Abstract:

Global mean surface temperatures are increasing. All ecosystems are likely to be affected and there is much interest at present in predicting the effects. In freshwater environments, we expect to observe, among other things, effects similar to those observed under eutrophication, such as increases in zooplankton population density and biomass as a result of enhanced population growth rates. Lago Maggiore underwent rapid eutrophication during the 60s and 70s, with a return to oligotrophy during the 80s and the 90s. Thus, it provides a case study to test the hypothesized eutrophication-like effects of recent climate warming. More specifically, we compare zooplankton biomass and density during the exceptionally warm years of the recent oligotrophic phase with values during the non-warm years of oligotrophy, and during years of the mesotrophic phase. This permits an analysis of zooplankton biomass and density with respect to temperature increase compared with the effects of eutrophication. Zooplankton population density and biomass sharply increased in 2003, the warmest year of the last century, as a result of Cladocera, particularly Daphnia, attaining values typical of the mesotrophic phase. These values were exceptional compared to typical values and were strongly different from those attained during cooler years since re-oligotrophication. Mean annual values of zooplankton density and biomass recorded in 2003 were fully comparable to typical values during the mesotrophic period. This observation confirms the hypothesis of an overall eutrophication-like effect of climate warming. Seasonal trends, characterized by an earlier start of population growth, are consistent with the effects of an increase in water temperature, as observed in laboratory experiments on the reproductive and growth strategies of Daphnia. VISCONTI, Anna, Marina MANCA, and Riccardo DE BERNARDI. 2008. “Eutrophication-Like Response to Climate Warming: An Analysis of Lago Maggiore (N. Italy) Zooplankton in Contrasting Years”. Journal of Limnology 67 (2):87-92. https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2008.87. More Citation Formats ACM ACS APA ABNT Chicago Harvard MLA Turabian Vancouver Download Citation Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS) BibTeX Downloads Download data is not yet available. Citations Similar Articles Hu He, Xiaolong Zhu, Xiaolan Song, Erik Jeppesen, Zhengwen Liu, Phytoplankton response to winter warming modified by large-bodied zooplankton: an experimental microcosm study , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 74 No. 3 (2015) Valeria Rossi, Catia Maurone, Giorgio Benassi, Silvia Marková, Petr Kotlík, Nicolò Bellin, Ireneo Ferrari, Phenology of Daphnia in a Northern Italy pond during the weather anomalous 2014 , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 74 No. 3 (2015) Marina Manca, Michela Rogora, Nico Salmaso, Inter-annual climate variability and zooplankton: applying teleconnection indices to two deep subalpine lakes in Italy , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 74 No. 1 (2015) Csaba Vadadi-Fülöp, Levente Hufnagel, Climate change and plankton phenology in freshwater: current trends and future commitments , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 73 No. 1 (2014) Piero Guilizzoni, Suzanne N. Levine, Marina Manca, Aldo Marchetto, Andrea Lami, Walter Ambrosetti, Achim Brauer, Stefano Gerli, Elisabetta A. Carrara, Angelo Rolla, Licia Guzzella, Davide A.L. Vignati, Ecological effects of multiple stressors on a deep lake (Lago Maggiore, Italy) integrating neo and palaeolimnological approaches , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 71 No. 1 (2012) Silvia Marková, Catia Maurone, Erica Racchetti, Marco Bartoli, Valeria Rossi, Daphnia diversity in water bodies of the Po River Basin , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 76 No. 2 (2017) Fabien Bourinet, Orlane Anneville, Hilaire Drouineau, Chloé Goulon, Jean Guillard, Alexandre Richard, Synchrony in whitefish stock dynamics: disentangling the effects of local drivers and climate , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 82 (2023) Yimy Herrera-Martínez, Juan César Paggi, Camilo Bernardo García, Cascading effect of exotic fish fry on plankton community in a tropical Andean high mountain lake: a mesocosm experiment , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 76 No. 2 (2017) Claude Lang, Phosphorus decreases in Lake Geneva but climate warming hampers the recovery of pristine oligochaete communities whereas chironomids are less affected , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 75 No. 2 (2016) Finn A. Viehberg, Reinhard Pienitz, Trends in Ostracoda and Cladocera distribution and water chemistry in subarctic Canada: Churchill (Manitoba) lakes and ponds revisited , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 76 No. 3 (2017) 1 2 > >> 

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