Changes in diatom assemblages in Lake C2 (Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada): response to basin isolation from the sea and to other environmental changes

Diatoms preserved in the sediments of Lake C2 (82 degree 50' N, 76 degree 00' W), a high arctic meromictic lake, track changes in the lake's salinity which have occurred as the basin was isolated from the sea. An assemblage dominated by marine taxa, such as Chaetoceros species, Nitzsc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of paleolimnology 1996-09, Vol.16 (2), p.217-226
Main Authors: Douglas, MSV, Ludlam, S, Feeney, S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacillariophyceae
Chaetoceros
Diploneis
Freshwater
Nitzschia cylindrus
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Summary:Diatoms preserved in the sediments of Lake C2 (82 degree 50' N, 76 degree 00' W), a high arctic meromictic lake, track changes in the lake's salinity which have occurred as the basin was isolated from the sea. An assemblage dominated by marine taxa, such as Chaetoceros species, Nitzschia cylindrus and Diploneis spp., was replaced by a Cyclotella kuetzingiana var. planetophora dominated freshwater flora. A brief brackish period separates the two assemblages. Relatively little floristic change occurred within either the marine or freshwater periods, indicating rather stable environmental conditions, except that rheophilous diatoms fluctuated in relative abundance during the lacustrine phase, perhaps tracking past changes in discharge from inflowing streams. These may reflect periods of warmer, wetter environmental conditions.
ISSN:0921-2728
1573-0417
DOI:10.1007/BF00176937