost Canada to the Canadian High Arctic, a revised midge-palaeotemperature inference model was developed for eastern Canada. Modelling trials with weighted averaging (with classical and inverse deshrinking; with and without tolerance downweighting) and weighted averaging partial least squares (WA-PLS) regression, with and without square-root transformation of the species data, were used to identify the best model. Comparison of measured and predicted temperatures revealed that a 2 component WA-PLS model for square-root transformed percentage species data provided the model with the highest explained variance (r =0.88) and the lowest error estimate (RMSEP _jack =2.26 °C). Comparison of temperature inferences based on the new and old models indicates that the original model may have seriously under-estimated the magnitude of late-glacial temperature oscillations in Atlantic Canada. The new inferences suggest that summer surface water temperatures in Splan Pond, New Brunswick were approximately 10 to 12 °C immediately following deglaciation and during the Younger Dryas. During the Allerod and early Holocene, surface water temperatures of 20 to 24 °C were attained. The new model thus provides the basis for more accurate palaeotemperature reconstructions throughout easternmost Canada.     

Deglacial to middle Holocene (16,600 to 6000 calendar years BP) climate change in the northeastern United States inferred from multi-proxy stable isotope data, Seneca Lake, New York

Climate change in the northeastern United States has been inferred for the last deglaciation to middle Holocene (∼16,600 to 6000 calendar years ago) using multi-proxy data (total organic matter, total carbonate content, δ¹⁸ O calcite and δ¹³ C calcite) from a 5 m long sediment core from Seneca Lake, New York. Much of the regional postglacial warming occurred during the well-known Bolling and Allerod warm periods (∼14.5 to 13.0 ka), but climate amelioration in the northeastern United States preceded that in Greenland by ∼2000 years. An Oldest Dryas climate event (∼15.1 to 14.7 ka) is recognized in Seneca Lake as is a brief Older Dryas (∼14.1 ka) cold event. This latter cold event correlates with the regional expansion of glacial Lake Iroquois and global meltwater pulse IA. An increase in winter precipitation and a shorter growing season likely characterized the northeastern United States at this time. The Intra-Allerod Cold Period (∼13.2 ka) is also evident supporting an “Amphi-Atlantic Oscillation” at this time. The well-known Younger Dryas cold interval occurred in the northeastern United States between 12.9 and 11.6 ka, consistent with ice core data from Greenland. In the Seneca Lake record, however, the Younger Dryas appears as an asymmetric event characterized by an abrupt, high-amplitude beginning followed by a more gradual recovery. Compared to European records, the Younger Dryas in the northeastern United States was a relatively low-amplitude event. The largest amplitude and longest duration anomaly in the Seneca Lake record occurs after the Younger Dryas, between ∼11.6 and 10.3 ka. This “post-Younger Dryas climate interval” represents the last deglacial climate event prior to the start of the Holocene in the northeastern United States, but has not been recognized in Greenland or Europe. The early to middle Holocene in the northeastern United States was characterized by low-amplitude climate variability. A general warming trend during the Holocene Hypsithermal peaked at ∼9 ka coincident with maximum summer insolation controlled by orbital parameters. Millennial- to century-scale variability is also evident in the Holocene Seneca Lake record, including the well-known 8.2 ka cold event (as well as events at ∼7.1 and 6.6 ka). Hemispherical cooling during the Holocene Neoglacial in the northeastern United States began ∼5.5 ka in response to decreasing summer insolation.     

The fossil oribatid mite fauna (Acari: Oribatida) in late-glacial and early-Holocene sediments in Kråkenes Lake, western Norway

The oribatid mite assemblages found in late-glacial and early-Holocene sediments in Kråkenes Lake, western Norway, consist of 38 species within 24 genera. In accordance with known present habitat distribution we distinguish 4 true aquatic species, 6 species associated with wetland, 2 with mesic grassland, 12 with dry grassland and heathland, 3 with saxicolous and arboricolous lichens, 7 widely distributed species, and 4 with uncertainly known habitat preferences. The sediments from the pioneer phase (12,300-11,700 ¹⁴C BP) contain 7 species, among them the 2 typical pioneer species Limnozetes ciliatus and Tectocepheus velatus.The sediments of the warmer Allerød interstadial (11,700-10,900 BP) contain 18 species, the cold Younger Dryas (10,900-10,000 BP) 9 species, and the early Holocene (10,000-9,000 BP) 36 species.The oribatid fossils of the pioneer phase indicate habitats and climate similar to the mid-alpine zone in western Norway today, the Allerod interstadial that of the low- to mid-alpine zone. L. ciliatus is the aquatic pioneer species in the Allerod. In the Younger Dryas the climate was more arctic, 60-70% of the species had presumably disappeared, and no aquatic species were found. In the early Holocene, 4 true aquatic species colonised the lake and showed a high productivity. The terrestrial oribatid fauna in this period contained a high diversity of more boreal species, while the alpine species declined or became extinct.     

Late-glacial pollen and diatom changes in response to two different environmental perturbations: volcanic eruption and Younger Dryas cooling

A high-resolution pollen and diatom stratigraphy has been studied from late-glacial annually laminated sediments of Holzmaar (425 m a.s.l., Germany). The sediment sequence studied comprises 475 varves and includes two environmental perturbations of different type and duration: the short, abrupt deposition of the late Allerød tephra layer of the Laacher See volcano (LST, 11 000 yr B.P.), and the more gradual onset of the 'Younger Dryas climatic cooling.Numerical analyses involving (partial) redundancy analyses in connection with Monte Carlo permutation tests suggest that the deposition of 78 mm of Laacher See Tephra had a statistically significant effect on the pollen stratigraphy (percentage and accumulation rates), most probably because of the proximity of the site to the volcano. The diatom accumulation rates also show a statistically significant change, whereas the diatom percentage data do not change significantly. The between-sample rates-of-change in both biostratigraphies are higher at and just after the LST event than at the transition to the Younger Dryas biozone. Sequence splitting of pollen and diatom accumulation rate data also shows a clustering of significant splits at the LST event. A close correlation between changes in the pollen and diatom percentage data for the investigated time-interval suggests a common underlying climatic signal, whereas the accumulation rates of both biostratigraphies behave more individualistically and show more short-term variability due, in part, to the inherent noise in the two data sets. Variance partitioning shows that the local pollen and diatom assemblage zones explain much of the variance in the data-sets. Statistical modelling using redundancy analysis shows that the changes in the diatom assemblages are best predicted by the Younger Dryas biozone and the main changes in the pollen stratigraphy (as represented by the first PCA axis of the pollen data).The results suggest that the biostratigraphies studied at Holzmaar reflect generally stable systems which were disturbed by the deposition of the Laacher See Tephra. After a phase of recovery both systems again reached a new phase of stability prior to the long-term Younger Dryas climatic deterioration that perturbed the assemblages again. The very close and statistically significant parallelism between the major stratigraphical patterns in the pollen and diatom percentage data highlights the responses of the two biological systems to environmental perturbations at different temporal scales.     

Late Glacial and Holocene temperature changes at Egelsee,Switzerland, reconstructed using subfossil chironomids

A temperature reconstruction using chironomids was attempted at Egelsee, Switzerland, a site where pollen and macrofossil records showed a correspondence between vegetation and climatic changes inferred by other proxies in Europe. The general pattern of temperature changes inferred from chironomids during the Late Glacial [i.e. cold temperatures between ca. 16,500 and 14,800 cal BP, close to present-day temperature between 15,000 and 13,000 cal BP and colder temperatures during the Younger Dryas (YD)], and the major temperature changes of the Holocene (i.e. the Younger Dryas–Holocene transition and the Late Holocene cooling trend) at Egelsee, were mirrored in other European climate reconstructions using various proxies. However, the amplitude of temperature changes during the YD was smaller than reconstructed by other proxies at various sites, and the 8,200 years BP event was not apparent. These differences between records were probably due to the dominance of Corynocera ambigua, with percentages reaching 60% in parts of the Egelsee sequence. This taxon was not present in any of the 103 lakes used for the transfer function and its absence may have yielded less accurate inferences. Its presence in samples only associated with cold inferences at Egelsee suggests that this taxon is a cold indicator. However, it was also found in warm Danish lakes and the factors that determine the presence of C. ambigua remain unexplained. Most samples had a poor fit to temperature and instead, dissolved organic carbon seemed to be a factor influencing the chironomid assemblages during the Holocene. These results illustrate the need to better understand the ecology of chironomids and to disentangle the various factors that affect chironomid communities through time. Ultimately, such information will lead to more accurate temperature reconstructions.     

Diatom responses to late-glacial and early-Holocene environmental changes at Kråkenes, western Norway

A stratigraphic diatom sequence is presented for the period from 13,870-9,170 cal BP from Kråkenes Lake, western Norway. Changes in species assemblages are discussed with reference to the changing environmental conditions in the Allerød, Younger Dryas, and the early Holocene and to the development of the aquatic ecosystem. The site is sensitive to acidification, and diatom-based transfer functions are applied to estimate the past pH status. The combination of rapid sediment accumulation together with an excellent calibrated radiocarbon chronology means that the rate of inferred pH change and associated increase in [H⁺] can be assessed and compared with recent, anthropogenically acidified situations.The Allerød diatom assemblages are dominated by benthic taxa particularly Fragilaria species, indicating an unproductive, alkaline, turbid, and immature system. Diatoms are absent in the early part of the Younger Dryas, but subsequently a sparse planktonic flora develops reflecting decreased turbidity and/or increased nutrient supply. A clear sequence of diatom assemblages is seen in the early Holocene. A short-lived peak of Stephanodiscus species indicating a period of increased nutrient availability occurred at ca. 11,500 cal BP. Throughout the early Holocene, acid-tolerant species increasingly replaced less acidophilous, circumneutral taxa.The lake became slightly more acid during the Allerød, but this was statistically insignificant in a trend test involving regression of pH or [H⁺] in relation to age. Diatom-inferred pH declined rapidly during the early Holocene period investigated (9,175-11,525 cal BP) with a statistically significant overall rate of 0.024 pH units per 100 yrs. This consisted of an older (ca. 11,525-10,255 cal BP) phase, where pH fell more rapidly at up to 0.095 pH units per 100 yrs; and a younger phase after ca. 10,500 cal BP where the pH fall was extremely slow (0.008 pH units per 100 yrs) and was not statistically significant.In the Allerød a combination of low catchment productivity together with disturbance, weathering, and minerogenic inwash ensured that the base-cation status remained relatively high. In the Holocene the catchment soils stabilised and base cations were sequestered by terrestrial vegetation and soil. This resulted in reduced base-cation leaching and this, together with the production of organic acids caused the lake to acidify, reaching an equilibrium by ca. 10,000 cal BP.     

Younger Dryas时期东亚季风气候和中国东部沙区沙漠变化

位于沙漠／黄土过渡带的杨桃峁剖面,高分辨率地记录了ＹｏｕｎｇｅｒＤｒｙａｓ时期东亚季风气候和沙漠变化历史。在ＡＭＳ１４Ｃ测年基础上,磁化率、粒度和有机质含量等替代性气候指标的测试结果分析表明,ＹｏｕｎｇｅｒＤｒｙａｓ时期东亚季风气候在全球气候变化的影响下,总的表现为与北半球高纬度地区相同的干寒特征,即沙漠总的具有扩大的趋势;但又与南北半球大气相互作用,特别是赤道太平洋地区气压异常引起亚洲季风气候的不稳定有关,表现出降水变化特点,沙漠出现逆过程变化,存在短暂成壤固定时期。     

Late-Glacial and Holocene Record of Lake Levels of Mathews Pond and Whitehead Lake,Northern Maine,USA

Paleohydrology studies at Mathews Pond and Whitehead Lake in northern Maine revealed synchronous changes in lake levels from about 12,000 ¹⁴C yrs BP to the present. We analyzed gross sediment structure, organic and carbonate content, mineral grain size, and macrofossils of six cores from each of the two lakes, and obtained 72 radiocarbon dates. Interpretation of this paleo-environmental data suggests that the late-glacial and Younger Dryas climate was dry, and lake levels were low. Early Holocene lake levels were considerably higher but declined for an interval from about 8000 to 7200 ¹⁴C yrs BP. Sediment of both lakes contains evidence of a dry period at ∼7400 ¹⁴C yrs BP (8200 cal yr). Lake levels of both sites declined abruptly about 4800 ¹⁴C yrs BP and remained low until 3000 ¹⁴C yrs BP. Modern lake levels were achieved only within the past 600 years. The west-to-east, time-transgressive nature of lake-level changes from several sites across northeastern North America suggests periodic changes in atmospheric circulation patterns as a driving force behind observed moisture balance changes. Electronic supplementary material to this article is available at and accessible for authorized users.     

Mass occurance and sporadic distribution of Corynocera ambigua Zetterstedt (Diptera, Chironomidae) in Danish lakes. Neo- and palaeolimnological records

The chironomid Corynocera ambigua (Tanytarsini) is commonly reported as a cold-stenothermal species living in shallow lakes in arctic and subarctic regions. In palaeoecological studies of temperate lakes, larval remains of C. ambigua are usually found in late-glacial sediments from the Allerød and Younger Dryas periods, and often in association with subfossil Chara oospores. During a surface sampling program of chironomid head-capsules in 41 Danish temperate lakes, C. ambigua was found to comprise 25% of the chironomid assemblages in two lakes, and was sporadically found in 8 other lakes (0.5-10%). A 70 cm palaeo-stratigraphy from the shallow (max depth 1.2 m) and eutrophic (total phosphorus = 150 g P l^-1) Lake Stigsholm showed that C. ambigua has been abundant in the last 4-5 centuries. At a sediment level of 25 cm (~year 1925, ²¹⁰Pb dating), C. ambigua began to decrease in frequency while Chironomus plumosus, Procladius sp., Cladotanytarsus gr. mancus and Tanytarsus spp. increased, suggesting an increased nutrient loading and an approach to eutrophic conditions. In 1995 C. ambigua was still very abundant in Lake Stigsholm but in early March 1997 no living larvae were found. An extremely heavy growth of Elodea, Enteromorpha and filamentous algae in the summers of 1995 and 1996, with following degradation in the fall, might have influenced the invertebrate population dynamics. No significant distinguishing characteristics were found for the lakes supporting C. ambigua. Its occurrence in warm (~20°C) Danish lakes brings into question the perception of the species as being cold-stenothermal.     

THE EASTERN MARGIN OF GLACIATION IN THE BRITISH ISLES DURING THE YOUNGER DRYAS: THE BIZZLE CIRQUE, SOUTHERN SCOTLAND

ABSTRACT. Geomorphological and sedimentological evidence of former glaciation in the Bizzle valley in the Cheviot Hills of northern England and southern Scotland was used to reconstruct the dimensions of a small topographically constrained glacier with an equilibrium line altitude (ELA) of 535 m. This was interpreted as having formed during Younger Dryas cooling; this is the only glacier to have been described from the area and is the most easterly site of Younger Dryas glaciation in the British Isles. Whilst glaciation at this time was extensive in the Lake District to the southwest, the restricted nature of Cheviot ice cover suggests that a steep west–east precipitation gradient existed in this region during the Younger Dryas.     

Response of littoral chironomid communities and organic matter to late glacial lake—level,vegetation and climate changes at Lago dell’Accesa (Tuscany,Italy)

This study focuses on the response of lacustrine littoral chironomid communities to late glacial changes in limnological, environmental and climate conditions in the Mediterranean context. Late glacial chironomid (Diptera: Chironomidae) assemblages, organic petrography and geochemistry were analysed in a sediment core from the littoral zone of Lago dell’Accesa (Tuscany, Italy), where the lake-level fluctuations and the vegetation history have been previously reconstructed. Comparison of the chironomid stratigraphy to other proxies (pollen assemblages, organic petrography and geochemistry, lake-level) and regional climate reconstruction suggested the predominant influence of lake-level changes on the littoral chironomid fauna. The main lowering events that occurred during the Oldest and the Younger Dryas were followed by higher proportions of taxa typical of littoral habitats. A complementary study of organic matter suggested the indirect impact of lake-level on the chironomids through changes in humic status and habitat characteristics, such as the type of substrate and aquatic macrophyte development. Several chironomid taxa, such as Glyptotendipes, Microtendipes and Cricotopus type patens, were identified as possible indicators of low lake-level in the late glacial records. Nevertheless, this study suggested that parallel analyses of organic matter and chironomid assemblages may be needed to circumvent misinterpretation of littoral chironomid assemblage stratigraphy. There was a weak response of the chironomid assemblages to small lake-level lowerings that corresponded to the Older Dryas and Preboreal oscillations. A higher level of determination, e.g. to the species group level, may be necessary to increase the sensibility of the indicators to lake-level changes.