Role of carotenoids in lake sediments for reconstructing trophic history during the late Quaternary

Cultural eutrophication of lakes occurring over the last 100 years is well known. Less well known is the eutrophication of lakes in earlier, late Quaternary time due to human and other causes. The recent and earlier trophic changes are documented in the sedimentary record by several groups of parameters. Among the most revealing of these are the diverse carotenoid pigments that originate from phytoplankton, photosynthetic bacteria, and other biota. The interpretation of the carotenoids in ancient sediments is facilitated by the study of carotenoids in recent sediments from lakes with relevant limnological and historical information. I support these contentions with evidence from several Swiss lakes, with emphasis on the late Quaternary development of Pfaffikersee and Soppensee.This is the eighth of a series of papers to be published by this journal that was presented in the paleolimnology sessions organized by R. B. Davis and H. Löffler for the XIIth Congress of the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA), which took place in Ottawa, Canada in August 1987. Drs. Davis and Löffler are serving as guest editors of this series.