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

Johnson, M. G.; Kelso, J. R. M.; McNeil, O. C.; Morton, W.B.

doi:10.1007/bf00414066

Cited by 32 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Although chironomid larvae have been found in fish guts, indicating that they are a food choice for fish, very few studies have investigatedthe effect of fish on chironomid assemblages. Taxa preferring greater oxygen availability have been shown to occur in lakes where fish communities are introduced, although the assemblages varied from one lake to the other (Johnson et al, 1990). As the history of the fish population of VuoskkujAvri is unknown, any effect of fish on the chironomid assemblage resulting from possible fish introductions by Saami people remains speculative.…”

Section: Past Aquatic Ecosystemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative multiproxy assessment of long-term patterns of Holocene environmental change from a small lake near Abisko, northern Sweden

et al. 2002

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Quantitative reconstructions are made of Holocene changes in climatic and environmental conditions from analyses of pollen, chironomids and diatoms in identical stratigraphic levels of a sediment core from Vuoskkujavri (68'20'43 N, 19'06'00 E, 348 m as.l.) near Abisko in northern Sweden (Lapland). Transfer functions, based on regional calibration sets, are applied to reconstruct Holocene patterns in mean July air temperature (using all three indicators), mean Januaiy air temperature (pollen), annual precipitation (pollen) and lakewater pH (diatoms).During periods with 'good' fit to the modern calibration sets all mean July air-temperature inferences based on the three proxy indicators reveal a general trend of decreasing temperature: pollen-inferred mean July air temperature shows a decrease of c. 1.10C since 7500 cal. yrs BP; the chironomids show a decrease of c. 1.20C since the early Holocene; whereas the diatoms show a decrease of C. 1.50C since 6000 cal. yrs BP. Pollen-inferred mean January air temperature indicates that winters may have been warmer by c. 3.0WC during the early Holocene, followed by a gradual cooling until 8500 cal. yrs BP (c. I .0'C warmer than today) and a subsequent warming until 7000 cal. yrs BP (c. 2.0'C warmer than today). Since 7000 cal. yrs BP, a gradual cooling towards the present-day values is inferred. According to the pollen, annual precipitation may have been considerably higher during the early Holocene than today (c. +150 mm) and increased until 7000 cal. yrs BP (c. +320 mm). Since 7000 cal. yrs BP, annual precipitation decreased continuously towards present-day values. Diatom-inferred pH trends show that natural acidification of c. 0.5 pH units followed deglaciation; present-day values were reached c. 5000 cal. yrs BP. The early Holocene is identified as a problematic time period for the application of modern calibration sets, as diatoms show 'poor' fit to the calibration set from 10 600 to 6000 cal. yrs BP, pollen from 10 600 to 7500 cal. yrs BP, and chironomids from 10 250 to 10 000 cal. yrs BP. Compared with estimates from the COHMAP GCM model, mean July air-temperature inferences based on biological proxies at Vuoskkujdvri suggest a more moderate decrease in temperature over the past 9000 years.

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Section: Past Aquatic Ecosystemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative multiproxy assessment of long-term patterns of Holocene environmental change from a small lake near Abisko, northern Sweden

et al. 2002

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“…Several species including Chaoborus crystallinus and C. americanus tend to inhabit ponds without fish and lack diel vertical migration (Borkent 1981). The presence of C. flavicans-like mandibles in aquatic sediments has therefore been proposed or used as an indicator of boreal climate, water depth (Ilyashuk et al 2005), and the presence of fish (Johnson et al 1990;Uutala 1990;Lamontagne and Schindler 1994).…”

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confidence: 99%

The cryptic origins of environment‐indicating phantom midges (Chaoborus)

Dupuis

Svensson²,

Taylor

2008

Limnology & Oceanography

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Fragile freshwater ecosystems have acted as important sentinels for global environmental change. A detailed understanding of the implications of global change in aquatic ecosystems relies on indicator species whose body parts are preserved in aquatic sediments for millennia. The phantom midge, Chaoborus flavicans (Meigen, 1830), for example, has well-preserved mandibles in aquatic sediments and may act as an indicator of boreal zone temperatures, lake depth, and the presence of fish. Nevertheless, we report that Chaoborus with C. flavicans-type mandibles are common in fishless tundra ponds above the tree line in western Alaska. We carried out genetic comparisons of nuclear and mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (mtDNA) sequences in Chaoborus at a Holarctic scale to determine the origins of the Alaskan ''C. flavicans''. Nuclear DNA, mtDNA, and morphological results indicated that the Alaskan C. flavicans represents a unique lineage of Chaoborus. The average mtDNA divergence (Kimura's two-parameter) between the Palearctic C. flavicans and the Alaskan C. flavicans was .17%. mtDNA strongly supported Chaoborus crystallinus (De Geer, 1776) as the sister species to the Alaskan C. flavicans. Our present understanding of larval mandible morphology disagrees with the major ecological properties and evolutionary lineages of Chaoborus. We identify a new mandible character and highlight the value of validating the diagnostic morphologies of environmental indicator species with genetic studies.

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“…Midge records from Europe (e.g., Henrikson & Oscarson, 1985;Olander, 1992;Schnell & Raddum, 1993;Guilizzoni et al, 1996;Schnell & Willassen, 1996;Ilyashuk & Ilyashuk, 2001), Canada (Johnson & McNeil, 1988;Johnson et al, 1990) and the Adirondack Mountain region of New York state (Uutala, 1986) reveal the changes in midge communities that accompanied acidification.…”

Section: Acidificationmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…have proven especially useful as indicators of past fisheries in North America (Johnson et al, 1990;Uutala, 1990;Uutala et al, 1994;Uutala & Smol, 1996). Chaoborus americanus (Johannsen), a common and widely-distributed North American species, is easily preyed upon by fish, and thus occurs only in fishless lakes.…”

Section: Acidificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They are being increasingly used as indicators of eutrophication (e.g., Douglas & Murray, 1987;Itkonen & Olander, 1997;Quinlan et al, 1998;Francis, 2001). In North America, the Chaoboridae are serving as valuable indicators of fish presence/absence, and thus, as means to document the impact of acidification on fish populations (Johnson et al, 1990;Uutala, 1990;Kingston et al, 1992;Uutala et al, 1994;Uutala & Smol, 1996).…”

Section: Brief History Of Use and Development Of Indicator Potentialmentioning

confidence: 99%

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