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Changes in cladoceran assemblage composition linked to early nineteenth century canal construction, land-use changes, and recent climate change in a macrophyte-dominated Ontario lake

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Abstract

The Rideau Canal (Ontario, Canada) was constructed in the early 1830s, primarily as a means to transport military personnel, but now is primarily recreational. The construction of the canal and associated flooding, as well as other land-use changes, likely impacted lakes within the system, however, long-term monitoring data are not available. Furthermore, recent environmental changes, including accelerated climate warming, are affecting lake ecosystems. Shallow, macrophyte-dominated Lake Opinicon, which is part of the canal system, has been impacted by other various catchment disturbances over the past ~ 200 years. A previous diatom-based paleolimnological study conducted on the lake, examining a core collected in 1995, found that the diatom responses to a host of large-scale catchment disturbances were moderate compared to nearby deeper lakes. A more recent diatom-based study conducted on a 2019 core (the same core used in the present study) found similar results; however, over the most recent ~ 25–30 years a striking shift in diatom assemblage composition was documented, coinciding with increased regional climate warming. Nothing is known concerning long-term changes within the primary consumers linked to the array of disturbances. Here, we examined changes in cladoceran assemblages over the past ~200 years, using the 2019 sediment core, to track their response to various environmental stressors including climate warming. We found that pelagic Bosmina and Daphnia species began to increase in the early nineteenth century, consistent with the flooding of the lake during canal construction. The most ecologically notable changes in the cladoceran record, however, occurred in the most recent sediments. These were characterized by marked declines (often to trace abundances) in several littoral taxa, concurrent with a further increase in the relative abundance of small, pelagic Bosmina spp. This most recent compositional shift was consistent with accelerated regional climate warming and associated limnological changes, decreased total phosphorus (TP) concentrations, and changing food sources. These changes in primary consumers will likely cascade throughout the food web.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada by Discovery Grants to JPS and AMP and the Rideau Lakes Environmental Foundation (RLEF). We thank the staff at the Queen’s University Biological Station (QUBS) for logistical support, and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, Dr. David Phillipp for sharing his knowledge of historical zebra mussel abundances in Lake Opinicon, and Brigitte Simmatis for coordinating sediment core collection at QUBS. We also thank Maarten van Hardenbroek and two anonymous reviewers for constructive comments that helped strengthen the manuscript.

Funding

This study was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Discovery) awards to JPS and AMP.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Laboratory (PEARL), Department of Biology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada

    Emma L. Graves, Kapillesh Balasubramaniam, Kathleen M. Rühland & John P. Smol

  2. Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks, Dorset, ON, P0A 1E0, Canada

    Andrew M. Paterson

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  1. Emma L. Graves
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  2. Kapillesh Balasubramaniam
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Contributions

ELG, KB, KMR, AMP, and JPS conceived and designed the study. KB assisted with collecting and dating the sediment core. ELG identified and counted the cladocerans and prepared the figures. AMP and JPS provided the funding. All authors co-wrote and reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Emma L. Graves.

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10933_2024_319_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Supplementary Figure 1: Principal component analysis (PCA) showing axis 1 (λ = 0.54) and 2 (λ = 0.15) sample scores from L. Opinicon. Time markers show significant dates including the beginning of the record (2019), period of increased regional warming (1970), and when the Rideau Canal was constructed (1830) (PDF 12 KB)

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Graves, E.L., Balasubramaniam, K., Rühland, K.M. et al. Changes in cladoceran assemblage composition linked to early nineteenth century canal construction, land-use changes, and recent climate change in a macrophyte-dominated Ontario lake. J Paleolimnol 72, 49–61 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-024-00319-x

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