Study links ecosystem changes in temperate lakes to clima...( Unparalleled warming over the last f...)
Unparalleled warming over the last few decades has triggered widespread ecosystem changes in many temperate North American and Western European lakes, say researchers at Queen's University and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.
The team reports that striking changes are now occurring in many temperate lakes similar to those previously observed in the rapidly warming Arctic, although typically many decades later. The Arctic has long been considered a "bellwether" of what will eventually happen with warmer conditions farther south.
"Our findings suggest that ecologically important changes are already under way in temperate lakes," says Queen's Biology research scientist, Dr. Kathleen Ruhland, from the university's Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Lab (PEARL) and lead author of the study.
The research was recently published in the international journal Global Change Biology. Also on the team are Biology professor John Smol, Canada Research Chair in Environmental Change, and Andrew Paterson, a research scientist at the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and an adjunct professor at Queen's.
One of the biggest challenges with environmental studies is the lack of long-term monitoring data, Dr. Ruhland notes. "We have almost no data on how lakes have responded to climate change over the last few decades, and certainly no data on longer term time scales," she says. "However, lake sediments archive an important record of past ecosystem changes by the fossils preserved in mud profiles."
The scientists studied changes over the last few decades in the species composition of small, microscopic algae preserved in sediments from more than 200 lake systems in the northern hemisphere. These algae dominate the plankton that float at or near the surface of lakes, and serve as food for other larger organisms.
Striking ecosystem changes were recorded from a large suite of lakes from Arctic, a
'/>"/>
| Contact: Nancy Dorrance nancy.dorrance@queensu.ca Queen's University Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology news :
1. Study of placenta unexpectedly leads to cancer gene
2. New study pardons the misunderstood egg
3. Ocean fish farming harms wild fish, study says
4. Proactive care saves lives of seniors, study finds
5. Orangutans spontaneous whistling opens new chapter in study of evolution of speech
6. First-ever socioeconomic study on coral reefs points to challenges of coastal resource management
7. Study reveals effects of unconscious exposure to advertisements
8. Rice University study finds possible clues to epilepsy, autism
9. Researchers study virus with unusual properties
10. Nanotechnology culture war possible, says Yale study
11. Gene therapy corrects sickle cell disease in laboratory study
 Study links ecosystem changes in temperate lakes to climate warming |
| Copyright © 2003-2009 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |