Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The late Pleistocene desiccation of Lake Victoria and the origin of its endemic biota

  • Opinion paper
  • Published:
Hydrobiologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Lingering debate among evolutionary biologists over whether or not Lake Victoria dried out during the late Pleistocene focuses on perceived conflicts between biological and geological evidence for the age of its endemic species. This article reviews and updates the geophysical and paleoecological evidence for lake-wide desiccation and describes the environmental conditions that aquatic species likely experienced during the low stand. Lake Victoria was at its lowest between 18,000 and 14,000 calendar years ago, and it dried out at least once during that time. There is no evidence of remnant ponds or marshes persisting within the desiccated basin. If such features existed, then they would have been small, shallow, turbid, and/or saline, and therefore markedly different from the lake to which today’s species are adapted. The existence of Lake Victoria’s diverse endemic biota must be reconciled with the incontrovertible geophysical and paleoecological evidence of a ca. 15,000 year age for the lake, and not vice versa.

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
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abila, R., M. Barluenga, J. Engelken, A. Meyer & W. Salzberger, 2004. Population-structure and genetic diversity in a haplochromine fish cichlid of a satellite lake of Lake Victoria. Molecular Ecology 13: 2589–2602.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bard, E., F. Rostek, J.-L. Turon & S. Gendreau, 2000. Hydrological impact of Heinrich events in the subtropical northeast Atlantic. Science 289: 1321–1324.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barker, P. & F. Gasse, 2003. New evidence for a reduced water balance in East Africa during the Last Glacial Maximum: implication for model-data comparison. Quaternary Science Reviews 22: 823–837.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beuning, K., M. R. Talbot & K. A. Kelts, 1997a. A revised 30,000 year paleoclimatic record and paleohydrologic history of Lake Albert, East Africa. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 136: 259–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beuning, K., K. Kelts, E. Ito & T. C. Johnson, 1997b. Paleohydrology of Lake Victoria, East Africa, inferred from 18O/16O ratios in sediment cellulose. Geology 25: 1083–1086.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beuning, K. R. M., K. Kelts, J. Russell & B. B. Wolfe, 2002. Reassessment of Lake Victoria-Upper Nile River paleohydrology from oxygen isotope records of lake-sediment cellulose. Geology 30: 559–562.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bonnefille, R. & F. Chalié, 2000. Pollen-inferred precipitation time-series from equatorial mountains, Africa, the last 40 kyr B.P. Global and Planetary Change 26: 25–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chalié, F., 1995. Paléoclimats du bassin Tanganyika Sud au cours des 25 derniers mille ans: reconstitution quantitative par le traitment statistique de données polliniques. Comptes Rendus Académie des Sciences Paris 320: 205–210.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crul, R. C. M., 1995. Limnology and hydrology of Lake Victoria. UNESCO/IHP-IV Project M-5.1. UNESCO Publishing.

  • Flohn, H. & T. Burkhardt, 1985. Nile runoff at Aswan and Lake Victoria: a case of discontinuous climate time series. Zeitschrift für Gletscherkunde und Glazialgeologie, Band 21: 125–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foucault, A. & D. J. Stanley, 1989. Late Quaternary palaeoclimatic oscillations in East Africa recorded by heavy minerals in the Nile delta. Nature 339: 44–46.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fryer, G., 1997. Biological implications of a suggested Late Pleistocene desiccation of Lake Victoria. Hydrobiologia 354: 177–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fryer, G., 2001. On the age and origin of the species flock of haplochromine cichlid fishes of Lake Victoria. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 268: 1147–1152.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fryer, G., 2004. Speciation rates in lakes and the enigma of Lake Victoria. Hydrobiologia 519: 167–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gasse, F., V. Lédée, M. Massault & J.-C. Fontes, 1989. Water-level fluctuations of Lake Tanganyika in phase with oceanic changes during the last glaciation and deglaciation. Nature 342: 57–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gasse, F., R. Téhet, A. Durand, E. Gibert & J.-C. Fontes, 1990. The arid-humid transition in the Sahara and the Sahel during the last deglaciation. Nature 346: 141–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gasse, F. & E. van Campo, 1998. A 40,000-year pollen and diatom record from Lake Tritrivakely, Madagascar, in the southern tropics. Quaternary Research 49: 299–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenwood, P. H., 1965. The cichlid fishes of Lake Nabugabo, Uganda. Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History 12: 313–357.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haberyan, K. A. & R. E. Hecky, 1987. The late Pleistocene stratigraphy and paleolimnology of Lakes Kivu and Tanganyika. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 61: 169–197.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hecky, R.E., 1993. The eutrophication of Lake Victoria. Verdhandlungen Internationale Vereinigung fur Limnologie. 25: 39–48.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hemleben, C., D. Meischner, R. Zahn, A. Almogi-Labin, H. Erlenkeuser & B. Hiller, 1996. Three hundred eighty thousand year long stable isotope and faunal records from the Red Sea: Influence of global sea level change on hydrography. Palaeoceanography 11: 147–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, T. C., C. A. Scholz, M. R. Talbot, K. Kelts, G. Ngobi, K. Beuning, I. Ssemmanda & J. A. McGill, 1996. Late Pleistocene desiccation of Lake Victoria and rapid evolution of cichlid fishes. Science 273: 1091–1093.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, T. C., K. Kelts & E. Odada, 2000. The Holocene history of Lake Victoria. Ambio 29: 2–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joyce, D. A., D. H. Lunt, R. Bills, G. F. Turner, C. Katongo, N. Duftner, C. Sturmbauer & O. Seehausen, 2005. An extant cichlid fish radiation emerged in an extinct Pleistocene lake. Nature 435: 90–95.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kendall, R. L., 1969. An ecological history of the Lake Victoria basin. Ecological Monographs 39: 121–176.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kitagawa, H. & J. van der Plicht, 1998. Atmospheric radiocarbon calibration to 45,000 year B.P.: late glacial fluctuations and cosmogenic isotope production. Science 279: 1187–1190.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laerdal, T., M. R. Talbot & J. M. Russell, 2002. Late Quaternary sedimentation and climate in the Lakes Edward, George area, Uganda-Congo. In Odada, E. & D.O. Olago (eds), The East African Great Lakes: Limnology, palaeolimnology and biodiversity. Kluwer: Dordrecht: 429–470.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayewski, P.A., L. D. Meeker, M. S. Twickler, S. I. Whitlow, Q. Yang & M. Prentice, 1997. Major features and forcing of high latitude northern hemisphere atmospheric circulation over the last 110,000 years. Journal of Geophysical Research 102: 26,345–26,366.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nagl, S., H. Tichy, W. E. Mayer, N. Takezaki, N. Takahata & J. Klein, 2000. The origin and age of haplochromine fishes in Lake Victoria, East Africa. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 267: 1049–1061.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Scholz, C. A., J. W. King, G. S. Ellis, P. K. Swart, J. C. Stager & S. M. Colman, 2003. Paleolimnology of Lake Tanganyika, East Africa, over the past 100 kyr. Journal of Paleolimnology 30: 139–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seehausen, O., 2002. Patterns in fish radiation are compatible with Pleistocene desiccation of Lake Victoria and 14,600 year history for its cichlid species flock. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 269: 491–497.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seehausen, O., J. J. M. van Alphen & F. Witte, 1997. Cichlid fish diversity threatened by eutrophication that curbs sexual selection. Science 277: 1808–1811.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Seehausen, O., E. Koetsier, M. V. Schneider, L. J. Chapman, C. A. Chapman, M. E. Knight, G. F. Turner, J. J. M. van Alphen & R. Bills, 2003. Nuclear markers reveal unexpected genetic variation and a Congolese-Nilotic origin of the Lake Victoria cichlid species flock. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 270: 129–137.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stager, J. C., 1984. The diatom record of Lake Victoria (East Africa): the last 17,000 years. In Mann, D.G., (ed.), Proceedings of the Seventh International Diatom Symposium, Philadelphia, 1982. Strauss & Cramer: Koenigstein: 455–476.

  • Stager, J. C., P. R. Reinthal & D. A. Livingstone, 1986. A 25,000 year history for Lake Victoria, East Africa, and some comments on its significance for the evolution of cichlid fishes. Freshwater Biology 16: 15–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stager, J. C. & T. C. Johnson, 2000. A 12,400 14C years offshore diatom record from east central Lake Victoria, East Africa. Journal of Paleolimnology 23: 373–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stager, J. C., P. A. Mayewski & L. D. Meeker, 2002. Cooling cycles, Heinrich events, and the desiccation of Lake Victoria. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 183: 169–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stager, J. C., B. F. Cumming & L. D. Meeker, 2003. A 10,000 year high-resolution diatom record from Pilkington Bay, Lake Victoria, East Africa. Quaternary Research 59: 172–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stager, J. C., J. J. Day & S. Santini, 2004. Comment on “Origin of the superflock of cichlid fishes from Lake Victoria, East Africa. Science 304: 963.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stager, J. C., J. Westwood, D. Grzesik & B. F. Cumming, 2005. A 5,500 year environmental history of Lake Nabugabo, Uganda. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 218: 347–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stuiver, M., 1970. Long-term C14 variations. In Radiocarbon variations and absolute chronology (ed. I.U. Olsson) pp. 197–213. Proc. Twelfth Nobel Symp., Uppsala. John Wiley & Sons: New York.

  • Stuiver, M. & P. J. Reimer, 1993. Extended 14-C data base and revised CALIB 3.0 14-C age calibration program. Radiocarbon 35: 215–230.

    Google Scholar 

  • Talbot, M. R. & D. A. Livingstone, 1989. Hydrogen index and carbon isotopes of lacustrine organic matter as lake level indicators. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 70: 121–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Talbot, M. R. & T. Laerdal, 2000. The late Pleistocene-Holocene palaeolimnology of Lake Victoria, East Africa, based upon elemental and isotopic analyses of sedimentary organic matter. Journal of Paleolimnology 23: 141–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Talbot, M. R., M. A. J. Williams & D. A. Adamson, 2000. Strontium isotopic evidence for late Pleistocene re-establishment of an integrated Nile drainage network. Geology 28: 343–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Talling, J. F. & I. B. Talling, 1965. The chemical composition of African lake waters. Internationale Revue ges Hydrobiologie 50: 421–463.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Temple, P. H., 1969. Some biological implications of a revised geological history for lake Victoria. Biological Journal of the Linnaean Society 1: 363–371.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verheyen, E., W. Salzburger, J. Snoeks & A. Meyer, 2003. Origin of the superflock of cichlid fishes from Lake Victoria, East Africa. Science 300: 325–329.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • von Rad, U., H. Schulz, V. Reich, M. den Dulk, U. Berner & F. Sirocko, 1999. Multiple monsoon-controlled breakdown of oxygen-minimum conditions during the past 30,000 years documented in laminated sediments off Pakistan. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 152: 129–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zonneveld, K. A. F., G. Ganssen, S. Troelstra, G. J. M. Versteegh, & H. Visscher, 1997. Mechanisms forcing abrupt fluctuations of the Indian Ocean summer monsoon during the last deglaciation. Quaternary Science Reviews 16: 187–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank J. Day, F. Holzfoerster, R. Kendall, E. Michel, D. Ryves, S. Santini, O. Seehausen, and D. Verschuren for helpful comments and information. The U.S. National Science Foundation provided financial support for the analyses and interpretations presented here (ATM-9808972, ATM-0117170, ATM-0401845).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Natural Sciences Division, Paul Smith’s College, Paul Smiths, NY, 12970, USA

    J. C. Stager

  2. Large Lakes Observatory and Department of Geological Sciences, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN, 55812, USA

    T. C. Johnson

Authors
  1. J. C. Stager
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. T. C. Johnson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. C. Stager.

Additional information

Handling editor: K. Martens

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Stager, J.C., Johnson, T.C. The late Pleistocene desiccation of Lake Victoria and the origin of its endemic biota. Hydrobiologia 596, 5–16 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-007-9158-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-007-9158-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation