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Effects of climate change and nutrient concentrations on carbon sources for zooplankton in a Tibetan Plateau lake over the past millennium

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Abstract

Autochthonous and allochthonous organic carbon (OC) are important carbon sources for zooplankton in lakes, and changes in the abundance and proportions of those sources may affect zooplankton community composition and lake ecosystem function. Nevertheless, long-term changes in assimilation of autochthonous and allochthonous carbon by zooplankton and associated climate- and environment-related forcing mechanisms have rarely been studied. We used a sediment record of cladoceran remains and geochemical variables from Lake Jirentso on the Tibetan Plateau to track long-term changes in sources of carbon for cladocera over the past ~ 950 years. High cladoceran:diatom accumulation rate ratios during the cold Little Ice Age indicated that cladocerans assimilated more allochthonous OC that was released from glaciers and frozen soils to replenish their food supply, a consequence of low primary production in the lake. In contrast, low cladoceran:diatom accumulation rate ratios during the Current Warm Period indicated that cladocerans utilized more autochthonous OC. Less autochthonous OC was available for cladocerans during the Medieval Warm Period than during the Current Warm Period. The total accumulation rate of cladocerans was significantly correlated with the annual mean air temperature, total phosphorus, and the organic carbon to nitrogen ratio in the sediment core. Recent warming and sharply increased nutrient inputs affected the cladoceran and diatom assemblages, further inducing a shift in the diet of zooplankton towards more recently produced OC. The sediment record from Lake Jirentso, which represents the last ~ 950 years of deposition, spanned an ideal time window for assessing historical changes related to the impacts of climate and nutrients on zooplankton carbon sources.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge XD Yang, Y Chen, and L Liu for field assistance, LY Kong and S Min for assistance in ECHO-G modeling, and LC Tan for sharing data on oxygen isotopes. The “Pioneer” and “Leading Goose” R&D Program of Zhejiang (2022C02038), National Science Foundation of China (31971475, 31930074, and 31770509), and the China-Netherlands Joint Programme (JSTP) (GJHZ05) supported this publication. JJM was supported by the Netherlands Earth System Science Center. EJ was supported by the Tübitak outstanding researchers program, BIDEB 2232 (project 118C250).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East Beijing Road, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Yaling Su, Kuanyi Li & Zhengwen Liu

  2. School of Geography, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China

    Yongdong Zhang

  3. Department of Ecology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China

    Zhengwen Liu

  4. Sino-Danish Centre for Education and Research (SDC), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Zhengwen Liu & Erik Jeppesen

  5. School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China

    Tijian Wang

  6. Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Vejlsøvej 25, 8600, Silkeborg, Denmark

    Erik Jeppesen

  7. Limnology Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences and Centre for Ecosystem Research and Implementation, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, 60800, Turkey

    Erik Jeppesen

  8. Institute of Marine Sciences, Middle East Technical University, Mersin, 37731, Turkey

    Erik Jeppesen

  9. Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8A, 3584 CB, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Jack J. Middelburg

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

    John P. Smol

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  1. Yaling Su
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Su, Y., Li, K., Zhang, Y. et al. Effects of climate change and nutrient concentrations on carbon sources for zooplankton in a Tibetan Plateau lake over the past millennium. J Paleolimnol 68, 249–263 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-022-00245-w

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