Long-term water quality changes in a multiple-stressor system: a diatom-based paleolimnological study of Lake Simcoe (Ontario, Canada)

Diatom-based paleolimnological techniques were used to assess long-term changes in the water quality of Lake Simcoe (Ontario, Canada) using 210 Pb-dated sediment cores from four sites across the lake. Modest lake-wide shifts in diatom community composition occurred in the late 19th and early 20th ce...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of fisheries and aquatic sciences 2012-01, Vol.69 (1), p.24-40
Main Authors: HAWRYSHYN, Jessica, RÜHLAND, Kathleen M, QUINLAN, Roberto, SMOL, John P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Bacillariophyceae
Biological and medical sciences
Climate change
Environmental aspects
Exploitation and management of natural biological resources (hunting, fishing and exploited populations survey, etc.)
Freshwater
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Lakes
Mollusks
Paleolimnology
Plant cytology, morphology, systematics, chorology and evolution
Sediments
Thallophyta
Water quality
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Diatom-based paleolimnological techniques were used to assess long-term changes in the water quality of Lake Simcoe (Ontario, Canada) using 210 Pb-dated sediment cores from four sites across the lake. Modest lake-wide shifts in diatom community composition occurred in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, suggesting that early cultural disturbances (e.g., land clearance and canal construction) had relatively minor effects on Lake Simcoe water quality. However, starting in the 1930s, phosphorus loading to the lake increased, which was closely tracked by increases in diatom taxa indicative of eutrophic conditions. The most pronounced lake-wide shift in diatom assemblages occurred in the mid- to late 20th century, the nature and timing of which strongly suggested a response to regional climate warming. An additional and marked lake-wide shift in diatom assemblages occurred in the mid-1990s, coinciding with the invasion of dreissenid mussels in Lake Simcoe. Our results indicate that Lake Simcoe water quality has been affected by the interaction of numerous environmental stressors over the past two centuries, the complexity of which has been amplified by recent warming.
ISSN:0706-652X
1205-7533
DOI:10.1139/f2011-134