Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Diatom assemblages in sediments of Lake Juusa, Southern Estonia with an assessment of their habitat

  • Primary Research Paper
  • Published:
Hydrobiologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Diatom analysis of surface sediments and two sediment cores from different sedimentation areas of a small closed lake was undertaken with the aim of acquiring knowledge on the dependence of the distribution of diatom assemblages on lake bathymetry. Lake Juusa was selected for the study because we have for this lake a large data set about the lithological composition of sediments and macrofossil and cladoceran records for the Holocene. A high carbonate content (20–60%) in the sediment sequence indicates high carbonacity and relatively stable pH values during the Holocene. On the basis of comprehensive analysis, abrupt water-level fluctuations and changes in the trophic status were established. Results of this study showed that the fluctuations of the water-level were the leading factor determining the habitats of diatom assemblages in the lake. In the surface sediment samples planktonic species such as Cyclotella spp., Stephanodiscus spp. and Aulacoseira spp. had a depth optimum at 3–4 m and the most abundant periphytic taxa were distributed mostly at depths shallower than 3.5 m. The same regularity was established in sediment cores where a good correlation between planktonic species and lake water depth was found in sediments accumulated at water depths >4 m. Lake Juusa appears to be a proper site for detailed environmental reconstructions over the Holocene, and the results will give us a good opportunity to analyse the history of water-level fluctuations in other small Estonian lakes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allaire, N., 1997. Relation entre les assemblages de diatomées et les variables environnementales de 70 lacs du Labrador et resultants préliminaires d’une étude paléolimnologique du lac Hope Simpson. M.A. thesis, Université Laval, Québec, QC.

  • Anderson, N. J., 1990a. Spatial pattern of recent sediment and diatom accumulation in a small, monomictic eutrophic lake. Journal of Paleolimnology 3: 143–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, N. J., 1990b. The biostratigraphy and taxonomy of small Stephanodiscus and Cyclostephanos species (Bacillariophyceae) in a eutrophic lake, and their ecological implications. British Phycological Journal 25: 217–235.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, N. J., 1997. Reconstructing historical phosphorous concentrations in rural lakes using diatom models. In Tunney, H., O. T. Carton, P. C. Brookes & A. E. Johnston (eds), Phosphorus Loss from Soil to Water. CAB International, Wallingford, UK, 95–118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, N. J., B. Rippey & E. Gibson, 1993. A comparison of sedimentary and diatom-inferred phosphorus profiles: implications for defining predisturbance nutrient conditions. Hydrobiologia 253: 357–366.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barker, P., 1992. Differential diatom dissolution in Late Quaternary sediments from Lake Manyara, Tanzania: an experimental approach. Journal of Paleolimnology 7: 235–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barker, P. A., N. Roberts, H. F. Lamb, S. van der Kaars & A. Benkaddour, 1994. Interpretation of Holocene lake-level changes from diatom assemblages in Lake Sidi Ali, Middle Atlas, Morocco. Journal of Paleolimnology 12: 223–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Battarbee, R. W., 1986. Diatom analysis. In Berglund, B. E. (ed.), Handbook of Holocene Palaeoecology and Palaeohydrology. J. Wiley & Sons, Toronto, 527–570.

    Google Scholar 

  • Battarbee, R. W., D. F. Charles, S. S. Dixit & I. Renberg, 1999. Diatoms as indicators of surface water acidity. In Smol, J. P. & E. F. Stoermer (eds), The Diatoms: Applications for the Environmental and Earth Sciences. Cambridge University Press, 85–127.

  • Battarbee, R.W., V. J. Jones, R. J. Flower, N. G. Cameron & H. Bennion, 2001. Diatoms. In Smol, J. P., H. J. B. Birks & W. M. Last (eds), Tracking Environmnental Change Using Lake Sediments. Volume 3: Terrestrial, Algal and Siliceous Indicators. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 155–202.

  • Bergner, A. G. N. & M. H. Trauth, 2004. Comparison of the hydrological and hydrochemical evolution of Lake Naivasha (Kenya) during three highstands between 175 and 60 kyr BP. Paleogeography, Paleoclimatology, Paleoecology 215: 17–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birks, H. J. B., 1998. Numerical tools in paleolimnology—progress, potentialities, and problems. Journal of Paleolimnology 20: 307–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birks, H. J. B. & H. H. Birks, 1980. Quaternary Palaeoecology. Edward Arnold, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradshaw, E. G., P. Rasmussen, H. Nielsen & N. J. Anderson, 2005. Mid- to late-Holocene land-use change and lake development at Dallund Sø, Denmark: trends in lake primary production as reflected by algal and macrophyte remains. The Holocene 20(8): 1130–1142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brugam, R. B., K. McKeever & L. Kolesa, 1998. A diatom-inferred water depth reconstruction for an Upper Peninsula, Michigan, lake. Journal of Paleolimnology 20: 267–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chalié, F. & F. Gasse, 2002. Late Glacial-Holocene diatom record of water chemistry and lake level change from the tropical East African Rift Lake Abiyata (Ethiopia). Paleogeography, Paleoclimatology, Paleoecology 187: 259–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dean, W. E., J. P. Bradbury, R. Y. Andersen & C. W. Barnosky, 1984. The variability of Holocene climate change: evidence from varved sediments. Science 226: 1191–1194.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Enell, M. & P. Larsson, 1985. Vatten-och sedimentkemiska analysmetoder. Institute of Limnology, University of Lund.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flower, R. J., 1993. Diatom preservation: experiments and observations on dissolution and breakage in modern and fossil material. Hydrobiologia 269/270: 473–484.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gasse, F., S. Juggins & L. B. Khelifa, 1995. Diatom-based transfer functions for inferring hydrochemical characteristics of African palaeolakes. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 117: 31–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griffiths, H. I., J. M. Reed, M. J. Leng, S. Ryan & S. Petkovski, 2002. The conservation status and recent palaeoecology of Balkan Lake Dojran. Biological Conservation 104: 35–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grimm, E. C., 1990. TILIA and TILIA GRAPH. PC spreadsheet and graphics software for pollen data. INQUA, Working Group on Data-Handling Methods. Newsletter 4: 5–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, R. I. & J. P. Smol, 1992. A weighted-averaging regression and calibration model for inferring total phosphorus concentration from diatoms in British Columbia (Canada) lakes. Freshwater Biology 27: 417–434.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, R. I. & J. P. Smol, 1996. Paleolimnological assessment of long-term water-quality changes in south-central Ontario lakes affected by cottage development and acidification. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 53: 1–17.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, R. I. & J. P. Smol, 1999. Diatoms as indicators of lake eutrophication. In Smol, J. P. & E. F. Stoermer (eds), The Diatoms: Applications for the Environmental and Earth Sciences. Cambridge University Press, 128–168.

  • Hodgson, D. A., W. Vyverman & P. Tyler, 1997. Diatoms of meromictic lakes adjacent to the Gordon River, and of the Gordon River estuary in south-west Tasmania. Bibliotheca Diatomologica, Band 35, J. Cramer, Berlin.

  • Hofman, A., D. Roussy & M. Filella, 2002. Dissolved silica budget in the North basin of Lake Lugano. Chemical Geology 182: 35–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Håkansson, H. & J. Regnell, 1993. Diatom succession related to land use during the last 6000 years: a study of a small eutrophic lake in southern Sweden. Journal of Paleolimnology 8: 49–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Håkanson, L., 1977. The influence of wind, fetch and water depth on the distribution of sediments in Lake Vänern, Sweden. Canadian Journal of Earth Science 14: 397–412.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kilman, S., E. C. Theriot & S. C. Fritz, 1996. Linking planktonic diatoms and climate change in the large lakes of the Yellowstone ecosystem using resource theory. Limnology and Oceanography 41: 1052–1062.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koff, T., 2004. Macrofossils in the sediments of L. Juusa (Southern Estonia). In Kaare, T. & J.-M. Punning (eds), Estonia. Geographical Studies 9: 30–40.

  • Koff, T., J.-M. Punning, K. Sarmaja-Korjonen & T. Martma, 2005. Ecosystem response to early and Late Holocene lake-level changes in Lake Juusa, southern Estonia. Polish Journal of Ecology 53(4): 553–570.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krammer, K. & H. Lange-Bertalot, 1988–1991. Bacillariophyceae. In Ettl, H., J. Gerloff, H. Heynig & D. Mollenhauer (eds), Süsswasserflora von Mitteleuropa, Band 2(2–4). Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart/Jena.

  • Krammer, K. & H. Lange-Bertalot, 1999–2004. Bacillariophyceae. In Ettl, H., J. Gerloff, H. Heynig & D. Mollenhauer (eds), Süsswasserflora von Mitteleuropa, Band 2(1–4). Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg/Berlin.

  • Lewin, J. C., 1961. The dissolution of silica from diatom walls. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 21: 182–198.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lotter, A. F. & C. Bigler, 2000. Do diatoms in the Swiss Alps reflect the length of ice-cover? Aquatic Science 62: 125–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meriläinen, J., 1973. The dissolution of diatom frustules and its palaeoecological interpretation. Report of the Department of Quaternary Geology, University of Lund 3, 91–95.

  • Moos, M. T., K. R. Laird & B. F. Cumming, 2005. Diatom assemblages and water depth in Lake 239 (Experimental Lakes Area, Ontario): implications for paleoclimatic studies. Journal of Paleolimnology 34: 217–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C. G. & R. J. Stevenson, 1992. Resistance and resilience of lotic algal communities: importance of disturbance timing and current. Ecology 73(4): 1445–1461.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Punning, J.-M., A. Raukas, L. Serebryannyi & V. Stelle, 1968. Paleogeographic pecularities and absolute age of the Luga stadial of the Valdai glaciation on the Russian Plain. Proceedings of the Academy of Sciences of USSR. Geology 178: 916–918 (in Russian).

  • Punning, J.-M. & K. Tõugu, 2000. C/N ratio and fossil pigments in sediments of some Estonian lakes: an evidence of human impact and Holocene environmental change. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 64: 549–567.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Punning, J.-M., L. Puusepp & T. Koff, 2004. Spatial variability of diatoms, subfossil macrophytes and OC/N values in surface sediments of Lake Väike Juusa (southern Estonia). Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences. Biology. Ecology 53(3): 147–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Punning, J.-M., T. Koff, E. Kadastik & A. Mikomägi, 2005a. Holocene lake level fluctuations recorded in the sediment composition of Lake Juusa, southeastern Estonia. Journal of Paleolimnology 34(2): 377–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Punning, J.-M., J. Terasmaa & E. Kadastik, 2005b. Grain size of the bottom sediments of Lake Väike Juusa (southern Estonia) as the indicator of water-level fluctuations. Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences. Geology 54: 40–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, C. S., 1984. The ecology of freshwater phytoplankton. Cambridge Studies in Ecology, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

  • Round, F. E., R. M. Crawford & D. G. Mann, 1990. The Diatoms. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saarse, L. & S. P. Harrison, 1992. Holocene lake-level changes in the eastern Baltic region. In Kaare, T., H. Mardiste, L. Merikalju & J.-M. Punning (eds), Estonia. Man and Nature. Tallinn, 6–20.

  • Smol, J. P., 1988. Paleoclimate proxy data from freshwater arctic diatoms. International Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology 23: 837–844.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stabell, B., 1985. The development and succession of taxa within the diatom genus Fragilaria Lyngbye as a response to basin isolation from the sea. Boreas 14: 273–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stoermer, E. F. & J. P. Smol, 1999. The Diatoms: Applications for the Environmental and Earth Sciences. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Straub, F., 1993. Diatoms and their preservation in sediments of Lake Neuchâtel (Switzerland) as evidence of past hydrological changes. Hydrobiologia 269/270: 167–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stuiver, M., P. J. Reimer & T. F. Braziunas, 1998. High-precision radiocarbon age calibration for terrestrial and marine samples. Radiocarbon 40: 1127–1151.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tarras-Wahlberg, H., M. Everard & D. M. Harper, 2002. Geochemical and physical characteristics of river and lake sediments at Naivasha, Kenya. Hydrobiologia 488: 27–41.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wolin, J. A., 1996. Late Holocene lake-level and lake development signals in Lower Herring Lake, Michigan. Journal of Paleolimnology 15(1): 1945.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolin, J. A. & H. C. Duthie, 1999. Diatoms as indicators of water level change in freshwater lakes. In Stoermer, E. F. & J. P Smol (eds), The Diatoms: Applications to the Environmental and Earth Sciences. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 183–202.

  • Yang, J.-R. & H. C. Duthie, 1995. Regression and weighted averaging models relating surficial sedimentary diatom assemblages to water depth in Lake Ontario. Journal of Great Lakes Research 21(1): 84–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, X., C. Kamenik, R. Schmidt & S. Wang, 2003. Diatom-based conductivity and water-level inference models from eastern Tibetan (Qinghai-Xizang) Plateau lakes. Journal of Paleolimnology 30: 1–19.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We express our sincere thanks to M. Kangur and J. Terasmaa for participating in the fieldwork and discussions. We are indebted to Mrs Tiia Kaare for revising our English and to the anonymous reviewers for critical comments and valuable suggestions. Financial support from the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research (No. 0282120s02) and the Estonian Science Foundation (grant 5584) and Doctoral School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences is gratefully acknowledged.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ecology, Tallinn University, Uus-Sadama 5, 10120, Tallinn, Estonia

    Jaan-Mati Punning & Liisa Puusepp

Authors
  1. Jaan-Mati Punning
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Liisa Puusepp
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jaan-Mati Punning.

Additional information

Handling editor: K. Martens

Electronic supplementary material

Below are the electronic supplementary materials.

ESM (DOC 25 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Punning, JM., Puusepp, L. Diatom assemblages in sediments of Lake Juusa, Southern Estonia with an assessment of their habitat. Hydrobiologia 586, 27–41 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-006-0474-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-006-0474-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation