Diatom assemblages and their relationships to lakewater nitrogen levels and other limnological variables from 36 lakes and ponds on Banks Island,N.W.T., Canadian Arctic |
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Authors: | Darlene S S Lim John P Smol Marianne S V Douglas |
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Institution: | (1) Paleoenvironmental Assessment Laboratory (PAL), Department of Geology, University of Toronto, 22 Russell Street, M5S 3B1 Toronto, ON, Canada;(2) Present address: NASA Ames Research Center, Mail-Stop 245-3, Moffett Field, CA 94110, USA;(3) Paleoecologcial Environmental Assessment and Research Lab (P.E.A.R.L.), Department of Biology, Queen’s University, K7L 3N6 Kingston, ON, Canada |
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Abstract: | Banks Island, in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, has been identified as an important reference site for studies of environmental
change, especially as it relates to climatic warming. The island is logistically manageable (i.e. researchers can survey the
entire island in one field season) and, most importantly, spans three major ecoclimatic regions supporting a diverse and large
bird and mammal population. Developing upon earlier work by the authors describing the limnology of Banks Island, this current
study: (1) examines which physical and chemical limnological variables influence diatom assemblages in this relatively lush
island; and (2) explores variations in the diatom assemblages by ecoclimatic zones. The relationship between diatom taxa from
a 36 lake/pond surface sediment calibration set and a suite of limnological variables was explored using multivariate statistics.
Dominant diatom species varied based on changing limnological characteristics, particularly between the colder, ultra-oligotrophic
lakes in the more northern High Arctic regions compared to the warmer, more nitrogen-rich sites in the Low Arctic regions
of Banks Island. Exploration of diatom ecoclimatic and environmental preferences revealed interesting relationships, including
the development of a diatom-based transfer function that could be used to track overall trends on lakewater nitrogen concentrations,
which may enable future paleolimnological studies to track shifts in nutrient levels and climatic, and other environmental
changes.
Handling editor: J. Padisak |
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Keywords: | Banks Island Arctic Diatoms Nitrogen Limnology |
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