Abstract
Fossil diatom assemblages from the sediment/water interface in 105 Minnesota lakes were compared with measurements of alkalinity, sulphate, total phosphorus, transparency, and water depth at the sample site. Similar assemblages were placed together using cluster analysis and comparisons of environmental variables between diatom clusters were made using an analysis of variance. Total alkalinity and transparency showed the greatest difference among clusters. Samples from shallow eutrophic prairie lakes were dominated by Melosira granulata, Stephanodiscus niagarae and, occasionally, by Stephanodiscus hantzschii. Deep oligotrophic lakes had modest percentages of Cyclotella comta. Dilute acid lakes were dominated either by Melosira distans and M. italica or by Tabellaria fenestrata, Cyclotella stelligera, and in some cases C. glomerata. Assemblages with Cyclotella glomerata and Synedra nana were found in naturally meromictic lakes. Stephanodiscus hantzschii showed a preference for extremely eutrophic lakes. The relationships between recently deposited diatom assemblages and the lake environmental conditions studied here can be used to evaluate the extent of past environmental change in lakes.
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Contribution No. 189, Limnological Research Center, University of Minnesota
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Brugam, R.B. The relationship between fossil diatom assemblages and limnological conditions. Hydrobiologia 98, 223–235 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00021023
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00021023