Unlocking environmental archives in the Arctic—insights from modern diatom-environment relationships in lakes and ponds across Greenland
Given the current rate of Arctic warming, the associated ecological changes need to be put into a longer-term context of natural variability. Palaeolimnology offers tools to explore archives stored in the sediments of Arctic lakes and ponds. The interpretation of these archives requires a sound know...
Published in: | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
Other Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Frontiers Media
2023
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10138/357791 |
id |
ftunivhelsihelda:oai:helda.helsinki.fi:10138/357791 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivhelsihelda:oai:helda.helsinki.fi:10138/357791 2024-01-07T09:40:42+01:00 Unlocking environmental archives in the Arctic—insights from modern diatom-environment relationships in lakes and ponds across Greenland Weckström, Kaarina Weckström, Jan Wischnewski, Juliane Davidson, Thomas A. Lauridsen, Torben L. Landkildehus, Frank Christoffersen, Kirsten S. Jeppesen, Erik Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS) Environmental Change Research Unit (ECRU) Doctoral Programme in Interdisciplinary Environmental Sciences Doctoral Programme in Geosciences 2023-05-15T06:02:01Z 15 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/10138/357791 eng eng Frontiers Media 10.3389/fevo.2023.1177638 Weckström , K , Weckström , J , Wischnewski , J , Davidson , T A , Lauridsen , T L , Landkildehus , F , Christoffersen , K S & Jeppesen , E 2023 , ' Unlocking environmental archives in the Arctic—insights from modern diatom-environment relationships in lakes and ponds across Greenland ' , Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution , vol. 11 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2023.1177638 ORCID: /0000-0002-3889-0788/work/135412690 ORCID: /0000-0001-5604-617X/work/135414604 e4bde39b-75a3-4009-98fa-4f51e6dceb74 http://hdl.handle.net/10138/357791 000993526900001 cc_by openAccess info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess 1181 Ecology evolutionary biology 1172 Environmental sciences Article publishedVersion 2023 ftunivhelsihelda 2023-12-14T00:09:25Z Given the current rate of Arctic warming, the associated ecological changes need to be put into a longer-term context of natural variability. Palaeolimnology offers tools to explore archives stored in the sediments of Arctic lakes and ponds. The interpretation of these archives requires a sound knowledge of the ecology and distribution of the sedimentary proxy organisms used. Here we explored the relationship between diatoms, a widely used proxy group of siliceous algae, and the environmental drivers defining their assemblages and diversity in 115 lakes and ponds in Greenland, a markedly understudied arctic region covering extensive climate and environmental gradients. The main environmental drivers of diatom communities were related to climate and lake ontogeny, including both measured and unmeasured (spatially structured) environmental variables. The lakes and ponds in the northern study regions showed a distinctive dominance of small benthic fragilarioid species, while diatom communities in the South(west) of Greenland were more varied, including many epiphytes, owing to the longer growing season and higher habitat diversity of these lakes and ponds. The newly established lakes in the Ilulissat region host markedly different communities compared to all other sites. Species diversity followed an overall clear latitudinal decline towards the North. Despite the large distances between our study regions, diatom dispersal appeared not to be limited. Based on our results, diatoms are an excellent proxy for climate-mediated lake ecosystem change in the Arctic and thus a valuable tool for climate reconstructions in the region. Particular consideration should be given to often unmeasured climate-related drivers, such as in-lake habitat availability, due to their apparent importance in defining Arctic diatom communities. Peer reviewed Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Greenland Ilulissat HELDA – University of Helsinki Open Repository Arctic Greenland Ilulissat ENVELOPE(-51.099,-51.099,69.220,69.220) Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 23 8 4685 4707 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
HELDA – University of Helsinki Open Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivhelsihelda |
language |
English |
topic |
1181 Ecology evolutionary biology 1172 Environmental sciences |
spellingShingle |
1181 Ecology evolutionary biology 1172 Environmental sciences Weckström, Kaarina Weckström, Jan Wischnewski, Juliane Davidson, Thomas A. Lauridsen, Torben L. Landkildehus, Frank Christoffersen, Kirsten S. Jeppesen, Erik Unlocking environmental archives in the Arctic—insights from modern diatom-environment relationships in lakes and ponds across Greenland |
topic_facet |
1181 Ecology evolutionary biology 1172 Environmental sciences |
description |
Given the current rate of Arctic warming, the associated ecological changes need to be put into a longer-term context of natural variability. Palaeolimnology offers tools to explore archives stored in the sediments of Arctic lakes and ponds. The interpretation of these archives requires a sound knowledge of the ecology and distribution of the sedimentary proxy organisms used. Here we explored the relationship between diatoms, a widely used proxy group of siliceous algae, and the environmental drivers defining their assemblages and diversity in 115 lakes and ponds in Greenland, a markedly understudied arctic region covering extensive climate and environmental gradients. The main environmental drivers of diatom communities were related to climate and lake ontogeny, including both measured and unmeasured (spatially structured) environmental variables. The lakes and ponds in the northern study regions showed a distinctive dominance of small benthic fragilarioid species, while diatom communities in the South(west) of Greenland were more varied, including many epiphytes, owing to the longer growing season and higher habitat diversity of these lakes and ponds. The newly established lakes in the Ilulissat region host markedly different communities compared to all other sites. Species diversity followed an overall clear latitudinal decline towards the North. Despite the large distances between our study regions, diatom dispersal appeared not to be limited. Based on our results, diatoms are an excellent proxy for climate-mediated lake ecosystem change in the Arctic and thus a valuable tool for climate reconstructions in the region. Particular consideration should be given to often unmeasured climate-related drivers, such as in-lake habitat availability, due to their apparent importance in defining Arctic diatom communities. Peer reviewed |
author2 |
Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS) Environmental Change Research Unit (ECRU) Doctoral Programme in Interdisciplinary Environmental Sciences Doctoral Programme in Geosciences |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Weckström, Kaarina Weckström, Jan Wischnewski, Juliane Davidson, Thomas A. Lauridsen, Torben L. Landkildehus, Frank Christoffersen, Kirsten S. Jeppesen, Erik |
author_facet |
Weckström, Kaarina Weckström, Jan Wischnewski, Juliane Davidson, Thomas A. Lauridsen, Torben L. Landkildehus, Frank Christoffersen, Kirsten S. Jeppesen, Erik |
author_sort |
Weckström, Kaarina |
title |
Unlocking environmental archives in the Arctic—insights from modern diatom-environment relationships in lakes and ponds across Greenland |
title_short |
Unlocking environmental archives in the Arctic—insights from modern diatom-environment relationships in lakes and ponds across Greenland |
title_full |
Unlocking environmental archives in the Arctic—insights from modern diatom-environment relationships in lakes and ponds across Greenland |
title_fullStr |
Unlocking environmental archives in the Arctic—insights from modern diatom-environment relationships in lakes and ponds across Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Unlocking environmental archives in the Arctic—insights from modern diatom-environment relationships in lakes and ponds across Greenland |
title_sort |
unlocking environmental archives in the arctic—insights from modern diatom-environment relationships in lakes and ponds across greenland |
publisher |
Frontiers Media |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10138/357791 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-51.099,-51.099,69.220,69.220) |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland Ilulissat |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland Ilulissat |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Greenland Ilulissat |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Greenland Ilulissat |
op_relation |
10.3389/fevo.2023.1177638 Weckström , K , Weckström , J , Wischnewski , J , Davidson , T A , Lauridsen , T L , Landkildehus , F , Christoffersen , K S & Jeppesen , E 2023 , ' Unlocking environmental archives in the Arctic—insights from modern diatom-environment relationships in lakes and ponds across Greenland ' , Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution , vol. 11 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2023.1177638 ORCID: /0000-0002-3889-0788/work/135412690 ORCID: /0000-0001-5604-617X/work/135414604 e4bde39b-75a3-4009-98fa-4f51e6dceb74 http://hdl.handle.net/10138/357791 000993526900001 |
op_rights |
cc_by openAccess info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
container_title |
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
container_volume |
23 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
4685 |
op_container_end_page |
4707 |
_version_ |
1787421514168008704 |