The long-term succession of high-altitude cladoceran assemblages: a 9000-year record from Sägistalsee (Swiss Alps)

Cladoceran remains were analysed in a 1344 cm long sediment core from Sägistalsee (Swiss Alps, 1935 m asl) which covered the last 9000 years. Planktonic Cladocera were almost exclusively represented by Daphnia species, which occurred throughout the core. The chydorid fauna consisted of four species: Alona quadrangularis, Alona affinis, Acroperus harpae and Chydorus sphaericus of which the former was by far the most frequent species. The chydorid succession was characterised by disappearance and re-appearance of Acroperus harpae and Chydorus sphaericus at about 8400 and 3340 cal. BP, respectively. As a result, there was a long period of about 5000 years in which only two chydorid species were present with strong predominance (88.9%) of Alona quadrangularis. There was also a long-term trend of an increase of Alona affinis at the expense of Alona quadrangularis throughout the core.     

滇西北地区高山湖泊沃迪错近两百年来环境变化及枝角类群落响应

区域增温和大气氮沉降作用已成为高山湖泊面临的重要环境胁迫,已有高山湖泊生物群落响应的长期模式研究主要集中于藻类而缺乏更高营养级生物(如浮游动物)的系统调查。本研究选择滇西北地区深水型的高山湖泊沃迪错开展沉积物调查,通过多指标分析(总氮、总磷、叶绿素a、氮稳定同位素等)并结合区域气候重建记录,识别近两百年来该湖泊及流域环境的变化历史,进一步利用枝角类群落指标(物种组成、生物量等)定量评价了湖泊生物群落的响应模式与驱动因子。结果表明,湖泊营养水平(如总氮浓度)和初级生产力(叶绿素a浓度等)在过去近两百年总体呈上升趋势。相关分析显示,大气氮沉降和流域外源输入是影响总氮上升的主要因素,同时区域增温和营养盐富集促进了湖泊初级生产力的不断上升。自1960s以来区域升温明显,湖泊营养水平和叶绿素a浓度呈现加速上升的趋势。钻孔中枝角类群落以浮游属种(Daphnia longispina等)为优势种,在1900AD以前D.longispina相对丰度较为稳定(40.83%±8.02%),之后出现下降趋势且在1948—1965年间明显下降,之后再次明显上升并成为主要优势种。排序分析显示,气温、叶绿素a和总...     

Superior life history traits of Micromoina arboricola in a humic over a non-humic environment

Micromoina arboricola, one of the smallest moinids on record, is currently known from a single tree hole in a tropical forest, containing a small volume of humic water, in quasi absolute darkness. We test whether it has been refuted to this environment by superior competitors, or whether it is genuinely adapted to this life space by culturing it in its native environment, and in a clear water environment supplemented with algal food, yeast and fermented fish ration. Only maturation time is similar between both treatments. Total offspring, number of clutches, average clutch size and longevity are higher in the humic treatment. Population growth is initially higher in the clearwater treatment, but then collapses. In the humic treatment there is a steady ascent towards a stable plateau. We conclude that the species is better adapted to its microcosm than to a ‘normal’ aquatic biotope.     

Sedimentary Cladocera as indicators of past water-level changes in shallow northern lakes

The usability of subfossil Cladocera assemblages in reconstructing long-term changes in lake level was examined by testing the relationship between Cladocera-based planktonic/littoral (P/L) ratio and water-level inference model in a surface-sediment dataset and in a 2000-yr sediment record in Finland. The relationships between measured and inferred water levels and P/L ratios were significant in the dataset, implying that littoral taxa are primarily deposited in shallow littoral areas, while planktonic cladocerans accumulate abundantly mainly in deepwater locations. The 2000-yr water-level reconstructions based on the water-level inference model and P/L ratio corresponded closely with each other and with a previously available midge-inferred water-level reconstruction from the same core, showing a period of lower water level around AD 300–1000 and suggesting that the methods are valid for paleolimnological and -climatological use.     

Holocene environmental history in northwest Finnish Lapland reflected in the multi-proxy record of a small subarctic lake

A 2.5-m-long sediment core was retrieved from Lake Somaslampi, a small lake located in a kame field on the north slope of the Scandes Mountains in Finnish Lapland. Holocene environmental changes were inferred from the lithological, geochemical, pollen, diatom and Cladocera records stored in the lake sediment. The chronology was based on six radiocarbon AMS dates supported by a palynological control chronology. The sediment profile consists of a glacial sedimentary sequence truncated by a lacustrine one. A hiatus, tentatively correlated with climate cooling and advances of glaciers during the 8.2 ka yrs BP “Finse cooling Event”, occurs between these sequences. The glacial sequence was composed of fluvioglacial clastics, smoothly changing into glacio-lacustrine diatomaceous ooze deposited in a meromictic proglacial lake that covered the kame field. The meromixis was probably caused by the greater depth of the lake, the extended ice-cover, and the microbial mats covering large areas of the lake bottom. A distinct change in the biota of the glacio-lacustrine sediments indicates higher trophic conditions than during deposition of the fluvioglacial clastics. The late-Pleistocene vegetation was characterised by subarctic birch tundra vegetation (Betula–Salix–Ericaceae) with low biodiversity gradually changing to Betula–Pinus dominance in the early Holocene. The lake was deep and had a diatom inferred pH ~ 7 indicated also by the dominance of planktonic Cladocera. The base of the lacustrine sediment sequence (6,650–6,300 cal. BP) consisted of loess-rich sediment indicating an increase in eolian activity. This is also supported by the pollen record, which is dominated by more long-distant taxa such as Alnus and Pinus, and by the increased C/N ratio of the sediment. After the initial meromictic phase of the lake, an abrupt lowering of the water level occurred. Lake Somaslampi was isolated from the larger Pre-Lake Somas basin and became holomictic, shallow, much warmer and more productive, until the deterioration of climate around 3,000 yr BP and the increased input of clastics from the tundra soils. The vegetation followed the general climatic trend by gradually changing from the dominance of Betula and Pinus to the dominance of more tundra-related vegetation like Poaceae and Cyperaceae. However, the higher frequencies of planktonic Cladocera and centric diatoms in the most recent sediments indicates higher trophic conditions, increased turbulence and a prolonged ice-free period, which can possibly be linked to the recent climate warming especially in areas of higher altitude and latitude.     

Aquatic Biota and the Detection of Climate Change: Are there Consistent Aquatic Ecotones?

In this study, we analyse the cumulative rate of compositional change along an altitudinal gradient in the Swiss Alps for three different groups of aquatic organisms – Cladocera, chironomids, and diatoms. In particular, we are interested in the magnitude of unusually large changes in species composition that allows the detection of critical ecotones for each of these three organism groups. The estimated rate-of-change is the distance in ordination space using principal coordinate analysis based on chord distance and chi-square distance. These analyses highlight the cumulative rate-of-change and the cumulative relative rate-of-change, as the chi-square distance is relative to the total species composition. We found that the major changes in taxonomic composition for the three organism groups and therefore also the major ecotones are just below the modern tree-line (1900–2000 m a.s.l.), which may indirectly be an effect of the tree-line. For diatoms and Cladocera (only chi-square distance) there is also an ecotone at 2055 m a.s.l., which may be a direct or indirect response to climate. Further, the ecotone region below the modern tree-line is much wider for chironomids, with an extension downwards due to a shift in relative abundance patterns. For diatoms there is a stronger rate-of-change above 1650 m a.s.l. when chi-square distance is used. Coupled with the even distribution of diatom richness, this suggests that at higher altitudes the change is more strongly associated with a few species becoming dominant compared to lower elevations. Hence, there are considerable differences among the three organism groups, suggesting that different environmental factors may influence the rates of compositional change within and among groups. This supports the general usefulness of multi-proxy studies, namely the study of several independent groups of organisms to reconstruct past environmental conditions but also points to the importance of careful site selection in such studies.     

Mid-Holocene palaeoclimatic and palaeohydrological conditions in northeastern European Russia: a multi-proxy study of Lake Vankavad

Mid-Holocene changes in vegetation, palaeohydrology and climate were investigated from the sediments of Lake Vankavad in the northern taiga of the Usa Basin, NE European Russia, through the analysis of pollen, plant macrofossils, Cladocera and diatoms. Lake Vankavad was probably formed at ca. 5000 BP (ca. 5600 cal. BP) and initially it was shallow with a littoral cladoceran fauna. Macrofossil and pollen results suggest that dense Betula-Picea forests grew in the vicinity and the shore was close to the sampling point. At ca. 4600 BP (ca. 5400 cal. BP) the water level rose coincident with the decrease in the density and area of forests, probably caused by cooling climate and accelerated spread of mires. There was also a further rise in the water level at ca. 3500 BP (ca. 3800 cal. BP). The initiation of the lake, followed by two periods of rising water-level, as well as the increase in mire formation, was a consequence of a rise in groundwater level. This probably reflects lower evapotranspiration in a cooling mid-Holocene climate and/or higher precipitation in the lowland area. Also the decreased forest density and area may have contributed to the lower evapotranspiration. It is also possible that permafrost aggradation or changes in peat ecosystems might have affected the hydrological conditions in the area.