Recent climate extremes alter alpine lake ecosystems

Abstract

Here, we show that alpine lake ecosystems are responsive to interannual variation in climate, based on long-term limnological and meteorological data from the Canadian Rockies. In the 2000s, in years with colder winter temperatures, higher winter snowfall, later snowmelt, shorter ice-free seasons, and dryer summers, relative to the 1990s, alpine lakes became clearer, warmer, and mixed to deeper depths. Further, lakes became more dilute and nutrient-poor, the latter leading to significant declines in total phytoplankton biomass. However, increased concentrations of dissolved organic carbon in lake water stimulated the appearance of small mixotrophic algal species, partially offsetting the decline in autotrophic phytoplankton biomass and increasing algal species richness. The climate regime in the 2000s altered the physical, chemical, and biological character and the function of high-elevation aquatic ecosystems. Forecasts of increased climatic variability in the future pose serious ramifications for both the biodiversity and ecosystem function of high-elevation lakes.function ͉ biodiversity ͉ plankton ͉ global change

Changeability of Accumulated Heat Content in Alpine-Type Lakes

“…The state of lakes is a good indicator of global climate change [26]. Forecasts concerning changes occurring in those water bodies indicate considerable changes in the functioning of alpine lakes [27]. Long-term changes in the heat content accumulated in Morskie Oko confirm those prognoses.…”

How Does Changing Ice-Out Affect Arctic versus Boreal Lakes? A Comparison Using Two Years with Ice-Out that Differed by More Than Three Weeks

“…It is important to note that the Arctic lakes in this study have low color DOC [65], therefore deep Secchi depths may be accompanied by high DOC concentrations. In the boreal region, DOC is usually dominated by allochthonous material and lake water DOC concentrations often increase with precipitation [66]. Similar DOC and SUVA 254 values in early and late ice-out years do not provide evidence to support links between DOC and ice-out, nor do we have enough evidence to elucidate mechanisms in links between similar DOC and deeper Secchi depth in the early ice-out year based on our results.…”

Phosphorus in sediments of high-elevation lakes in the Sierra Nevada (California): implications for internal phosphorus loading

“…Montane lakes are changing in response to warming climate, variations in precipitation, and altered atmospheric deposition (Jassby et al 1990;Psenner 2003;Parker et al 2008;Sickman et al 2013). In high-elevation lakes of the Sierra Nevada (California), increases in phosphorus (P) supply, beginning in the early 1980s, have been inferred from shifts in P to nitrogen (N) limitation and increases in seston P (Sickman et al 2003b).…”