Changes in Diatom Assemblages in Adirondack (NY, USA) Reference Lakes Since Pre-Industrial Times
type: CreativeWork
description: The vast majority of Adirondack lakes have been impacted since pre-industrial time through either regional (e.g. acidification) or local (e.g. fish stocking, liming, seepage of road salt, cultural eutrophication) environmental disturbances. Inferring changes related to climate are difficult due to the possible complexities associated with multiple stressors. Thirty minimally-disturbed ‘reference’ lakes were identified from a database of 1469 lakes using the following selection criteria: <5% shoreline development; a circumneutral pH; and no records of introduction of non-native piscivores (protecting against eutrophication, chronic lake acidification and modifications of trophic structure, respectively). As such, these ‘reference’ lakes may be useful for isolating the effects of regional changes, including climate warming, from other anthropogenic influences. A ‘top-bottom’ paleolimnological analysis of diatom assemblages was undertaken to identify changes since pre-industrial times. The uppermost sediment layer was used to represent present-day diatom assemblages, and a sediment sample from a depth of 20cm was used to represent pre-industrial conditions. Discostella stelligera, a planktonic diatom taxon, is presently the dominant species in 50% of the lakes, and showed the greatest change. D. stelligera increased by >10% in 11 of the 30 study lakes. The measured present-day chemical and physical limnological variables in the study lakes could not predict changes in the abundance of D. stelligera, suggesting that unmeasured variables, such as decreased ice cover, and changes in mixing and stratification patterns, are likely driving the observed changes in diatom assemblages. Heavily silicified tychoplanktonic Aulacoseira species declined by an average of 8.3% across the dataset. In three of the relatively deep lakes with higher concentrations of phosphorus, another planktonic diatom, A. formosa, was found to increase in abundance. Additionally, some lakes that were d…
abstract: The vast majority of Adirondack lakes have been impacted since pre-industrial time through either regional (e.g. acidification) or local (e.g. fish stocking, liming, seepage of road salt, cultural eutrophication) environmental disturbances. Inferring changes related to climate are difficult due to the possible complexities associated with multiple stressors. Thirty minimally-disturbed ‘reference’ lakes were identified from a database of 1469 lakes using the following selection criteria: <5% shoreline development; a circumneutral pH; and no records of introduction of non-native piscivores (protecting against eutrophication, chronic lake acidification and modifications of trophic structure, respectively). As such, these ‘reference’ lakes may be useful for isolating the effects of regional changes, including climate warming, from other anthropogenic influences. A ‘top-bottom’ paleolimnological analysis of diatom assemblages was undertaken to identify changes since pre-industrial times. The uppermost sediment layer was used to represent present-day diatom assemblages, and a sediment sample from a depth of 20cm was used to represent pre-industrial conditions. Discostella stelligera, a planktonic diatom taxon, is presently the dominant species in 50% of the lakes, and showed the greatest change. D. stelligera increased by >10% in 11 of the 30 study lakes. The measured present-day chemical and physical limnological variables in the study lakes could not predict changes in the abundance of D. stelligera, suggesting that unmeasured variables, such as decreased ice cover, and changes in mixing and stratification patterns, are likely driving the observed changes in diatom assemblages. Heavily silicified tychoplanktonic Aulacoseira species declined by an average of 8.3% across the dataset. In three of the relatively deep lakes with higher concentrations of phosphorus, another planktonic diatom, A. formosa, was found to increase in abundance. Additionally, some lakes that were d…
author: Cummings, Cassandra
language: eng
keywords: Adirondacks, Reference Lakes, Diatoms, Climate Change, Discostella stelligera, Climate Warming
date published: 2014-05-30
date modified: 2026-07-27T20:35:23Z
provider: Queens University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Queens University

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/1974/12217