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A new species of Aulacoseira Thwaites is described from sediment deposits of Surprise Lake, an isolated lake located in the New Jersey Highlands. The species is characterized by (1) a low mantle, (2) unevenly distributed mantle areolae of variable size and shape, and (3) a valve face covered by rounded areolae. The new species is most similar to Aulacoseira biseriata (Grunow in Van Heurk) Houk, R. Klee & H. Tanaka. Both taxa possess frustules with mantles that are low, with irregular pervalvar rows or scattered areolae. However, the two species differ in the shape and pattern of the areolae, the shape and structure of the mantle wall, the shape and depth of the ringleist, and other morphological features. In this study, we present light and scanning electron microscopic images of the new species and compare it to the most similar taxa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diatoms have been successfully used as indicators of past and present environmental conditions in freshwater and marine habitats, but their diversity and indicative properties in microtidal coastal wetlands of temperate zone are relatively poorly studied. The goal of this study was to determine whether diatoms can be used as indicators of sea level and nutrient content in coastal wetlands of the mid-Atlantic region of the USA. Our exploratory analyses indicated that benthic and marsh soil diatom assemblages were jointly controlled by tidal elevation, salinity, sediment texture, and nutrient content, while the relative importance of these factors varied among datasets targeting different environmental gradients. The habitat type could be correctly inferred from diatom assemblage composition in 79% of samples. A diatom-based model developed for inferring sediment nitrogen content had an average accuracy of prediction of 12.5% of observed nitrogen range. Models for inferring tidal exposure from diatom assemblage data provided assessment with 11–16% accuracy as estimated by the bootstrapped root mean square errors of prediction, which is similar to the accuracy of models based on other microfossils. These results show that despite inherent challenges, such as tidal redistribution of diatom frustules across the intertidal zone, diatoms can be successfully used as an independent source of evidence in paleoreconstructions of sea-level change and nitrogen enrichment, as well as for monitoring current nutrient pollution in mid-Atlantic wetlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed nutrient data from the National Lakes Assessment (NLA), a probability survey of 1028 lakes .4 ha in lake area across the conterminous USA to quantify and contrast different methods of setting nutrient criteria. We calculated potential nutrient criteria for total P (TP), total N (TN), and chlorophyll a (Chl a) by 4 methods (25th percentile of population, 75th percentile of least-disturbed reference sites, diatom-based paleolimnological reconstruction, and stressor modeling) and compared them to existing draft US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) criteria within national nutrient ecoregions. At the national scale, the ecoregional criteria derived from the different approaches were highly correlated. However, absolute values differed widely among approaches within ecoregions. Population 25th percentiles were lower (often by a factor of 2-6) than values obtained with other approaches in almost all ecoregions, results indicating that population 25th percentiles cannot be used as a surrogate for reference-site or paleolimnological approaches. Stressor regression models often did not explain much of the variance in nutrient concentration, especially in the less-disturbed ecoregions. For TP, diatom-inferred paleolimnological criteria were higher than reference-site-based criteria, which were higher than stressor-model criteria. For TN, these 3 approaches were very comparable. For Chl a, the reference-site and stressor-model approaches gave similar criterion values in low-nutrient ecoregions, but the reference-site 75th-percentile approach had much higher criterion values than the stressor-modeling approach in the high-nutrient ecoregions. Use of NLA reference-site 75th percentiles as nutrient criteria showed that 42% of the assessed lakes exceeded TP criteria, 47% exceeded TN criteria, and 32% exceeded Chl a criteria. Survey results also suggest that most lakes are P limited. Ninety-three percent of the lakes in the population had molar TN:TP ratios > 16, and 52% had TN:TP > 50. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used sediment diatoms to infer historical changes in total phosphorus (TP) concentration in 26 New York and New Jersey (USA) lakes using a top–bottom approach (i.e., the top of the core represents present conditions and the bottom represents past conditions). Detailed stratigraphic analyses were performed on cores from Greenwood (New Jersey and New York) and Cossayuna lakes (New York). TP reconstructions were performed using 2 weighted-averaging partial-least-squares (WA-PLS) transfer functions: (1) an interregional 278-lake calibration set from northeastern United States (NE-US model: r2boot= 0.69, root mean square error of prediction RMSEP) = 1.8 μg/L); and (2) a regional 33-lake (callibration set from New Jersey and New York (NJ-NY model: r2boot= 0.54, RMSEP = 1.5 μg/L). The NJ-NY model provided better estimates for modern TP but failed to provide reliable estimates for low TP values and reliable modern analogs for half of the bottom samples. Low TP concentrations were better inferred by the NE-US model, which included a higher number of oligotrophic lakes. Average change for all lakes was an increase of 2 to 7 μg/L TP. Greenwood and Cossayuna lakes inferred TP concentrations have increased up to 21 μg/L, presumably as a result of post-settlement anthropogenic activities. The inferred TP temporal changes provide important insight on the magnitude of cultural eutrophication. The use of 2 different inference models demonstrates the advantage of using a regional versus a larger-scale inference model in estimating the degree of change in historical lake TP. Careful interpretation of TP reconstructions can be used to provide reliable estimates of cost-effective targets for lake restoration programs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Diatom assemblages in recent versus pre-industrial sediments were examined in 40 relatively undisturbed lakes from the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA). The ELA region of northwestern Ontario receives low amounts of acidic deposition and the lakes have been minimally disturbed by watershed development or other human activities. Consequently, this region represents an important location to detect possible changes in lakes due to climate change. In over half of the lakes, planktonic taxa (especially Discostella stelligera) increased between 10 and 40% since pre-industrial times. Changes in diatom assemblages are consistent with taxa that would benefit from enhanced stratification and a longer ice-free season. We hypothesized that there should be a relationship between stratification and measured chemical and physical characteristics of the study lakes. Multiple correlation analysis was undertaken to see the relationship between planktonic taxa and D. stelligera since pre-industrial times and the physical and chemical characteristics of the study lakes. Lake depth was consistently identified as an important variable. The timing of the increase in planktonic taxa within cores from these lakes will be needed to rule out other possible regional changes that may also be occurring in the ELA region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predictions of the extent of forest fires under warmer and drier conditions in boreal regions require knowledge of long-term relationships between fire and climate. However, many long-term studies that utilize the remains of total charcoal in lacustrine sediments fail to demonstrate a relationship between climate change and fire activity. A new approach to reconstruct the relative-area burned based on specific types of charcoal particles (the charcoal-morphotype (CM) fire index) has shown significant correlations to recorded forest fires. Here we assess the utility of the CM derived from an analysis of charcoal morphotypes in sediment cores from Opatcho Lake (British Columbia, Canada) using two independent paleoclimate proxies over the last 400 years, and since the mid Holocene. Over the past 400 years, significant correlations between the CM fire index and independent climate reconstructions (diatom-inferred salinity, dendroclimatic reconstructions of temperature and precipitation, and reconstructions of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation) range from 0.35 to 0.42. Similarly, since the mid Holocene the correlation between the CM fire index and independent proxies of past climate (diatom-inferred salinity and temperature inferences from chironomids from the southern interior of British Columbia) range from 0.70 to 0.76. These significant correlations strongly contrast with the very low and insignificant correlations between the CM fire index and total charcoal, suggesting that this approach provides paleofire information not available from traditional techniques. The CM fire index suggests that fires were at least two- and five-fold larger than those observed during the instrumental period, over the last 400 and 6000 years, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new small-size species of Sellaphora was found in sediments from Hannaberry Lake, Arkansas, during the National Lakes Assessment project conducted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The species was studied with light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. It differs from previously reported Sellaphora species by its small and delicate frustule with striation irresolvable in light microscopy. Here we present details on its morphology and size variation and report the characteristics of the lake where the species was found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volcanic ash layers in sediment cores are valuable geochronological markers in paleolimnological research. The composition of volcanic glass is related to identifiable, chronologically distinctive volcanic eruptions. Consequently, tephra layers provide time horizons allowing regional-scale correlations for lake sediments. Volcanic glass is often present in samples routinely prepared by paleolimnologists such as diatom slides and thin sections. Knowledge of the morphological and optical properties of volcanic glass allows for its identification. This is essential for the identification of ash layers that are not macroscopically visible or to track their vertical migration in soft organic sediments. The purposes of this note are to: (1) describe how the morphological (i.e., shape, vesicularity) and optical (i.e., refractive index and birefringence) properties can be used to identify volcanic glass in preparations from lake sediments; and (2) show how the quantification of volcanic glass from diatom slides is used to quantify the density-induced displacement of a 4.5 cm-thick Mazama ash-layer through organic sediments and to approximate its timing of initial deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Quantitative analyses of variations in morphological features of charcoal were undertaken in a 210Pb-dated sediment core from Prosser Lake (British Columbia, Canada). Seven morphological types of charcoal were defined by particle shape, major–minor axis ratio, apparent porosity and progradation to unburned material. The distribution of morphotypes and total charcoal abundances were assessed as a proxy for fire events recorded between 1919 and 2000 and to subsequent mechanisms of transportation–sedimentation to lake sediments. Charcoal morphotypes showed distinct relationships to recorded area burned by fires. Fragile charcoal fragments with highly irregular porosity (termed Type M) displayed the strongest correlation to burned area (r 2 = 0.51; P = 0.0001) and did not produce any false-positive signal for fires recorded within a radius of 20 km around the lake. We infer that high porosity and low density Type M fragments are aerially transported and directly deposited on the lake, and that the fragility of Type M charcoal prevents significant quantities from being secondarily transported and incorporated into the sedimentary record. We propose that charcoal morphology is an important but underutilized technique that can yield important insights into fire type, proximity and transportation–sedimentation processes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]