The success of Gonyostomum semen (Raphidophyceae) in a boreal lake is due to environmental changes rather than a recent invasion

The freshwater microalgal species, Gonyostomum semen, has increased in abundance and distribution in boreal lakes during the past few decades, concerning ecologists and water managers. Due to its rapid spread, G. semen has often been referred to as an invasive species, although it was first described in the 1800s. We hypothesized that G. semen is not an invasive species in Norwegian lakes, and that the increasing success is due to beneficial changes in environmental conditions for this species during the past century. We tested these hypotheses by performing a paleolimnological study of a Norwegian Lake, Skjeklesjøen, with known mass occurrence of G. semen. A specific G. semen pigment biomarker, heteroxanthin, was used to detect this species in layers of a sediment core with known age determinations. Environmental factors in both lake and catchment were further investigated and the relationships with the amounts of G. semen was tested. Our results suggested that G. semen was in fact not an invasive species in this lake the past decades. Several factors were identified as plausible drivers for G. semen in this boreal lake. Between 1874–2016, the increasing levels of G. semen in Lake Skjeklesjøen was most closely correlated with Carbon (C), lake color (measured as absorbance of sediment extracts), Nitrogen (N) and spring temperature. Our results suggest that the rapid increase in G. semen population in this boreal lake over the past 70 years was probably due to a combination of climate change and local anthropogenic activities in the catchment, causing increased browning and increased inputs of organic matter and nutrients.