Differences in food web structure and composition between new and nearby older lakes in West Greenland suggest succession trajectories driven by glacier retreat


Jeppesen E., Davidson T. A., Meerhoff M., De Meester L., Gonzalez-Bergonzoni I., Vidal N., ...More

HYDROBIOLOGIA, vol.850, no.21, pp.4745-4761, 2023 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 850 Issue: 21
  • Publication Date: 2023
  • Doi Number: 10.1007/s10750-023-05189-4
  • Journal Name: HYDROBIOLOGIA
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Animal Behavior Abstracts, Aqualine, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, Environment Index, Geobase, Pollution Abstracts, Public Affairs Index, Veterinary Science Database
  • Page Numbers: pp.4745-4761
  • Keywords: Climate change, Arctic, Glacier-fed lakes, Richness, Zooplankton, Food webs, Stable isotopes, COMMUNITY-WIDE MEASURES, ISOTOPE RATIOS PROVIDE, TOP-DOWN CONTROL, TROPHIC STRUCTURE, CRUSTACEAN ZOOPLANKTON, JAKOBSHAVN ISBRAE, NUTRIENT STATE, ALPINE LAKES, ICE-SHEET, HOLOCENE
  • Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

With the retreat of glaciers, new ponds and lakes are often formed. These are gradually colonised and become more productive as vegetation develops in their catchments, creating more complex food webs. Near the Jakobshavn Isbr AE in West Greenland, we studied trophic structure and food web complexity using stable isotopes in 26 lakes belonging to two different age groups (19 new lakes and 7 nearby older (> 150 years) ones). The older lakes had significantly higher total nitrogen and pelagic chlorophyll-a concentrations, as well as a higher organic matter content in the surface sediment. The biomass and richness of cladocerans, copepods and rotifers were higher in the older lakes and so was the zooplankton:phytoplankton biomass ratio. Multivariate analyses showed a marked difference between the zooplankton communities of new and older lakes. Layman food web metrics indicated higher food chain length and width of invertebrates (zooplankton and benthic macroinvertebrates) in the older lakes, being significantly higher in lakes with fish. Our findings highlight a potential sequence of succession occurring in lakes created by glacial retreat in the Arctic, implying an increase in food web complexity and higher taxonomic (and likely also functional) diversity following ageing and increased nutrient state.