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Ostracods and the Holocene palaeolimnology of Lake Qarun, with special reference to past human–environment interactions in the Faiyum (Egypt)

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Abstract

We present an ostracod record covering the past two millennia from an 8.25-m core taken from Lake Qarun, in the Faiyum Depression of Egypt. The occurrence of ostracod species in the lake is controlled primarily by variations in solute composition, which are in turn related to shifts in catchment land use. At times when the Faiyum Depression supported thriving agriculture, lake water contained Na+–Cl− brine, and Cyprideis torosa dominated the ostracod assemblage. When the Faiyum Depression experienced periods of environmental and economic decline, lake water contained Na+–HCO3 − brine, and Limnocythere inopinata dominated. The relative abundance of other ostracod species provides additional information about past conditions in Lake Qarun including salinity and lake level changes. Overall, the ostracod assemblages provide evidence for human influences in the Faiyum, which extend back before instrumental or detailed observational records began.

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Acknowledgements

Most of this study was funded by The Leverhulme Trust, research project F/07 134X. We would like to thank the following people and organisations for their help: Prof Fekri Hassan and advice; Geoffrey Tassie, for collecting water samples; Richard Niederreiter and colleagues for invaluable help with the sediment coring Elanor McBay, for drawing the Faiyum map; Lake Qarun National Park, for permission to work on this unique site; and the staff of the Environmental Affairs Agency (EAA) in the Faiyum (Qarun Protected Area), for their logistical help, especially Gebaily Abdel-Maksoud, Mahmoud Mokhtar, and Owais Shaaban. Finally, we acknowledge the constructive and thought-provoking comments from Ian Boomer and an anonymous referee.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Change Research Centre, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    Kevin Keatings, Jonathan Holmes & Roger Flower

  2. Department of Geography, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS, UK

    David Horne

  3. Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK

    David Horne

  4. Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK

    John E. Whittaker

  5. Marine Geology Department, Faculty of Marine Science, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80207, Jedahh 21589, Saudi Arabia

    Ramadan H. Abu-Zied

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  1. Kevin Keatings
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  2. Jonathan Holmes
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  3. Roger Flower
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  4. David Horne
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  5. John E. Whittaker
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  6. Ramadan H. Abu-Zied
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Correspondence to Jonathan Holmes.

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Handling editor: J. Saros

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Keatings, K., Holmes, J., Flower, R. et al. Ostracods and the Holocene palaeolimnology of Lake Qarun, with special reference to past human–environment interactions in the Faiyum (Egypt). Hydrobiologia 654, 155–176 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0379-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0379-4

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