Phantom midge-based models for inferring past fish abundances

We sampled living and subfossil phantom midge (Diptera: Chaoboridae) larvae from surface sediments of 21 small lakes in Southern Sweden to examine the influence of fish and selected abiotic variables on the abundance and species composition of chaoborid assemblages. We expected total Chaoborus abundance to be inversely correlated with fish abundance and Chaoborus species most sensitive to fish predation to be found only in fishless lakes. We aimed to use the observed relationships to develop models to reconstruct past fish abundances from chaoborid remains and the abiotic environment. C. flavicans occurred in almost every lake, whereas subfossil C. obscuripes were found in the surface sediments of only one fishless lake. The density of living C. flavicans larvae correlated negatively with fish abundance, lake order and size. The concentration of C. flavicans subfossils was negatively associated with pH, lake size, water transparency and fish abundance. Regression models that included lake morphometry and landscape position as additional predictors of fish abundance performed better than models that used only Chaoborus predictors. The explained variance in fish abundance varied from 52 to 86%. Leave-one-out cross-validation indicated moderate performance of the two best models. These models explained 51 and 56% of the observed untransformed fish density and biomass, respectively. In addition, all Chaoborus models were unbiased in closely following the 1:1 reference line in plots of observed versus predicted values. These results are a promising step in developing midge-based paleolimnological reconstructions of past fish abundance, and the approach might be improved by including chironomid remains in the models.     

Use of subfossil <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chaoborus</Emphasis> mandibles in models for inferring past hypolimnetic oxygen

Assemblages of subfossil Chaoboridae mandibles from 80 thermally-stratified shield lakes in southern central Canada were examined to explore the influence of subfossil Chaoborus on subfossil Chironomidae-based paleolimnological inference models of deepwater oxygen, as volume-weighted hypolimnetic oxygen (VWHO). Inclusion of subfossil Chaoborus in subfossil Chironomidae-based VWHO models only improved model performance modestly, however it produced substantively better inferences of hypolimnetic oxygen in anoxic lakes, because Chaoborus had a much stronger positive relationship with low VWHO compared to chironomid taxa indicative of anoxic conditions, such as Chironomus. A Chaoborus mandible:Chironomidae head capsule ratio (chaob:chir) may be a useful index in paleolimnological studies, as chaob:chir in a surface sediment training set was significantly related to VWHO, and displayed little co-variation with other limnological variables such as trophic status (e.g. TP, TN) or lake depth (e.g. Z _max). Chaob:chir values in a stratigraphic analysis tracked chironomid-inferred VWHO, however the use of chaob:chir in regional ‘top–bottom’ paleolimnological studies must be used with caution.     

Chaoborus (Diptera: Chaoboridae) mandibles—paleolimnological indicators of the historical status of fish populations in acid-sensitive lakes

Paleolimnological analyses of Chaoborus mandibles were used to assess the status of fish populations over the previous 150 to 300 years in five lakes from the Adirondack region of New York State. Windfall Pond (pH 6.5) has not acidified and currently has viable fish populations. Big Moose Lake (pH 5.0) has acidified in recent years, and the number of fish populations declined from 14 in the 1930's to seven in the early 1980's. The occurrence of only migratory Chaoborus (subgenus Sayomyia) in the cores indicated the long term presence of fish populations in Windfall Pond and Big Moose Lake. Brooktrout Lake (pH 5.0), Deep Lake (pH 4.7) and Upper Wallface Pond (pH 4.8) have all acidified in recent years, and all three are currently fishless. Chaoborus (Sayomyia) was present throughout the Brooktrout Lake core, but the entirely limnetic species, C. americanus, appeared in the topmost interval in the core. The appearance of C. americanus in the top of the core indicated a recent elimination of fish from Brooktrout Lake, probably during the 1970's. Elimination of fish by the 1940's was inferred for Deep Lake because C. americanus appeared above the 1930 level and replaced C. trivittatus as the dominant. Dominance of C. americanus throughout the Upper Wallface Pond core indicated that planktivorous fish were never present. These results strongly suggest that stratigraphic analyses of Chaoborus mandibles provide a useful assessment of the general status of historical fish populations in Adirondack lakes. The technique should be useful in other regions, as well as for applications other than those concerning lake acidification.This is the eleventh of a series of papers to be published by this journal which is a contribution of the Paleoecological Investigation of Recent Lake Acidification (PIRLA) project. Drs. D.F. Charles and D.R. Whitehead are guest editors for this series.     

Fossil midge associations and the historical status of fish in acidified lakes

Chaoborid and chironomid (Diptera) fossils were examined in sediment cores form nine Ontario Precambrian Shield lakes that were fishless in 1979. An abundance of Chaoborus americamus (intolerant of predation by fish) throughout cores from four lakes indicated that they were fishless historically. Occurrence of Chaoborus punctipennis and C. flavicans and absence of C. americanus in cores, except near the surface in two cases, indicated that four other lakes were inhabited by fish historically. One of these was probably periodically fishless as suggested by fluctuations among these Chaoborus species. The ninth lake was not suitable for Chaoborus; only one specimen of C. trivittatus was found in this core. Chironomid fossil associations were substantially different in historically fishless and inhabited lakes. Fishless lakes had chironomids typical of eutrophic conditions indicating that seasonal oxygen depletion likely was inimical to fish. Chironomid associations of oligotrophic waters occurred in lakes historically inhabited by fish. Both good water quality and accessibility were required for long-term habitation by fish. Partial recovery of alkalinity and rise in pH were accompanied by substantial re-invasion by fish in two lakes which had been inhabited historically by fish. Diptera associations provide valuable information on the historical suitability of lakes for fish and the presence/absence of fish in regions where acidification of surface waters has occurred.     

The use of egg shells to infer the historical presence of copepods in alpine lakes

Copepods (Class Crustacea, Order Copepoda) are rarely included in paleoecological studies of lakes because they lack long-lasting exoskeletal remains. We describe the remains of eggs (egg shells) from Hesperodiaptomus copepods that are well preserved and abundant in alpine lake sediments. We demonstrate that the egg shells are the remains of Hesperodiaptomus eggs based on (i) the similar size and morphology of egg shells collected from sediments and those produced from the hatching of eggs obtained from laboratory-maintained Hesperodiaptomus, and (ii) the finding that diapausing eggs collected from lake sediments and hatched in the laboratory produced copepod nauplii that were morphologically indistinguishable from those hatched from eggs produced by laboratory-maintained Hesperodiaptomus. Egg shells were approximately two orders of magnitude more abundant in sediment cores than were viable diapausing eggs, making egg shells superior to viable diapausing eggs for quantifying the historical presence and abundance of Hesperodiaptomus. These results have important implications for alpine lake restoration as egg shells can be used to identify lakes in which Hesperodiaptomus was eliminated by fish introductions but has failed to return after fish eradication, lakes in which the pre-disturbance conditions are likely to be restored only by reintroductions of this important taxon.     

Chaoborus americanus predation influences Bosmina mucro lengths in fishless lakes

Size attributes of the cladoceran taxon Bosmina are known to vary in response to the intensity and dominant type of predation. Using a paleolimnological approach, we tested the hypothesis that Bosmina size structure differs between fishless lakes and those with presumed populations of planktivorous fish. We measured sedimentary remains of Bosmina longirostris and assessed assemblage structure of the gape-limited invertebrate predator Chaoborus within the surface sediments of 29 lakes in remote, northwestern Ontario, Canada. Mean B. longirostris mucro, antennule, and carapace lengths did not differ significantly between lake predation categories. However, within fishless lakes, a significant (r = 0.68, P = 0.01) positive correlation was apparent between B. longirostris mucro length and Chaoborus americanus percent abundance. We thus suggest that B. longirostris mucro length may be sensitive to C. americanus predation, however further information on the interactions with predators is needed.     

Reconstructing the historical changes in Daphnia mean size and planktivorous fish abundance in lakes from the size of Daphnia ephippia in the sediment

The zooplankton community structure in lakes is highly influenced by size-selective predation by fish, with small zooplankton species dominating at high predation pressure. Remains of cladocerans are preserved in the sediment and may be used to trace historical changes in fish predation. We determined how contemporary data on planktivorous fish were related to the size of Daphnia ephippia (dorsal length) in the surface sediment (0-1 cm) of 52 mainly shallow lakes with contrasting densities of fish and nutrients (TP: 0.002-0.60 mg P l^-1). Density of fish expressed as catch per unit effort, in terms of numbers in multiple mesh-sized gill nets (CPUE_n), decreased significantly with increasing mean size of ephippia. The relationship was improved by adding TP as an independent variable, now explaining 90% of the variation in CPUE_n on the full data set covering lakes in Denmark, Greenland and New Zealand, and 78% if only data on Danish lakes were used. CPUE by weight of planktivorous fish and mean weight of Daphnia in the pelagial during summer were also related to ephippial size. By including contemporary data on established relationships between the sizes of egg-bearing female Daphnia and ephippia, we inferred changes in the CPUE_n, mean size of ephippia-bearing Daphnia and summer mean body weight of Daphnia from ephippial size in four lakes during the past 1-2 centuries. In a hypertrophic lake subject to periodic fish kills, Daphnia mean body weight was high and CPUE_n was low compared with those in two eutrophic lakes, while CPUE_n was low and Daphnia body weight was high in the least eutrophic, clearwater lake. Estimated CPUE_n and Daphnia mean weight in the surface sediment of these four lakes corresponded well with contemporary data. Only small changes in ephippial size with time were observed in the clearwater lake and in one of the lakes that had suffered early eutrophication, while major changes occurred in the two other lakes that had been subjected to a major increase in nutrient input or fish kills. We conclude that Daphnia ephippia preserved in the surface sediments of lakes may be a useful and efficient method to quantify the present-day abundance of planktivorous fish and Daphnia mean size. The method is particularly valid in surveys aimed to give a general picture of the fish stock and the ecological state in a set of lakes in a region rather than a precise estimate for a single lake. Though some evidence is provided, more work is needed to evaluate whether the equations are valid for hind-casting in down-core palaeoecological studies.     

Biomonitoring past salinity changes in an athalassic subarctic lake

A short sediment core was taken from a small saline lake located on an intermontane plateau in the central Yukon Territory, Canada. In July 1990, chemical analyses indicated that, although the lake was shallow (Z_max=1.1 m), it was also chemically stratified, with hyposaline (9.9 to 10.0 g L⁻¹) surface waters and slightly mesosaline (22.0 g L⁻¹) deeper waters. The surface water was dominated by Na⁺ and HCO ₃ ⁻ . To our knowledge, this is the northernmost athalassic saline lake yet recorded. Quantification of algal (diatom, chrysophyte, and pigment) and invertebrate (chironomid, ceratopogonid, andChaoborus) fossils at four stratigraphic levels indicated that the lake sediments preserved numerous biological indicators that could be used to infer recent lake development. Many of the taxa are found in other athalassic salt lakes. The most striking stratigraphic change was a remarkable drop in the species richness of diatoms and invertebrates in the recent sediments, which parallels the elimination of species characteristic of less saline conditions. Halophilous taxa dominate the most recent sediments, indicating the development of more saline conditions. At the same time, a significant shift in chrysophyte cyst composition was observed. Fossil carotenoids and chlorophylls indicated a decrease in total algal abundance in recent sediments, as green and blue-green algae replaced diatoms and chrysophytes. Together, these paleolimnological data suggest a recent shift to drier conditions or increased evaporation in the central Yukon Territory.     

Representation of fish communities by scale sub-fossils in shallow lakes: implications for inferring percid–cyprinid shifts

The palaeoecological potential of fish scales was assessed by comparing contemporary population data with scale remains obtained from littoral (n = 10) and open water (n = 10) surface sediment samples in two English shallow lakes, Selbrigg Pond and Cockshoot Broad. Scales and/or scale fragments were present, in low numbers (<20 per 100 cm³ wet sediment) in 34 of 40 sediment samples. In accordance with fish population data, higher densities of scale remains were found in Selbrigg compared to Cockshoot, and in littoral compared to open water samples. Taxonomic difficulties, exacerbated by scale fragmentation, made it impossible to assign the majority of remains to individual species. Most remains could, however, be placed into one of two groups: (i) percids – represented by both scales and scale fragments; and (ii) cyprinids – largely represented by scale fragments. To allow comparison of fish population and sedimentary scale data, both were converted to percentages of the aggregate percid–cyprinid total. Whole scales recovered were almost exclusively percid (45 of 48), thus bore little resemblance to the contemporary fish data. Nevertheless, percentages of scale fragments (Selbrigg: 34 and 66%; Cockshoot: 13 and 87% percid and cyprinid, respectively) and of whole scales and fragments combined (Selbrigg: 54 and 46%; Cockshoot: 46 and 54% percid and cyprinid, respectively) reflected the presence of the numerically dominant fish groups and the broad inter-site differences in their relative abundance (Selbrigg: 36 and 64%; Cockshoot: 10 and 90% percid and cyprinid, respectively). A running mean of scales per sediment volume indicated that some 400 cm³ of sediment was required to accurately characterise the remains present. This study suggests that, with the appropriate methodological considerations (e.g., collection of large sediment samples), fish scale remains may be used to determine the past presence–absence and relative abundance of percid and cyprinid species. As such, this technique may be a valuable supplementary tool for establishing longer-term changes in the fish communities of shallow lakes.     

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.     

Reconstructing changes in macrophyte cover in lakes across the northeastern United States based on sedimentary diatom assemblages

Macrophytes are a critical component of lake ecosystems affecting nutrient and contaminant cycling, food web structure, and lake biodiversity. The long-term (decades to centuries) dynamics of macrophyte cover are, however, poorly understood and no quantitative estimates exist for pre-industrial (pre-1850) macrophyte cover in northeastern North America. Using a 215 lake dataset, we tested if surface sediment diatom assemblages significantly differed among lakes that have sparse (<10% cover; group 1), moderate (10–40% cover; group 2) or extensive (>40% cover; group 3) macrophyte cover. Analysis of similarity indicated that the diatom assemblages of these a priori groups of macrophyte cover were significantly different from one another (i.e., difference between: groups 1 and 3, R statistic = 0.31, P < 0.001; groups 1 and 2, R statistic = 0.049, P < 0.01; groups 3 and 2, R statistic = 0.112, P < 0.001). We then developed an inference model for macrophyte cover from lakes classified as sparse or extensive cover (145 lakes) based on the surface sediment diatom assemblages, and applied this model using the top-bottom paleolimnological approach (i.e., comparison of recent sediments to pre-disturbance sediments). We used the second axis of our correspondence analysis, which significantly divided sparse and extensive macrophyte cover sites, as the independent variable in a logistic regression to predict macrophyte cover as either sparse or extensive. Cross validation, using 48 randomly chosen sites that were excluded from model development, indicated that our model accurately predicts macrophyte cover 79% of the time (r ² = 0.32, P < 0.001). When applied to the top and bottom sediment samples, our model predicted that 12.5% of natural lakes and 22.4% of reservoirs in the dataset have undergone a ≥30% change in macrophyte cover. For the sites with an inferred change in macrophyte cover, the majority of natural lakes (64.3%) increased in cover, while the majority of reservoirs (87.5%) decreased in macrophyte cover. This study demonstrates that surface sediment diatom assemblages from profundal zones differ in lakes based on their macrophyte cover and that diatoms are useful indicators for quantitatively reconstructing changes in macrophyte cover.     

Lignin degradation products as palaeoenvironmental proxies in the sediments of small lakes

The quantity and quality of lignin phenols (Σ8, Λ, S/V, C/V and (Ad/Al)_v) in the sediments of three small Lobelia lakes with neither inlets nor outlets were investigated and compared with palynological data and lithology of the profiles. The method of alkaline CuO oxidation was used. Substantial differences with respect to sedimentary lignin concentration and provenance recorded along the profiles and among the sites are in good agreement with pollen data describing the dominant type of vegetation and with indices of soil erosion in the lakes’ catchments. This relation shows that the compositions of lignin degradation products in these lakes are closely related to the local environmental conditions. In all the lakes gymnosperm wood is the main source of lignin products; however, each lake is characterized by different S/V index values. Especially good correlations were obtained between pine pollen proportions in sediments and the S/V index. The correlation between the C/V and (Ad/Al)_v indices indicates a higher degradation of organic matter when non-woody tissue is more abundant. This pilot study illustrates the usefulness and potential for a wider application of lignin oxidation products in palaeoecological reconstructions. This kind of data would be of special importance when investigating local presence/absence of woody plants and the role of angiosperms/gymnosperms in local vegetation. Estimates of lignin biodegradation levels, as well as the data on diagenetic processes, may afford supplementary information on possible disturbances in sedimentation.     

Hydrogen isotope ratios of individual lipids in lake sediments as novel tracers of climatic and environmental change: a surface sediment test

We determined hydrogen isotope ratios of modern lake-waters and individual lipids from surface sediments of 36 lakes in the eastern North America. The lakes selected lie on two transects (south–north transect from Florida to Ontario and east–west transect from Wisconsin to South Dakota) and encompass large temperature and moisture gradients, and a wide range of lake water δD values (>100‰). The study allows a rigorous test of the applicability of using δD values of sedimentary lipids as paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental proxies. We examined a range of lipids including C₁₇ n-alkane, straight chain fatty acids, phytol and sterols in both free extracts and ester-bound fractions in the solvent extracted sediments. Useful isotopic indicators are expected to show a linear correlation and constant fractionation factor between their δD values in surface sediments and modern lake water. Our results demonstrate that several lipid compounds, free and ester-bound palmitic acid (16:0), C₁₇ n-alkane, and phytol are useful candidates for paleoclimate reconstructions, in addition to two sterols that have been suggested previously (. Compound-specific D/H ratios of lipid biomarkers from sediments as a proxy for environmental and climatic conditons. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 65: 213–222). Authigenic or biogenic carbonate in sediments is conventional material for paleoclimatic study using ocean and lake sediments. However, because majority of lake sediments do not contain suitable carbonate materials for isotopic study, hydrogen isotope ratios of these lipids provide invaluable new sources of paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental information.     

Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIRS), a New Method to Infer Past Changes in Tree-line Position and TOC using Lake Sediment

This study tests the hypothesis that Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIRS) of lake sediments can be used to infer past changes in tree-line position and total organic carbon (TOC) content of lake water. A training set of 100 lakes from northern Sweden spanning a broad altitudinal and TOC gradient from 0.7 to 14.9 mg/l was used to assess whether vegetation zones and TOC can be modelled from FTIR spectra of surface sediments (0–1 cm) using principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares (PLS) regression. Preliminary results show that FTIRS of lake sediments can be used to reconstruct past changes in tree line and the TOC content of lake water, which is hardly surprising since FTIRS registers the properties of organic and minerogenic material derived from the water mass and the drainage area. The FTIRS model for TOC gives a root mean squared error (RMSECV) of calibration of 1.4 mg/l (10% of the gradient) assessed by internal cross-validation (CV) yielding an R_cv² of 0.64. This should be compared with a near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and diatom transfer function for TOC from the same set of lakes, which have a R_cv² of 0.61 and 0.31, and RMSECV of 1.6 and 2.3 mg/l, respectively. The FTIRS-TOC model was applied to a Holocene sediment core from a tree-line lake and the results show similar trends as inferences from NIRS and pollen from the same core. Overall, the results indicate that changes in FTIR spectra from lake sediments reflect differences in catchment vegetation and TOC, and that FTIRS-models based on surface-sediment samples can be applied to sediment cores for retrospective analysis.     

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.     

Ecological distribution of scaled-chrysophyte assemblages from the sediments of 54 lakes in Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick,Canada

Chrysophyte scales have been used in several paleolimnological studies to track long-term environmental change, however little data exist for the many lakes in the Maritime provinces of eastern Canada. As part of a multi-disciplinary investigation of acidification and other environmental stressors in the Maritimes, chrysophytes scales were identified and enumerated from the sediments of 52 lakes from Nova Scotia and two lakes from New Brunswick. A total of 25 chrysophyte taxa were identified from the surface sediments, reflecting the modern-day chrysophyte assemblages. The dominant species included Mallamonas duerrschmidtiae and Mallomonas acaroides. Taxa of the genus Synura were present in some lakes, but mainly in the more southern sites. In general, the floras were less diverse than those recorded from similar studies in other temperate regions. This may be related to the fact that the calibration lake set contained only a relatively short limnological gradient, and the assemblages reflect the acidic to circumneutral conditions of these lakes. Synura petersenii, a taxon that has been linked to imparting taste and odor problems to lakes, and had been shown to increase in the recent sediments of many other Canadian lakes, was only rarely present. In contrast to other studies, scaled chrysophytes were very rare in the pre-industrial sediments, with substantial nineteenth century populations only present in four relatively deep (>19 m) lakes. Detailed stratigraphic analyses of eight sediment cores revealed that scaled-chrysophyte assemblages increased dramatically during the latter part of the twentieth century. Limnological changes associated with climate (e.g. increased thermal stratification due to a 1.5°C temperature increase since ~1850) may have influenced chrysophyte distributions in these lakes.     

湖泊沉积物对磷的吸附特征及其吸附热力学参数

在模拟条件下研究了属于不同营养水平的3个沉积物吸附磷等温线、动力学和热力学参数,比较了不同沉积物吸附磷的差别。结论如下:（1）在本研究条件下,五里湖沉积物吸附磷的Qmax、K、NAP和EPC0均高于东太湖和贡湖沉积物,而m却较低。东太湖和贡湖沉积物与其上覆水间基本保持磷吸附-解吸动态平衡状态,五里湖沉积物有向上覆水释放磷的趋势;（2）沉积物吸附磷主要发生在0⁰.5h之内,此时间段吸附速率为贡湖沉积物与东太湖沉积物相差不大,均高于五里湖沉积物;（3）温度对五里湖沉积物吸附磷影响相对较小,而对贡湖和东太湖沉积物影响较大。     

Estimating historical in-lake alkalinity generation from sulfate reduction and its relationship to lake chemistry as inferred from algal microfossils

Sediment cores were used to estimate in-lake alkalinity generation resulting from sulfate reduction relative to inferred changes in lakewater pH and trophic status over the last century in three Connecticut lakes. Despite being situated in geological settings with crystalline bedrock and thin, poorly buffered soils, and being impacted with high rates of acidic precipitation, none of the study lakes have declined in inferred pH based on scaled chrysophyte and diatom remains. In fact, the pH of one of the lakes, Coventry Lake, has significantly increased over the last century. Over the last 44 to 69 years the amount of sulfur stored in the sediments from each lake increased from ~two to three times resulting in mean rates of alkalinity generation ranging from 78 to 145 meq m^–2 yr^–1, significantly higher than the 45 to 48 meq m^–2 yr^–1 of hydrogen ions falling directly on the lake surfaces. In-lake alkalinity generation resulting from sulfate reduction has been sufficient to neutralize all of the acid falling directly onto the lake surfaces, as well as between 9% and 25% of the acid deposited onto the surrounding watersheds. Despite the increased importance of in-lake alkalinity generation, our findings support the hypothesis that significant amounts of alkalinity are also being generated in the catchments of the study lakes. The bulk of the increases in stored sulfur in all three lakes were as Fe sulfides and not in the form of organic sulfur, suggesting that the increases were the result of dissimilatory bacterial reduction of sulfate. As a result of the large increases in storage of Fe sulfides the ratio of total iron to chromium reducible sulfur (Fe:CRS) has declined in all cores over time. Despite the overall decline in Fe:CRS in recent sediments, values are still largely above 3 in more recent sediments of two of the lakes. However, values of Fe:CRS have dropped below 1 in surface sediments of Uncas Lake, suggesting that in-lake loading of phosphorus may be responsible for a recent shift in the algal flora towards a slightly more eutrophic condition.     

Stable isotope (δ<Superscript>13</Superscript>C and δ<Superscript>15</Superscript>N) values of sediment organic matter in subtropical lakes of different trophic status

Lake sediments contain archives of past environmental conditions in and around water bodies and stable isotope analyses (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) of sediment cores have been used to infer past environmental changes in aquatic ecosystems. In this study, we analyzed organic matter (OM), carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values in sediment cores from three subtropical lakes that span a broad range of trophic state. Our principal objectives were to: (1) evaluate whether nutrient concentrations and stable isotope values in surface deposits reflect modern trophic state conditions in the lakes, and (2) assess whether stratigraphic changes in the measured variables yield information about shifts in trophic status through time, or alternatively, diagenetic changes in sediment OM. Three Florida (USA) lakes of very different trophic status were selected for this study. Results showed that both δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values in surface sediments of the oligo-mesotrophic lake were relatively low compared to values in surface sediments of the other lakes, and were progressively lower with depth in the sediment core. Sediments of the eutrophic lake had δ¹³C values that declined upcore, whereas δ¹⁵N values increased toward the sediment surface. The eutrophic lake displayed δ¹³C values intermediate between those in the oligo-mesotrophic and hypereutrophic lakes. Sediments of the hypereutrophic lake had relatively higher δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values. In general, we found greater δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values with increasing lake trophic state.     

Effects of fish introduction and eutrophication on the cladoceran community in Lake Fuxian,a deep oligotrophic lake in southwest China

Fish introduction and eutrophication are important disturbances to aquatic ecosystems, especially to oligotrophic plateau lakes that are generally considered to be very vulnerable ecosystems. Planktivorous fish Neosalanx taihuensis were introduced to Lake Fuxian, an oligotrophic (TP 17 μg/l) deep (average depth 89.7 m) plateau lake in southwest China, in the middle of the 1980s. After the introduction, N. taihuensis became the dominant fish species, and the total fish yield increased about threefold. Although the lake is still oligotrophic, the trophic state of Lake Fuxian has started to shift with increasing nutrient supply (eutrophication) due to an increase in human activities in the drainage basin. This study investigated the effects of N. taihuensis introduction and eutrophication on the cladoceran community of Lake Fuxian by examining changes in cladoceran assemblages and abundance, as well as the morphological features of Bosmina microfossils in the lake sediment. Absolute abundance of total Bosmina increased substantially after the middle of the 1980s. In addition, dominance of Bosmina with straight antennules was replaced by Bosmina with hooked antennules. The morphological variables (length of carapace, antennule and mucro) of Bosmina all decreased when planktivorous fish N. taihuensis achieved relatively large numbers. Eutrophication was the most important process determining cladoceran abundance, while fish introduction played an important role in structuring the cladoceran community in this oligotrophic, deep plateau lake.