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The biogeochemistry and zoogeography of lakes and rivers in arctic Alaska

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Abstract

Water samples from 45 lakes and 8 rivers in arctic Alaska were analyzed for major anions, cations, nutrients, chlorophyll, zooplankton, and benthos. The waters were dilute (conductivities of 30 to 843 µS cm−1), and their composition varied from Na-Ca-Cl waters near the Arctic Ocean to Ca-Mg-HCO3 waters further inland. Sea salt input in precipitation was important in determining the chemistry of coastal lakes, partly because of low groundwater flow and less time for water to react with shallow unfrozen soils. Further inland, variations in water chemistry among sites were related mainly to differences in bedrock, the age of associated glacial drift, and the input of wind blown sediment. Variations in zooplankton species composition among the lakes were related more to latitude, lake morphometery, and biotic interactions than to water chemistry. The presence of fish as predators mostly determined the overall size structure of the zooplankton community. The chironomid taxa identified have been previously reported from the Neararctic, except for Corynocera oliveri which is a new record. The abundance of the widely distributed chironomid Procladius appears to be controlled by sculpin predation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Michigan, 48109, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    George W. Kling

  2. Department of Systematics and Ecology, University of Kansas, 66045, Lawrence, KS, USA

    W. John O'Brien

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, 45221, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Michael C. Miller

  4. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota-Duluth, 55812, Duluth, MN, USA

    Anne E. Hershey

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  1. George W. Kling
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  2. W. John O'Brien
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  3. Michael C. Miller
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  4. Anne E. Hershey
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Kling, G.W., O'Brien, W.J., Miller, M.C. et al. The biogeochemistry and zoogeography of lakes and rivers in arctic Alaska. Hydrobiologia 240, 1–14 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00013447

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