Spatial variation of diatom diversity with water depth at Huguang Maar Lake, Southern China

• Published in: Journal of paleolimnology Vol. 68; no. 1; pp. 119 - 131
• Main Authors: Li, Jingjing, Wang, Luo, Zou, Yafei, Li, Jie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-06-2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Bacillariophyceae; Bathymeters; Bathymetry; Biodiversity; Climate Change; Cores; Deep water; Diatoms; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Geology; Lake basins; Lakes; Marine microorganisms; Microhabitat; Microhabitats; Morphometry; Original Paper; Paleontology; Physical Geography; Plankton; Sediment; Sediment samplers; Sediment samples; Sedimentology; Sediments; Shallow water; Slumping; Spatial variations; Water depth; Wave action; China; Diatom diversity; Diatom assemblage; Huguang Maar Lake; Water depth; Topography
• ISSN: 0921-2728; 1573-0417
• DOI: 10.1007/s10933-021-00218-5

An investigation of changes in lake diatom assemblages and diversity with water depth can help determine whether the biodiversity of a single sediment core is representative of that of the entire lake, as well as can improve our understanding of the relationship between diatom assemblages and water depth. In this study, Huguang Maar Lake in Southern China was investigated in order to explore the spatial patterns of diatom diversity and diatom assemblages of 95 surface sediment samples from different locations and depth zones within the lake. The results show an essentially constant diatom diversity, dominated by planktonic diatoms, in the open deep water zone (OD), and consistent diatom diversity in the northern gently-sloping shallow water zone (NS). However, there is a much higher diatom diversity in different microhabitats in the southern and western shallow water zone (SWS), where the bathymetry is much steeper. This difference may reflect the influence of the bathymetry on the occurrence of sediment slumping. In the steeply-sloping SWS zone, frequently influenced by wave action and sediment slumping, diatom diversity is less representative of that of the entire lake, possibly due to the presence of diatoms from different sources and of different depositional ages. The results indicate that for relatively strongly mixed lakes with a simple morphometry, water depth has little influence on diatom diversity; however, the possible influence of local lake basin topography should be considered when reconstructing past diatom diversity changes from sediment cores.