青藏高原北部湖泊沉积物中基于不同碳源可培养细菌多样性

前人研究显示微生物群落对有机碳源的利用具有选择性,但是纯菌株对碳源利用的选择性却不甚明了。此外,在盐湖环境中微生物出于能量的考虑可能选择性利用有机碳源以抵抗盐度渗透压。因此,盐度可能间接地影响微生物对有机碳源的利用。然而,目前类似的相关研究较少。采用单碳源纯培养技术、16S rRNA基因序列分析和相关统计方法,研究了青藏高原北部6个湖泊(洱海、青海湖、托素湖、尕海1、尕海2、小柴旦湖)沉积物中基于不同碳源可培养细菌多样性及其与盐度的响应关系。采用7种不同类型的单碳源(甲酸钠、乙酸钠、丙酮酸钠、乳酸钠、葡萄糖、纤维素、混合氨基酸)进行培养筛选。共获得10个细菌分类属的75株纯培养菌株,它们分属于γ-变形菌纲的气单胞菌属(Aeromonas)、盐单胞菌属(Halomonas)、希瓦氏菌属(Shewanella)、假单胞菌属(Pseudomonas)、假交替单胞菌属(Pseudoalteromonas)、弧菌属(Vibrio),β-变形菌纲的脱氯单胞菌属(Dechloromonas)以及芽孢杆菌纲的芽孢杆菌属(Bacillus)、微小杆菌属(Exiguobacterium)和游动球菌属(Planococcus)。其中,盐单胞菌属菌株可利用研究中使用的所有碳源类型,说明这类细菌具有广泛碳代谢途径,可能潜在参与了青藏高原北部湖泊碳循环过程。研究发现所得纯菌株对不同碳链长度碳源的利用具有选择性,即随着盐度增高,某些菌株偏向利用结构更加复杂的碳源。总之,盐度不仅影响着纯培养细菌群落多样性,而且还影响着细菌对碳源类型的选择。     

吉尔吉斯斯坦伊塞克湖一处土壤样品细菌多样性

采用纯培养方法从吉尔吉斯斯坦共和国伊塞克湖一处温泉旁的土壤中分离到32株细菌,通过ARDRA 分析后得到不同的类群,从各个类群中随机选取1个代表菌株进行16S rDNA 序列测定和系统发育的分析。结果表明：分离的菌株分布在假单胞菌属（Pseudomonas）、类芽孢杆菌属（Paenibacillus）、芽孢杆菌属（Bacillus）、寡养单胞菌属（Stenotrophomonas）、Lysinibacillus、溶杆菌属（Lysobacter）、短芽孢杆菌属（Brevibacillus）、根瘤菌属（Rhizobium）、变形杆菌属（Proteus）等9个属,且部分菌株的16S rDNA序列同源性低于97%,可能是潜在的新种。结果揭示了该样点可培养细菌种群的多样性及独特性。     

北京市白河湿地香蒲根际土壤细菌多样性

以北京市白河再生水补水口人工湿地香蒲(Typha angustata)根际土壤为研究对象,采用LB、R2A和YG培养基分离培养法,研究香蒲根际可培养细菌群落在不同培养基条件下的群落结构差异及优势菌属。结果表明,由R2A培养基分离培养的香蒲根际细菌群落丰度(4门,20菌属,82株菌株)最高,其次为由LB培养基分离培养的细菌群落丰度(3门,16菌属,118株菌株),由YG培养基分离培养的细菌群落丰度(2门,8菌属,24株菌株)最低;从3种培养基优势类群组成结构看,香蒲根际细菌主要包括变形菌门γ亚群(87.66%)、变形菌门β亚群(6.17%)、厚壁菌门(5.29%)和拟杆菌门(0.88%),其中,不动杆菌属(Acinetobacter)为最优势属,其次为拉乌尔菌属(Raoultella)、假单胞菌属(Pseudomonas)和克雷伯氏菌属(Klebsiella);R2A培养基细菌群落的Shannon-Wiener指数和Margalef指数最高,分别为2.23和1.87,其次为LB培养基细菌群落的两种指标,分别为1.75和4.13,YG培养基细菌群落的两种指标最低,分别为3.14和1.52;YG培养基细菌群落的Pielou指数最高(83.44%);从不同培养基优势菌属功能分析结果来看,从LB培养基中获得参与氮循环和碳循环的优势菌属菌株(各为19株)最多;从R2A培养基中分离培养的降解有机污染物的优势菌属菌株(8株)最多;从YG培养基中分离获得的抑制病原菌菌株(8株)最多。     

南极菲尔德斯半岛土壤可培养细菌多样性分析

对中国第29次南极科学考察采自南极菲尔德斯半岛区域16个站位的土壤样品进行了细菌的分离培养。经细菌16S r DNA序列测定及系统发育分析,共鉴定得到3个门,13个属的67株细菌。其中优势门为放线菌门(Actinobacteria)和变形菌门(Proteobacteria),优势属为节杆菌属(Arthrobacter)和假单胞菌属(Pseudomonas)。对受到不同外界动物因素影响的4个典型站位的土壤理化性质进行了测定,初步分析了土壤理化因子对可培养细菌群落结构的影响。结果表明在菲尔德斯半岛人活动对土壤中可培养细菌群落的影响显著区别于企鹅和海豹。研究还对产淀粉酶的菌株进行了筛选,发现8株产淀粉酶的菌株。     

古尔班通古特沙漠地衣结皮中可培养细菌多样性初探

为了解古尔班通古特沙漠优势结皮类型--地衣结皮中可培养细菌的多样性,利用3种培养基经稀释涂布和划线分离得到18株纯培养菌株。对分离的所有菌株提取基因组DNA,利用细菌通用引物扩增得到16S rDNA的序列并测序。结果表明：（1）基于Ribosomal Database Project (RDP)在线归类分析,18株菌可初步归为3门3纲3目6科6属,未见新属,未分离到固氮菌属（Azotobacter）。其中,6株归为变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、6株属于放线菌门(Actinobacteria)、6株属于厚壁菌门 (Firmicutes); 不动杆菌属（Acinetobacter）、链霉菌属（Streptomyces）、芽孢杆菌属（Bacillus）为优势属,分别占分离菌株数的33%、28%、22%。（2）在EzTaxon-e数据库中对各菌株序列进行进一步的BLAST同源性分析表明,18株菌可进一步归为14个OTUs（Operational Taxonomic Unit）,未见疑似新种（同源性均>97%）,其中链霉菌属OTU比例最高（35.71%）,依次为不动杆菌属和芽孢杆菌属（二者均为21.43%）。（3）古尔班通古特沙漠地衣结皮中的可培养细菌Shannon-Wiener多样性指数为2.5532,均匀度指数为0.9675。（4）上述可培养细菌在生物土壤结皮中具有固沙、加速矿化、生防等多重生态潜能。     

南极欺骗岛土壤细菌群落结构和多样性分析

采用基于16S r DNA克隆文库的非培养方法和传统培养方法相结合的手段,对南极欺骗岛土壤细菌群落结构及多样性进行了初步分析。对来自16S r DNA克隆文库的118个阳性克隆进行测序和序列比对,结果显示细菌来自放线菌门(Actinobacteria)、变形杆菌门(Proteobacteria)和拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes)3大门的39个操作分离单元(OTU),其中优势菌群为放线菌门和变形杆菌门,分别占65.25%和28.81%。放线菌门的主要优势属为鱼孢菌属(Sporichthya)、类诺卡式氏菌属(Nocardioides)、束缚菌属(Conexibacter)、Gaiella和节杆菌属(Arthrobacter)。变形杆菌门的主要优势属为鞘氨醇单胞菌属(Sphingomonas)、硫杆菌属(Thiobacillus)、寡养单胞菌属(Stenotrophomonas)和热单胞菌属(Thermomonas)。采用6种培养基对细菌进行培养和分离,共得到57株菌,来自放线菌门、变形杆菌门、拟杆菌门和厚壁菌门4大门的13个OTU,其中优势菌群为放线菌门和变形杆菌门,分别占57.89%和31.58%。优势属是放线菌门的节杆菌属(Arthrobacter)、雷夫松氏菌属(Leifsonia)和变形杆菌门的假单胞菌属(Pseudomonas)。本论文为研究欺骗岛土壤细菌多样性以及有益菌种资源的开发和利用奠定了基础。     

若尔盖高原泥炭沼泽土嗜冷细菌系统发育分析

结合低温纯培养手段、核糖体DNA扩增片段限制性内切酶分析技术和克隆测序,研究了若尔盖高原泥炭沼泽土中可培养菌的多样性、系统发育和产低温酶特性。从3块采样地的土样中分离到47株表型各不相同的菌株。16S rRNA测序和系统发育分析结果表明,若尔盖高原泥炭沼泽土的可培养低温菌高度相似于分离自极地、高山冻土和冰川等低温环境的嗜冷菌。47株菌分属于4个不同的群,包括高GC含量群、低GC含量群、Beta和Gama变形菌纲等。革兰氏阳性菌以节杆菌属(Arthrobacter)为主,而革兰氏阴性菌以假单胞菌属(Pseudomonas)为主。其他的细菌分属于微小杆菌属(Exiguobacterium)、芽孢八叠球菌属(Sporosarcina)、贪噬菌属(Variovorax)、紫色杆菌属(Janthinobacterium)和寡养单胞菌属(Stenotrophomonas)等不同的类群。产低温酶分析结果表明,在分离到的47株菌中,大多数菌株都能分泌纤维素降解酶,50%以上的菌株具有蛋白酶活性,而以节杆菌的胞外酶产生能力最强。若尔盖高原泥炭沼泽土中存在丰富的低温菌类群,在酶学生物技术上具有潜在应用价值。     

3种典型荒漠灌木内生固氮菌及固氮酶基因nifH多样性分析

具有特殊生境的内生固氮菌,对改善植物营养、增强植物抗逆性及群落稳定性具有重要作用,是一类潜力巨大、尚待开发的微生物资源。以新疆3种典型荒漠灌木多枝柽柳（Tamarix ramosissima）、黑果枸杞（Lycium ruthenicum）、盐穗木（Halostachys caspica）为材料,从根和枝条组织中分离筛选获得137个内生固氮菌菌株,采用16S rDNA PCR-RFLP、16S rDNA序列测定、BOXAIR-PCR指纹图谱、nifH PCR-RFLP等方法分析其遗传多样性及系统发育关系。结果表明：分离菌株经16SrDNA PCR-RFLP酶切图谱聚类划分为9个遗传类型。序列测定和系统发育分析显示,代表菌株分属于拉恩氏菌属（Rahnella）、假单胞菌属（Pseudomonas）、泛菌属（Pantoea）、芽孢杆菌属（Bacillus）、寡养单胞菌属（Stenotrophomonas）和申氏杆菌属（Shinella）,其中Rahnella为优势种群。一个测定菌株的16SrDNA序列同源性低于97%,提示可能为一个潜在的新种。BOXAIR-PCR分析优势种群的基因组结构特征,获得12种指纹图谱类型,显示出该种群具有丰富的基因组多样性。nifH PCR-RFLP分析分离内生固氮菌菌株固氮酶基因nifH的分子多态性,将其划分为3种基因型,体现了nifH具有高度保守性,同时在不同固氮微生物种群和菌株间也存在一定的多样性。研究结果丰富了固氮微生物物种资源库和基因库,对于内生固氮菌资源的保护和利用奠定了科学基础。     

基于分离培养方法的香蒲根内生细菌多样性

为了探究湿地植物香蒲(Typha orientalis)根内生细菌在不同培养基环境下组成多样性与生态学意义,以北京市密云段白河人工湿地香蒲根为研究对象,采用LB培养基、R2A培养基、YG培养基联合的分离培养方法,研究香蒲根内生可培养细菌群落及其在不同培养基环境下群落结构及功能特征差异。研究结果显示,从不同培养基细菌群落丰富度看,LB培养基(152株有效菌株,12个菌属,29个菌种)分离的香蒲根内生细菌效果相对较好,R2A培养基(68株菌株,9个菌属,23个菌种)和YG培养基(85株菌株,10个菌属,19个菌属)分离的内生细菌效果相差不大。从不同培养基优势类群组成结构看,从3种培养基中分离的内生细菌都属于g-变形菌纲(Gammaproteobacteria)类群,并且在LB培养基、R2A培养基和YG培养基中最优势属分别为假单胞菌属(Pseudomonas)(47株)、拉恩氏菌属(Rahnella)(17株)和拉恩氏菌属(34株)。从不同培养基分离的菌株功能特征,在LB培养基中,参与除碳(3.95%)、重金属(15.13%)和有机污染物(8.55%)的菌株所占比例最高;在R2A培养基中,参与除磷(10.29%)的菌株所占比例最高;在YG培养基中,参与除氮(76.47%)的菌株所占比例最高;同时,分别在YG培养基(10.59%)和R2A培养基(13.24%)中分离到较多的抑制病原菌的菌株和致病菌。     

塔吉克斯坦哈特隆州土壤可培养细菌多样性分析

采用纯培养、结合核糖体DNA扩增片段限制性酶切分析(16S r DNA PCR-RFLP)、RepPCR及16S r DNA序列测定和系统发育分析方法研究塔吉克斯坦哈特隆州土壤可培养细菌群落结构和种群多样性。从哈特隆州的农田、天然草地、林地及荒漠土壤中分离获得110个菌株,分布在厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)(80.9%)、变形杆菌门(Proteobacteria)(17.2%)和放线菌门(Actinobacteria)(1.85%)三个类群中,归属于芽孢杆菌(Bacillus)、寡养单胞菌(Stenotrophomonas)、短杆菌(Brevibacterium)、节杆菌(Arthrobacter)、棍状杆菌(Clavibacter)、短波单胞菌(Brevundimonas)、贪食菌(Variovorax)、假单胞杆菌(Pseudomonas)、芽孢八叠球菌(Sporosarcina)、赖氨酸芽孢杆菌(Lysinibacillus)、无色杆菌属(Achromobacter)和Rheinheimera共12个属中。其中Bacillus(71.8%)为该地区土壤可培养细菌绝对优势种群,Pseudomonas(10.9%)为次优势种群。对优势种群Bacillus的Rep-PCR基因组指纹图分析表明,63株分离物有17种不同的多态性指纹图谱,具有较为丰富的多样性特征。不同样地土壤中可培养细菌的种群分布、结构组成及多样性存在明显差异,与土壤环境密切相关。Shannon多样性指数、Simpson优势度和Pielou均匀度指数与土壤有机质、全氮、碱解氮及含水量呈显著正相关(p0.05)。土壤速效钾含量也是显著影响细菌Shannon多样性、Simpson优势度的重要因素。研究不仅为后期功能菌株的筛选提供了基础,也为塔国不同土地利用方式下土壤环境评价提供了依据。     

青藏高原湖泊沉积物硫酸盐还原菌种群分布

采用聚合酶链式反应(PCR,Polymerase Chain Reaction)、变性梯度凝胶电泳(DGGE,Denaturing Gra-dient Gel Electrophoresis)与实时荧光定量聚合酶链式反应(Q-PCR,Quantitative PCR)相结合的综合分析技术,研究了青藏高原洱海、青海湖、尕海1、尕海2、小柴旦湖沉积物硫酸盐还原菌多样性及丰度。研究结果显示,5个盐湖沉积物中dsrB(编码亚硫酸还原酶β亚基,为硫酸盐还原菌所共有)基因的丰度为每克沉积物1.71×108～1.55×109拷贝,与盐度无明显相关性;所获得的dsrB基因序列分属于3个科:Desulfobacter-aceae,Desulfobulbaceae和Peptococcaceae。其中,Desulfobacteraceae科是主要类群。硫酸盐还原菌多样性(DGGE结果)与盐度呈现出负相关性。故在所研究的盐湖中,盐度可能不是影响硫酸盐还原菌种群分布的唯一因素,可能还受其它未知环境因素的影响,有待于进一步研究。     

Distribution of diatom assemblages and their relationship to environmental variables in the surface sediments of three northern Egyptian lakes

Surficial sediments of three northern Egyptian lakes (Manzala, Burullus and Edku) show differences in diatom assemblages deposited in different sites of these lakes. A total of 172 species and varieties belonging to 58 genera were identified and counted from 62 samples. Of these, 163 diatom taxa were recorded from Manzala Lake sediments, 147 taxa were found in Burullus Lake sediments, and 117 taxa were identified in Edku Lake sediments. The considerable variation in the composition and distribution of the diatom assemblages among these lakes was mainly related to differences in the water quality, salinity, the concentration of nutrients and climatic changes. The planktonic diatom Cyclotella meneghiniana was dominant in the majority of the samples from Manzala Lake, but dominant in only a few samples from the middle parts of Burullus and Edku lakes. The non-planktonic epiphytic taxa Cocconeis placentula and Epithemia sorex were the subdominant species in the surface sediments, especially in shallow and marginal parts of the lakes. Multivariate statistical techniques (hierarchical ascending clustering and canonical correspondence analysis) were used to identify ecological groups of diatoms and to investigate which environmental variables were important in explaining the variation between these groups. Eight ecological groups containing distinctive diatom assemblages reflect current environmental conditions; especially saltwater intrusion in the north and nutrient-rich freshwater in the south.     

柴达木盆地北缘水量增补对盐湖资源及生态环境的影响

柴达木盆地是我国盐湖资源集中分布区,受21世纪暖湿化气候和水量增补的影响,盆地多个盐湖呈现湖面扩张趋势,该过程开始影响盐湖资源离子含量和湖泊生态环境,也对湖区沿线公共基础设施造成一定影响。为了研究湖泊水量增补对盐湖资源及生态环境的影响,选取了柴北缘山前5个湖泊(苏干湖、德宗马海湖、巴仑马海湖、小柴旦湖和托素湖)作为研究对象,开展了2017~2021年湖泊扩张、典型盐湖矿化度和资源元素变化趋势以及对周边基础设施影响的研究。结果表明:1)资源型湖泊湖水淡化和资源品位下降;2)生态型湖泊周边植物群落发生变化(水生植物芦苇扩张、旱生植物白刺和梭梭衰退);3)淹没湖区房屋和旅游道路,危及周边的高速公路等公共基础设施。该研究结果不仅具有为柴达木盆地乃至青藏高原盐湖资源开采和生态环境治理提供科学依据的理论意义,而且具有为青海省基础设施保护和建设提供决策依据的现实意义。     

The phytoplankton of some saline lakes in Central Asia

The Aral Sea, Lake Balkhash, and Lake Kamyslybas are closed lakes in Central Asia. They range from oligosaline to metasaline. The salinity of the Aral Sea has increased by more than 30 g L⁻¹ since widespread irrigation began in its catchment area. Few studies of the phytoplankton have been conducted on these lakes since extensive irrigation started. The investigation reported here compares the flora of phytoplankton in these saline lakes. In the Small Aral Sea, phytoplankton density gradually decreased with increasing electrical conductivity (EC) (∼ salinity), but there was no such relation in Lake Balkhash and Lake Kamyslybas. In the Aral Sea, Dinophyceae and Bacillariophyceae were frequently observed in most areas of high EC value, and Cyanophyceae were most conspicuous in the area of medium and lower EC values. In Lake Balkhash, Cyanophyceae were most conspicuous, but Chlorophyceae were also noticeable. Most Cyanophyceae in Aral Sea formed filaments with heterocysts. The distinct characteristic of the phytoplankton of the Lake Balkhash was that all dominant species form colonies covered with a gelatinous film. Siliceousplankton diversity gradually decreased with increasing EC values in the Aral Sea and Lake Balkhash.     

Microbial Diversity of the Hypersaline Sidi Ameur and Himalatt Salt Lakes of the Algerian Sahara

Microbial populations within hypersaline lakes often exhibit high activities of photosynthesis, dissimilatory sulphate reduction and other processes and, thus, can have profound impacts on biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen, sulphur and other important elements within arid lands. To further understand these types of ecosystems, the physicochemical and biological properties of Sidi Ameur and Himalatt Salt Lakes in the Algerian Sahara were examined and compared. Both lakes were relatively neutral in pH (7.2-7.4) and high in salt, at 12% and 20% (w/v) salinity for Himalatt and Sidi Ameur Lakes, respectively, with dominant ions of sodium and chloride. The community compositions of microbes from all three domains (Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya) were surveyed through the use of 16S and 18S ribosomal gene amplification and clone library clustering using amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) in conjunction with DNA sequencing and analysis. A high level of microbial diversity, particularly among the bacteria of the Himalatt Salt Lake and archaea of Sidi Ameur Lake, was found within these environments. Representatives from all known halophilic bacterial phyla as well as 6 different genera of halophilic archaea were identified. Moreover, several apparently novel phylotypes among both archaea and bacteria were revealed.     

Diatom-salinity relationships in 111 lakes from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia,Canada: the development of diatom-based models for paleosalinity reconstructions

Diatoms were identified and enumerated from the surface sediments of 111 lakes, 45 from the Kamloops region and 66 from the Cariboo/Chilcotin region, located on the southern Interior Plateau of British Columbia, Canada. This paper is an extension of another study which investigated the relationship of diatoms to salinity and ionic composition in 65 lakes from the Cariboo/Chilcotin region. The 111 lakes spanned a large gradient in salinity, ranging from fresh through hypersaline (late-summer salinity values ranged from 0.04 to 369 g l^–1), and included both carbonate- and sulphate-dominated lakes with sodium and magnesium as the dominant cations. The Kamloops region had more sulphate-dominated, hypersaline lakes and fewer carbonate-rich lakes than the Cariboo/Chilcotin region. Most lakes had higher salinities in the late-summer compared to the spring.Both salinity and brine-type were important variables that could explain the different diatom assemblages present in the lakes. The majority of diatom taxa had salinity optima in the freshwater to subsaline range (<3 g l^–1), and the taxa displayed a range of both narrow and broad tolerances along the salinity gradient. Weighted-averaging regression and calibration, and maximum likelihood techniques were used to develop salinity inference models from the diatom assemblages based on their relationship to the spring, late-summer and average lakewater salinity measurements. Simple weighted-averaging (WA) models generally produced the same or lower bootstrapped RMSEs of prediction than weighted-averaging with tolerance downweighting (WA(tol)) in the two regional and the combined datasets. Weighted averaging partial least squares (WA-PLS) showed little or no improvement in the predictive abilities of the datasets, as judged by the jackknifed RMSE of prediction. In all cases, the combined dataset of 102 lakes performed better than either of the smaller regional datasets, with relatively little difference between spring, average and late-summer salinity models. The maximum likelihood models gave lower apparent RMSEs of prediction in comparison to other methods; however, independent validation of this technique using methods such as bootstrapping were not undertaken because of the computer intensive nature of such analyses. These diatom-based salinity models are now available for reconstructing salinity and climatic trends from appropriately chosen closed-basin lakes in the Interior region of British Columbia.This is the second in a series of papers published in this issue on the paleolimnology of arid regions. These papers were presented at the Sixth International Palaeolimnology Symposium held 19–21 April, 1993 at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. Dr A. R. Chivas served as guest editor for these papers.     

Magnetic characteristics of lake sediments in Qiangyong Co Lake,southern Tibetan Plateau and their application to the evaluation of mercury deposition

Heavy metals,one of the most toxic classes of pollutants,are resistant to degradation and harmful to the biological environment.The lakes that have developed on the Tibetan Plateau are ideal regions to investigate historic heavy metal pollution,particularly through the use of the reliable 210 Pb dating technique.Environmental magnetism has been successfully applied to estimate heavy metal pollution in different environmental systems due to its characteristics of simple processing steps,good sensitivity,and non-destructibility.However,it has not yet been applied to assess heavy metal pollution in lake sediments on the Tibetan Plateau.A series of environmental magnetic investigations of Qiangyong Co Lake sediments(southern Tibetan Plateau) was therefore conducted to explore the relationship between magnetic minerals and mercury(Hg) concentrations.The results showed that the magnetic mineral species in lake sediments remained stable,with similar levels of four different components from 1899 to 2011.However,the proportion of component 1(C1,hematite) increased continuously with the corresponding decrease in the proportion of C2(goethite),while the proportions of C3 and C4(magnetite) did not change significantly.As a result,the bulk magnetic signals(e.g.,SIRM and clf) were unsuitable for the evaluation of the Hg concentration;however,the proportion of hematite had a strong positive correlation with the Hg concentration.It is possible that the Qiangyong Glacier(the main water supply for Qiangyong Co Lake) has experienced faster melting with global and local warming,and the Hg trapped in cryoconite and ice was released.Hematite,with a large specific surface area,has a strong capacity for absorbing Hg,and both materials are ultimately transported to Qiangyong Co Lake.The proportion of hematite in a sample is therefore a suitable semi-quantitative proxy that can be used to evaluate the Hg concentration in Qiangyong Co Lake sediments.This study confirmed that the variation of magnetic minerals can provide a new method to estimate the variation of Hg concentrations and to study the process of Hg deposition in lakes in the southern Tibetan Plateau on the basis of a detailed environmental magnetic analysis.     

A weighted-averaging regression and calibration model for inferring lakewater salinity using chrysophycean stomatocysts from lakes in western Canada

Chrysophycean stomatocysts were identified and enumerated from the surface sediments of 60 lakes located on the Interior Plateau of British Columbia. The lakes span a salinity gradient from freshwater to hypersaline (0.0–92.4 g L^–1), with the majority being fresh to hyposaline. One hundred and ten stomatocyst morphotypes, almost all of which were previously described, were identified from the lake sediments. The first axis of direct gradient analysis, which was highly significant, was essentially a salinity axis (i.e. [Ca], [Mg], [K], [Na], [SO₄], [DIC], and [Cl]). Most cysts were found to have fairly broad tolerances, with the narrowest tolerances occurring among morphotypes with the lowest salinity optima. Weighted-averaging regression and calibration techniques were used to develop an inference model to measure the relationship between measured average lakewater salinity and stomatocyst inferred salinity (apparent r²=0.80). Simple weighted-averaging produced a model with a lower bootstrapped RMSE of prediction than weighted-averaging with tolerance downweighting. These data indicate that chrysophyte stomatocysts are useful quantitative indicators of past lakewater salinity (in the freshwater to hyposaline range) in B.C. lakes, and can be used to strengthen the interpretations from diatom-inference models already developed from the same region.     

Sedimentary carbon forms in relation to climate and phytoplankton biomass in a large,shallow, hard-water boreal lake

Carbon storage in lakes can have huge implications for the global carbon cycle, as lakes annually accumulate up to one half the amount of organic carbon buried in marine sediments. Yet little is known of the effect of recent climate change on carbon storage in lakes. We analyzed century-scale time series of climate variables (precipitation, temperature, NAO winter index) and profiles of sediment characteristics in a dated sediment core from shallow, eutrophic Lake Võrtsjärv, south Estonia. We used path analysis to evaluate the effect of climate conditions on phytoplankton biomass in the lake and accumulation of organic and inorganic carbon in the sediment. Changes in winter and spring climate influenced the lake’s phytoplankton growth significantly. Carbon pathways in hard-water Lake Võrtsjärv were influenced by both hydrological (most significant in colder periods) and biogeochemical processes. Increased nutrient and water input to Lake Võrtsjärv, anticipated with projected climate warming, favours greater in-lake productivity, larger accumulation of inorganic carbon in sediments, and an increase in organic carbon mineralisation, which fuels atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions from the lake.