Abstract
Loch Leven is a large, shallow lake in lowland Scotland, UK. Scientific research began here almost 200 years ago. Early research characterised the biodiversity and physical characteristics of the loch, providing an important historical background for future research. In the mid-1960s, this ad hoc approach was superseded by a more structured research programme under the umbrella of the International Biological Programme. This was the beginning of the Loch Leven long-term monitoring programme. Today, the results of these studies form one of the longest and most comprehensive limnological datasets for shallow freshwater lakes in the world, comprising more than 500 physical, chemical and biological variables collected at two-weekly intervals. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the start of the long term monitoring programme, and to highlight the scientific investigations still being conducted at Loch Leven, the NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) organised a symposium entitled “Loch Leven: 40 years of scientific research” in Kinross, Scotland, UK, on 11 December 2008. This examined the role of long-term monitoring in developing our understanding of the links between pollution, climate change and ecological responses in shallow lakes. This article introduces a series of papers summarising the scientific results presented at this meeting.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bachmann, H., 1906. Le plankton Écossais. Archives des Sciences Physiques et Naturelles 20: 359.
Buchanan, G., 1839. Parish of Kinross. In The statistical account of Scotland, 1834–1845, volume 9: 2–29.
Burns-Begg, R., 1874. The Loch Leven Angler, Edinburgh and Glasgow. George Barnett, Kinross: 144 pp.
Fleming, J., 1836. Interim report by the Revd Dr Fleming as valuator of the damage done to the fishings by the drainage of Loch Leven, Kinross, MS. Sheriff Court, Kinross.
Hooker, W. J., 1821. Flora Scotica: or a description of Scottish Plants, London.
Johnstone, J. E., 1934. The Loch Leven Angler. Brown, Kinross: 148 pp.
LLCMP, 1999. Loch Leven Catchment Management Plan: 93 pp.
Millais, J. G., 1901. The Wildfowler in Scotland. Longmanns, London.
Millais, J. G., 1902. The Natural History of British Surface-feeding Ducks. Longmanns, London.
Millais, J. G., 1913. The British Diving Ducks. Longmanns, London.
Morgan, N. C., 1974. Historical background to International Biological Program Project at Loch Leven, Kinross. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Section (B) 74: 45–55.
Morgan, N. C. & D. S. McLusky, 1974. Summary of the Loch Leven IBP results in relation to lake management and future research. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Section (B) 74: 407–416.
Mortimer, C. H., 1942. The exchange of dissolved substances between mud and water in lakes. Journal of Ecology 30: 147–201.
Munro, D., 1994. Loch Leven and the River Leven: a landscape transformed. River Leven Trust, Markinch: 196 pp.
Murray, J. & L. Pullar, 1910. Bathymetrical Survey of the Freshwater Lochs of Scotland. Challenger Office, Edinburgh.
Rosenberg, M., 1938. Algae and trout. A biological aspect of the poor trout season in 1937. Salmon and Trout Magazine 89: 313–322.
Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1974. The Loch Leven I.B.P. Project. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Section (B) 74: 43–421.
Scott, T., 1891. The invertebrate fauna of the inland waters of Scotland, Part II. In 9th Report of the Fishery Board of Scotland Part III: 269–296.
Scott, T., 1899. The invertebrate fauna of the inland waters of Scotland—report on special investigation. In 17th Report of the Fishery Board of Scotland Part III: 161–165.
Scott, T., 1906. A catalogue of land, fresh-water, and marine Crustacea found in the basin of the River Forth and its estuary. Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh 16(97–190): 267–386.
Sibbald, R., 1710. The History, Ancient and Modern, of the Sherrifdoms of Fife and Kinross, Edinburgh.
Smith, I. R., 1973. The assessment of winds at Loch Leven, Kinross. Weather 28: 202–210.
Smith, I. R., 1974. The structure and physical environment of Loch Leven, Scotland. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Section, B 74: 81–100.
Wesenburg-Lund, C., 1905. A comparative study of the lakes of Scotland and Denmark. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, B 25: 401–448.
West, G. S., 1910. A further contribution to a comparative study of the dominant Phanerogamic and Higher Cryptogamic flora of aquatic habit in Scottish lakes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, B 30: 170–173. 62 Plates.
Yarrell, W., 1839. Supplement to the second volume of the History of British Fishes. Samuel Bentley, London: 9–12.
Acknowledgements
We thank the Kinross Estates, Loch Leven Fisheries, Loch Leven Trustees, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Royal Society for the Protection of Birds for their support for our scientific research at Loch Leven. We are also grateful to Alex Kirika and the late Tony Bailey-Watts who maintained the long-term monitoring programme at Loch Leven for more than 30 years. This research was funded by Scottish Natural Heritage, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Natural Environment Research Council, UK. Loch Leven is part of the UK Environmental Change Network (http://www.ecn.ac.uk/).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Guest editors: L. May & B. M. Spears / Loch Leven: 40 years of scientific research
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
May, L., Spears, B.M. A history of scientific research at Loch Leven, Kinross, Scotland. Hydrobiologia 681, 3–9 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-011-0929-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-011-0929-4