Littoral benthos of the saline crater lakes of the basin of Oriental, Mexico

Two saline crater lakes in the basin of Oriental, Puebla-Tlaxcala-Veracruz, were investigated for littoral benthic macroinvertebrates. Fifty taxa were identified with the oligochaetes, amphipods, chironomids and leeches the dominant organisms. These four taxa made up to 99 per cent in both number and biomass.Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri, Hyalella azteca, Tanypus (Apelopia) sp. andStictochironomus sp. were the most abundant organisms. Unlike other saline lakes which have a littoral benthos dominated by chironomids, Alchichica and Atexcac were dominated by oligochaetes (70–73 per cent). The gastropod,Physa sp., was found up to a salinity of 8 g L⁻¹; in other studies, it has been found in lower salinities.L. hoffmeisteri is also a typical inhabitant of freshwater lakes, particularly of deep waters. It was dominant in the shallow, saline waters of the two lakes studied. Salinity did not affect species richness. Alchichica, the most saline of the six crater lakes of Puebla (salinity, 7.4 g L⁻¹), had 30 per cent more species than the freshwater lakes, and double the species number of Atexcac. It seems the main factor controlling species richness and the density and biomass of organisms in Alchichica and Atexcac is the presence of aquatic vegetation. It does this by increasing habitat heterogeneity and providing food and protection against predators.     

Carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition of different strains ofArtemia sp

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios have been determined on 41 strains ofArtemia sp. from different geographic regions around the world. The δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values ranged between −13.7 to−25.0 per mil and −0.7 to 21.2 per mil respectively.Artemia δ¹³C values from coastal environments are consistent with a marine origin for the food sourceArtemia from inland salt lakes have a range of carbon isotope values suggesting C₃, C₄ and CAM based organic matter could form the base of theArtemia food chain. These data indicate thatArtemia having a wide range of carbon and nitrogen isotope values are available for tropho-dynamic research studies that quantify the effect of respired CO₂ on tissue and CaCO₃ shell¹³C/¹²C ratios. Such stable isotope variation also suggests that stable isotope fingerprinting remains a viable technique for identifying specificArtemia collection sites.     

Impacts of Coal-Fired Power Plants on Trace Metals and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Lake Sediments in Central Alberta, Canada

Trace metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were analyzed in sediment cores from three central Alberta lakes to determine the contributions of local coal-fired power plants to contaminant loadings. In Wabamun Lake, with four power plants built since 1950 within a 35-km radius, sediment concentrations of mercury, copper, lead, arsenic and selenium have increased by 1.2- to 4-fold. Trace metal enrichments were less pronounced in Lac Ste. Anne and Pigeon Lake, situated 20 km north and 70 km south of Wabamun Lake, respectively. Total Hg flux to Wabamun Lake sediments (21–32μg m⁻² yr⁻¹) has increased 6-fold since 1950, compared to 2- and 1.5-fold increases in Lac Ste. Anne and Pigeon Lake, respectively, since circa 1900. Total PAH flux to surface sediments was 730–1100μg m⁻² yr⁻¹ in Wabamun Lake, 290–420μg m⁻² yr⁻¹ in Lac Ste. Anne, and 140–240μg m⁻² yr⁻¹ in Pigeon Lake. Without adoption of pollution-abatement technology that compensates for increases in generating capacity, continued expansion of coal-burning industry in Alberta will result in increased contaminant deposition, primarily from local sources.     

Zooplankton distribution and abundance in saline lakes of British Columbia,Canada

Zooplankton in saline lakes of the Southern Interior Plateau of British Columbia were collected on three occasions: mid-May and early August, 1990, and in late July, 1991. Salinities ranged from 2.6 to 45.8 g L⁻¹. Of the 17 lakes examined, 13 were hyposaline (∼-20g L⁻¹), four, mesosaline (20–50 g L⁻¹) and none, hypersaline (>50 g L⁻¹). pH ranged from 8.7 (Three Mile) to 10.7 (Goodenough), with values <9.6 in 10, and <9.0 in only three lakes. Lakes with high pHs had high bicarbonate-carbonate alkalinities. Thirty one species of zooplankton occurred: Protista (1), Rotifera (13), Anostraca (2), Cladocera (7), Ostracoda (1) and Copepoda (7). Sixteen species were restricted to hyposaline waters, with seven found only in salinities of ≤5 gL⁻¹. Two species (Diaptomus connexus, Artemia franciscana) were restricted to mesosaline waters of salinity >35 g L⁻¹. Eurysaline species includedBrachionus plicatilis, Hexarthra fennica, Limnocythere staplini, Artemia franciscana andDiaptomus connexus. Most species were abundant in 1+ lakes, but six species always had low populations.B. plicatilis, Hexarthra polyodonta, A. franciscana, Limnocythere staplini, Daphnia similis andD. connexus had densest populations in one or more of the three most saline lakes, viz. Long, Goodenough and Three Mile. Cladocerans other thanD. similis (Alona sp., Ceriodaphnia quadrangula, Daphnia pulex) were usually abundant in lakes of low salinity (<5 g L⁻¹).Diatomus sicilis, present in all except the three most saline lakes, also occurred in abundance in ten of these lakes.Moina hutchinsoni andH. polyodonta were present in both hyposaline and mesosaline lakes, but, more importantly, tended to occur only at higher pH values (>pH 9.4) but not in all such lakes. These can be regarded as alkaline-saline species. Sorensen’s Coefficient of Community Similarity was used to compare communities in Alberta-Saskatchewan and British Columbia. It was low (0.37). A comparison restricted to just Cladocera gave a slightly higher value, 0.44, but a comparison of Copepoda gave a value of 71 per cent similarity between the regions. Multiple regression analyses using pH, TDS and K regressed on species richness for all samples accounted for only 41 per cent of the variance. However, when the analysis was seasonally restricted (May), and thus to a limited chemical range, 47 to 77.5 per cent of the variance was accounted for by these three variables.     

Cladocera as indicators of trophic state in Irish lakes

We examined the impact of lake trophic state on the taxonomic and functional structure of cladoceran communities and the role of nutrient loading in structuring both cladoceran and diatom communities. Surface sediment assemblages from 33 Irish lakes were analysed along a gradient of total phosphorus concentration (TP; 4.0–142.3 μg l⁻¹), using a variety of statistical approaches including ordination, calibration and variance partitioning. Ordination showed that the taxonomic structure of the cladoceran community displayed the strongest response to changes in lake trophic state, among 17 measured environmental variables. Trophic state variables chlorophyll-a and TP explained about 20% of the variance in both cladoceran and diatom assemblages from a set of 31 lakes. Procrustes analysis also showed significant concordance in the structure of cladoceran and diatom communities (P < 0.001). Thus, lake trophic state affects the taxonomic structure of both primary and secondary producers in our study lakes. We also found a significant decrease in relative abundance of taxa associated with both macrophytes and sediments, or sediments only, along the TP gradient (r = −0.49, P = 0.006, n = 30), as well as an increase in the proportion of the planktonic group (r = 0.43, P = 0.017, n = 30). This suggests that cladoceran community structure may also be shaped by lake trophic state indirectly, by affecting habitat properties. We found no relationship between lake trophic state and the relative abundance of each of three cladoceran groups that display different body size. We compared community structure between bottom and top sediment samples in cores from six Irish lakes. Results revealed similar trajectories of nutrient enrichment over time, as well as a strong shift in cladoceran functional structure in most systems. This study confirms that Cladocera remains in lake sediments are reliable indicators of lake trophic state. This study also highlights the fact that taxonomic and functional structure should both be considered to account for the multiple factors that shape cladoceran communities.     

500 years of trophic-state history of a hypertrophic Dutch dike-breach lake

We present a palaeolimnological study encompassing five centuries of trophic-state change of the dike-breach lake De Waay located on the Rhine-Meuse delta (the Netherlands). Diatom-inferred total phosphorus (TP) concentrations indicate hypertrophic epilimnetic conditions (>300 μg l⁻¹ TP) since the formation of the lake in the fifteenth century until the end of the eighteenth century. Cladocera data support the reconstructed trophic state and indicate turbid conditions in lake De Waay during this period. High inferred TP concentrations as well as the amount of Ti in the sediment reflect numerous flooding events. From the nineteenth century onwards reconstructed TP concentrations decreased to 40–150 μg l⁻¹ due to improvements in sewage and dike systems that considerably diminished direct river flooding and seepage-derived nutrients. As a consequence, the increased stability of littoral habitats led to an increased diversity of the Cladocera assemblages. The most significant decrease in TP concentrations to ~40 μg l⁻¹ occurred between about 1900 and 1930. This mesotrophic phase was a consequence of the isolation of the lake from catchment drainage and the introduction of a highly elaborate flood control during this period. However, since the mid twentieth century a eutrophication trend is preserved in the record, likely related to increased agricultural activity in the vicinity of the lake. Our results emphasize that land-use and trophic-state history must be taken into account when evaluating the ecological status of lakes for water management and protection actions, especially for lakes in landscapes that are strongly modified by human action.     

Evaporative enrichment of oxygen-18 and deuterium in lake waters on the Tibetan Plateau

Stable isotopes (δ¹⁸O and δD) are useful tracers for investigating hydrologic and climatic variability on a variety of temporal and spatial scales. Since the early isotopic studies on mountainous glaciers in the late 1960s, a great deal of information has been generated on the isotopic composition of rainfall, snow, ice, surface waters, and lake carbonate sediments across the Tibetan Plateau. However, measurements of δ¹⁸O and δD values of lake water are scarce. Here we present a new dataset of δ¹⁸O and δD values of lake waters collected from 27 lakes across the plateau during a reconnaissance survey in summer 2009. δ¹⁸O and δD values of lake water range from −19.9 to 6.6‰ and from −153 to −16‰, respectively. The average values of δ¹⁸O and δD are −6.4 and −72‰, considerably greater than those of precipitation observed in this region. The derived Tibetan lake water line, δD = 5.2δ¹⁸O − 38.9, is significantly different from the global meteoric water line. Most of the lakes, including some freshwater lakes, contain water with negative values of d-excess (d). There is a negative correlation between d and total dissolved solids (TDS). Each of these findings indicates that evaporation-induced isotopic enrichment prevails in Tibetan lakes. Moreover, we develop an isotope modeling scheme to calculate E/P ratios for Tibetan lakes, using a combination of existing isotopic fractionation equations and the Rayleigh distillation model. We use the intersection of the local evaporation line and GMWL as a first approximation of δ¹⁸O and δD values of lake water inputs to infer an E/P ratio for each lake. Our modeling calculations reveal that although variable from lake to lake, the water budget across the plateau is positive, with an average E/P of 0.52. This is in good agreement with other observational and model data that show varying degrees of increases in lake size from satellite imagery and significant decreases in lake salinity in many lakes on the plateau over the last several decades. Together with the new isotopic dataset, the proposed modeling framework can be used to examine and quantify past changes in a lake’s hydrologic balance from the isotopic record of downcore carbonate sediments in the region.     

Potential salinity limitations on nitrogen fixation in sediments from Mono Lake, California

Mono Lake is a hypersaline alkaline lake in the high altitude Great Basin desert of eastern California. Algal productivity of the lake is nitrogen-limited, and a contributing source is derived from benthic nitrogen fixation. Lake level and salinity have fluctuated with natural climatic variations but have also been affected by the diversion of tributary streams. This research examines the influence of varied salinity and lake level on the potential for benthic nitrogen fixation in Mono Lake. A sediment-surface microbial mat community was exposed directly, and in acclimated cultures, to a range of Mono Lake salinities under anaerobic incubations and the activity of nitrogenase assayed by acetylene reduction. Activity was stimulated in light, but also occurred in darkness. Over an experimental salinity range from 50 to 150 g L⁻¹ TDS, nitrogenase activity was reduced by 90 per cent, with the activity persisting at the highest salinity being attributable to dark fixation alone. Between a salinity of 50 g L⁻¹, occurring in Mono Lake over 50 years ago, and 100 g L⁻¹, nitrogenase activity was reduced by nearly half. Changes in the area of the littoral zone at varied lake levels also affect the total amount of potential benthic nitrogen fixation in the lake. An accounting of yearly inputs of nitrogen to Mono Lake suggests N₂-fixation could contribute as much as 76–81 percent of the total. Inhibition of nitrogen fixation rates by increased salinity could limit the long-term nutrient supply and benthic primary productivity of this ecosystem.     

Zooplankton distribution and abundance in saline lakes of Alberta and Saskatchewan,Canada

Zooplankton collections were made during 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1989 from 17 lakes in Saskatchewan and 3 in Alberta. Salinity ranged from 2.8 to 269 g L⁻¹ (total filtrable residue). A total of 35 species was present in four taxa: Anostraca (3 species), Cladocera (11), Copepoda (7) and Rotifera (14). Species richness was greatest at salinities <7 g L⁻¹ (15–16 species). Lakes with salinities between 7 and 100 g L⁻¹ generally had 6–8 zooplankton species, while the most saline lakes (>100 g L⁻¹) had 2–5 species. The largest concentrations of zooplankton occurred at <30 g L⁻¹, but some species (Brachionus plicatilis, Hexarthra polyodonta, Artemia franciscana, Diaptomus connexus) were abundant at salinities >50 g L⁻¹. Eurysaline species included the rotifersAsplanchna girodi (3–111 g L⁻¹),Brachionus plicatilis (13–146) andKeratella quadrata (2.8–103).Artemia franciscana (33–269—but absent from Big Quill Lake, 49–82),Daphnia similis (3–104).D. connexus (9–82),Diacyclops thomasi (3–72), andCletocamptus albuquerquensis (17 to 126—but never abundant in the plankton). About half the species were restricted to hyposaline waters (3–20 g L⁻¹), but some (Hexarthra fennica, Moina hutchinsoni, Hexarthra polyodonta) occurred only at intermediate salinities. The latter two species were also only present at high pH values (>9.2). There was a trend of decreasing species richness with increasing salinity. TWINSPAN classification of 94 lake samples (six parameters) based on zooplankton species abundances yielded a dendrogram with 14 ‘indicator’ species characteristic of seven lake groups related partly to a salinity gradient, but with other environmental factors such as water column depth, pH, Secchi disk transparency, water temperature and month sampled also influenced lake separation. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** A02GG004 00002     

Lake Sediment Core Records of Sulphur Accumulation and Sulphur Isotopic Composition in Central Ontario, Canada Lakes

Stable isotopic compositions and concentrations of total sedimentary sulphur (S) were determined in cores from 6 lakes in the acid-sensitive Muskoka-Haliburton region of south-central Ontario. The isotopic composition of S in deep sediment (> ~ 20 cm) was approximately constant in all lakes, and indicated a pre-industrial δ ³⁴S value between +4.0 and +5.3‰, which is similar to current bulk deposition. Similarly, total S concentrations in deep sediment were relatively low (1.9–5 mg S g⁻¹ dwt) and approximately constant with depth within cores. All lakes exhibited up-core increases in total S and decreases in δ ³⁴S at a depth corresponding to the beginning of industrialization in the Great Lakes region ( ~ 1900), resulting in a generally reciprocal depth pattern between total S concentration and δ ³⁴S ratios. While initial shifts in total S and δ ³⁴S were likely due to enhanced SO₄ reduction of newly available anthropogenic SO₄, both the magnitude and pattern of up-core S enrichment and shifts in δ ³⁴S varied greatly among lakes, and did not match changes in S deposition post 1900. Differences between lakes in total S and δ ³⁴S were not related to any single hydrologic (e.g., residence time) or physical (e.g., catchment-area-to-lake area ratio) lake characteristic. This work indicates that sediment cores do not provide consistent records of changes in post-industrial S deposition in this region, likely due to redox-related mobility of S in upper sediment.     

Biogeochemical records of paleoenvironmental changes in Nainital Lake,Kumaun Himalayas,India

Rapid urbanization and increased tourism around Nainital Lake in the Kumaun Himalayan region in north India has raised concerns about sediment and water pollution. Lead-210 dated sediment cores from the lake represent ~95 years of accumulation and yield a mean sedimentation rate of ~4.7 mm year⁻¹. Total organic carbon (TOC), percent N and S and their atomic C/N and C/S ratios, stable isotopes (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and δ³⁴S), and specific biomarkers (n-alkanes and pigments) were measured in the core. Organic matter is primarily derived from in-lake algal production and TOC flux varies from 1.0 to 3.5 g m⁻² year⁻¹. Sediments are anoxic (Eh −328 to −187 mV) and have low (0.10–0.30 g m⁻² year⁻¹) N, but high (0.37–1.0 g m⁻² year⁻¹) S flux. Shifts in δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and δ³⁴S suggest in-lake microbial processes dominated by denitrification and sulfate reduction. The sediments are dominated by short-chain hydrocarbons with low Carbon Preference Index values. The pigments indicate a gradual shift to cyanobacterial domination of the phytoplankton community in recent years. Despite an increase in external input of nutrients, the trophic state of the lake has remained largely unchanged, and the perceived human-induced impacts are limited.     

Chemical composition of saline and subsaline lakes of the northern Great Plains,western Canada

The northern Great Plains of Canada stretch from the Precambrian Shield near Winnipeg, Manitoba, westward for ∼1,700 km to the Rocky Mountains foothills. This vast region of flat to gently rolling terrain contains a very large number of salt lakes. Major ion chemical data on ∼500 of them are available. Although the average brine (salinity, 37 ppt) is a Na⁺−SO₄ ²⁻ type of water, the lakes exhibit a wide range of salinities and ionic compositions. This diversity is confirmed by Q-mode cluster analysis; it identified thirteen major water chemistry types. Most ions display distinct trends, both spatially and with increasing salinity. All dissolved components increase with increasing salinity, but at different rates. The relative proportions of Ca²⁺ and HCO₃ ⁻+CO₃ ²⁻ ions show a strong decrease with increasing brine salinity, whereas SO₄ ²⁻ ions increase with increasing salinity. The ionic proportions of Na⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺ and Cl⁻ exhibit no significant relationship with salinity. R-mode factor analysis of the lake water chemistry, combined with selected environmental parameters, identifies groundwater composition, climate, and the elevation of the lake within the drainage system as most important in controlling brine chemistry and salinity on a regional basis. Variability in source of ions, reaction processes and products are undoubtedly key factors in helping to explain brine chemistry of an individual basin or variation from a local perspective, but these factors are generally poorly understood and not quantified on a regional basis. Palliser Triangle Global Change Project Contribution Number 3.     

Macroinvertebrate communities in two salt affected tributaries of the Hopkins Rives,Victoria

Macroinvertebrate communities were studied in two saline tributaries of the Hopkins River, western Victoria. Monthly sampling from May to August, 1990, showed the mean salinity of Bushy Creek was 5 g L⁻¹ while in Back Creek mean salinity varied from 9 to 20 g L⁻¹ between sites. Macroinvertebrate species richness and relative abundance were measured on each sampling occasion. Cluster analysis showed that community composition varied between creeks and between sites within a creek. Bushy Creek sites were more similar to each other than to Back Creek sites. A negative relationship was found between site salinity and species richness over the range 4 to 26 g L⁻¹, although there was a wide range of salinity (up to 12 g L⁻¹) over which the relationship of species richness to salinity was not clear cut. The effects of salinity on species richness in stream communities appear to be similar to that described elsewhere in salt lakes.     

A caveat regarding diatom-inferred nitrogen concentrations in oligotrophic lakes

Atmospheric deposition of reactive nitrogen (Nr) has enriched oligotrophic lakes with nitrogen (N) in many regions of the world and elicited dramatic changes in diatom community structure. The lakewater concentrations of nitrate that cause these community changes remain unclear, raising interest in the development of diatom-based transfer functions to infer nitrate. We developed a diatom calibration set using surface sediment samples from 46 high-elevation lakes across the Rocky Mountains of the western US, a region spanning an N deposition gradient from very low to moderate levels (<1 to 3.2 kg Nr ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ in wet deposition). Out of the fourteen measured environmental variables for these 46 lakes, ordination analysis identified that nitrate, specific conductance, total phosphorus, and hypolimnetic water temperature were related to diatom distributions. A transfer function was developed for nitrate and applied to a sedimentary diatom profile from Heart Lake in the central Rockies. The model coefficient of determination (bootstrapping validation) of 0.61 suggested potential for diatom-inferred reconstructions of lakewater nitrate concentrations over time, but a comparison of observed versus diatom-inferred nitrate values revealed the poor performance of this model at low nitrate concentrations. Resource physiology experiments revealed that nitrogen requirements of two key taxa were opposite to nitrate optima defined in the transfer function. Our data set reveals two underlying ecological constraints that impede the development of nitrate transfer functions in oligotrophic lakes: (1) even in lakes with nitrate concentrations below quantification (<1 μg L⁻¹), diatom assemblages were already dominated by species indicative of moderate N enrichment; (2) N-limited oligotrophic lakes switch to P limitation after receiving only modest inputs of reactive N, shifting the controls on diatom species changes along the length of the nitrate gradient. These constraints suggest that quantitative inferences of nitrate from diatom assemblages will likely require experimental approaches.     

Present Limnological Conditions and Recent (ca. 340 yr) Palaeolimnology of a Tropical Lake in the Sierra de Los Tuxtlas, Eastern Mexico

The Sierra de Los Tuxtlas is a recently active volcanic field, with eruptions in 1664 and 1792. It holds one of the reserves of tropical evergreen forest in Mexico, as well as several maar lakes. One of them, Lago Verde, was chosen for a three-fold study (1) on its present limnological conditions, (2) on the algal community living in the water column and preserved in the surface sediments; and (3) on its recent history (ca. 340 yr). The palaeolimnological study was based on multiproxy analyses on core material dated by ²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs and ¹⁴C. Lago Verde is a small, shallow lake with dilute, slightly alkaline water (CO₃²⁻ + HCO₃⁻ > Cl⁻ > SO₄²⁻, Na⁺ + K⁺ > Ca²⁺ > Mg²⁺). It is turbid, eutrophic, with high phosphorus levels. It is a warm polymictic lake, with thermal and oxygen stratification establishing by midday during the warm months. The lake does not stratify in winter. Diatoms dominate the phytoplankton community in the cold ‘nortes’ season, Cyanobacteria in summer, and Chlorophyta in autumn. Cyanobacteria (Chroococcales) are not well preserved in the surface sediments while Chlorophyta are better preserved. Sedimentary diatoms are well preserved, dominated by the three most abundant species in the water column: Achnanthidium minutissimum, Fragilaria capucina and Aulacoseira granulata. The base of the studied sequences is constrained by the historic eruption of 1664. The period from 1664 to 1963 is characterised by a meso-eutrophic lake. Tropical Forest vegetation reaches maximum values between ca. 1800 and 1963. Between ca. 1785 and 1885 the lake was slightly shallower than in the rest of the 1664–1963 period, probably recording climatic variability. An early pulse of anthropogenic disturbance was recorded by ca. 1921 and after ca. 1963 intense forest clearance and high erosion rates led to a more turbid, more productive, nutrient-rich lake. The highest anthropogenic impact was reached by ca. 1988; afterwards the lake and its basin reached a new balance, with the establishment of the present modern conditions.     

Environmental variability in Lake Naivasha,Kenya, over the last two centuries

Lake Naivasha, Kenya, is one of a number of freshwater lakes in the East African Rift System. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, it has experienced greater anthropogenic influence as a result of increasingly intensive farming of coffee, tea, flowers, and other horticultural crops within its catchment. The water-level history of Lake Naivasha over the past 200 years was derived from a combination of instrumental records and sediment data. In this study, we analysed diatoms in a lake sediment core to infer past lacustrine conductivity and total phosphorus concentrations. We also measured total nitrogen and carbon concentrations in the sediments. Core chronology was established by ²¹⁰Pb dating and covered a ~186-year history of natural (climatic) and human-induced environmental changes. Three stratigraphic zones in the core were identified using diatom assemblages. There was a change from littoral/epiphytic diatoms such as Gomphonema gracile and Cymbella muelleri, which occurred during a prolonged dry period from ca. 1820 to 1896 AD, through a transition period, to the present planktonic Aulacoseira sp. that favors nutrient-rich waters. This marked change in the diatom assemblage was caused by climate change, and later a strong anthropogenic overprint on the lake system. Increases in sediment accumulation rates since 1928, from 0.01 to 0.08 g cm⁻² year⁻¹ correlate with an increase in diatom-inferred total phosphorus concentrations since the beginning of the twentieth century. The increase in phosphorus accumulation suggests increasing eutrophication of freshwater Lake Naivasha. This study identified two major periods in the lake’s history: (1) the period from 1820 to 1950 AD, during which the lake was affected mainly by natural climate variations, and (2) the period since 1950, during which the effects of anthropogenic activity overprinted those of natural climate variation.     

Sediment accumulation rates in European lakes since AD 1850: trends,reference conditions and exceedence

Sediment accumulation rate (SAR) is an important physical parameter in all lakes and increases have been observed in many over the last c.100 years. This has been ascribed to changes in land-use and land-management causing accelerated catchment soil erosion and an increase in autochthonous organic matter production. The EU Water Framework Directive requires that assessment of biological, hydromorphological and chemical elements of water quality should be based on the degree to which present day conditions deviate from those expected in the absence of significant anthropogenic influence, termed reference conditions. Currently however, the reference condition for sediment accumulation rate for lakes of different types is undefined. To improve our understanding of the controls on SARs we compiled SAR and lake typology data for 207 European lakes derived from ²¹⁰Pb dated cores to assess how rates have changed through time (in 25 year classes) both overall and for lakes of different types. Seventy-one percent of these sediment cores showed surface SARs higher than “basal” (mainly nineteenth century) rates, 11% showed no change while 18% showed a decline. Lakes were then classified into lake-types using four variables: alkalinity (3 classes), altitude (3 classes), maximum depth (2 classes) and lake area (2 classes). This generated a possible 36 lake classes of which 25 were represented in the dataset. Nine lake-types contained >10 lakes. Little change in SAR occurred prior to 1900 and most increases occurred in more recent periods, in particular 1950–1975 and post-1975. This indicates a general acceleration in SAR in European lakes during the second half of the twentieth century. Reference SARs were estimated for six lake-types with the highest number of sites. European mountain lakes had the lowest reference SAR (0.005 ± 0.003 g cm⁻² yr⁻¹) while lowland, high alkalinity sites had the highest (0.03–0.04 g cm⁻² yr⁻¹). SARs for other lake-types ranged between 0.012 and 0.024 g cm⁻² yr⁻¹. Using the mountain lake-type as an example, the 1850 reference SAR appears to show good agreement with available data for lakes beyond Europe indicating these values may be more broadly applicable. Contemporary SARs in lakes of all classes showed exceedence over their defined reference SAR. This may be partly due to diagenetic processes. Greatest exceedences were found in shallow, low altitude lakes and these are considered to be the ones under the greatest threat from continued elevation of SAR. It is considered that climate change may play a progressively more important role in driving SAR in the future.     

Fossil chironomid δ<Superscript>13</Superscript>C as a proxy for past methanogenic contribution to benthic food webs in lakes?

We used a series of experiments to determine whether stable carbon isotope analysis of modern and fossil larval head capsules of chironomids allowed identification of their dietary carbon source. Our main focus was to assess whether carbon from naturally ¹³C-depleted methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) can be traced in chironomid cuticles using stable carbon isotope analysis. We first showed that a minimum sample weight of ~20 μg was required for our equipment to determine head capsule δ¹³C with a standard deviation of 0.5‰. Such a small minimum sample weight allows taxon-specific δ¹³C analyses at a precision sufficient to differentiate whether head capsules consist mainly of carbon derived from MOB or from other food sources commonly encountered in lake ecosystems. We then tested the effect of different chemical pre-treatments that are commonly used for sediment processing on δ¹³C measurements on head capsules. Processing with 10% KOH (2 h), 10% HCl (2 h), or 40% HF (18 h) showed no detectable effect on δ¹³C, whereas a combination of boiling, accelerated solvent extraction and heavy chemical oxidation resulted in a small (0.2‰) but statistically significant decrease in δ¹³C values. Using culturing experiments with MOB grown on ¹³C-labelled methane, we demonstrated that methanogenic carbon is transferred not only into the larval tissue, but also into chironomid head capsules. Taxon-specific δ¹³C of fossil chironomid head capsules from different lake sediments was analyzed. δ¹³C of head capsules generally ranged from −28 to −25.8‰, but in some instances we observed δ¹³C values as low as −36.9 to −31.5‰, suggesting that carbon from MOB is traceable in fossil and subfossil chironomid remains. We demonstrate that stable carbon isotope analyses of fossil chironomid head capsules can give insights into dietary links and carbon cycling in benthic food webs in the past and that the method has the potential to reconstruct the importance of MOB in the palaeo-diet of chironomid larvae and, indirectly, to infer past changes in methane flux at the sediment water interface in lakes.     

Paleoecological evidence of major declines in total organic carbon concentrations since the nineteenth century in four nemoboreal lakes

A decade of widespread increases in surface water concentrations of total organic carbon (TOC) in some regions has raised questions about longer term patterns in this important constituent of water chemistry. This study uses near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to infer lake water TOC far beyond the decade or two of observational data generally available. An expanded calibration dataset of 140 lakes across Sweden covering a TOC gradient from 0.7 to 24.7 mg L⁻¹ was used to establish a relationship between the NIRS signal from surface sediments (0–0.5 cm) and the TOC concentration of the water mass. Internal cross-validation of the model resulted in an R ² of 0.72 with a root mean squared error of calibration (RMSECV) of 2.6 mg L⁻¹. The TOC concentrations reconstructed from surface sediments in four Swedish lakes were typically within the range of concentrations observed in the monitoring data during the period represented by each sediment layer. TOC reconstructions from the full sediment cores of four lakes indicated that TOC concentrations were approximately twice as high a century ago.