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Evaluation of large lake response to centennial changes in land use and climate can be complicated by high spatial and hydrological complexity within their catchments, particularly in regions of low relief. Furthermore, large lakes can exhibit abrupt changes in structure and function that obscure causes of eutrophication.We provide the first quantification of historical trends in lake production, cyanobacterial abundance, sediment geochemistry and diatom composition since c. 1800 in Lake Manitoba, the 29th largest lake in the world, and compared them to Lake Winnipeg, a morphologically similar, adjacent basin with a 10‐fold larger catchment and an abrupt increase in production around 1990.Before 1900, Lake Manitoba was mesotrophic, with low sedimentary concentrations of carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen, cyanobacteria and algal pigments, as well as assemblages of low‐light‐adapted benthic diatoms. Analysis of pigment time‐series with hierarchical generalised additive models revealed that Lake Manitoba eutrophied during 1900–1930 as a consequence of the development of intensive agriculture within its local catchment, but thereafter exhibited stable cyanobacterial densities with limited expansion of N2‐fixing cyanobacteria despite persistent eutrophication.Lake Manitoba did not undergo an abrupt change as seen in Lake Winnipeg.These findings suggest that catchment size had little influence on water quality degradation and that nutrient influx from proximal agricultural sources was sufficient to initially degrade these large prairie lakes. The abrupt change in Lake Winnipeg around 1990 required additional intensification of local land use that did not occur in the Lake Manitoba catchment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migratory animals, such as Pacific salmon, can significantly shape communities in recipient habitats both by altering the flux of resources, and changing community composition and subsequent trophic interactions. Here we mainly used paleoecological records from natural sockeye salmon nursery lakes to quantify the response of plankton communities to the influx of salmon-derived nutrients and consumers (juvenile salmon). Our long-term data show that increases in the density of spawning salmon often elevated influx of nutrients, and, in turn, zooplankton production over the past few centuries. In contrast, significant correlations were not detected in two lakes with extremely low or high average spawner densities (i.e. 1.5 and 34.7 × 103 spawners km−2 year−1 respectively). With increasing spawner densities across lakes, analysis of the size structure of subfossils in sediments revealed a strong decrease in body size of a main juvenile salmon prey item ( Eubosmina longispina; r2= 0.36, p < 0.001, n = 67), consistent with an overriding effect of predation in lakes with high salmon densities. These long-term data not only highlight the key role of salmon-derived nutrients in stimulating plankton communities, but also suggest that the relative effect of nutrient and consumer subsidies varies along gradients of lake production, despite a single ultimate causal mechanism (migrating fish). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Pacific salmon are a textbook example of migratory animals that transfer nutrients between ecosystems, but little is known about how salmon-derived nutrients (SDN) affect the biodiversity of recipient freshwater ecosystems. We examined paleolimnological records from six Alaskan lakes to define how changes in SDN from sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka) influenced sedimentary diatom community structure and beta-diversity among lakes and through time. 2. Using an isotopic mixing model, we showed that SDN loading could account for >80% of the lake total nitrogen budgets and strongly regulated diatom community composition. Spatial dissimilarity in diatom communities was positively related to differences in SDN among lakes ( r = 0.69, P < 0.01, n = 10). Likewise, temporal dissimilarity in diatom communities was positively related to differences in SDN in a sediment core with substantial variation in salmon spawner dynamics between 1700 and 1950 AD ( r = 0.34, P < 0.01, n = 19). Finally, beta-diversity metrics quantifying temporal turnover within each lake's sediment record were also positively related to the variance in SDN loading among lakes ( r = 0.88, P < 0.05, n = 5). Mean SDN was only negatively correlated to temporal diatom beta-diversity. 3. Spatially subsidised systems often receive temporally variable resource inputs, and thus, it is not surprising that, unlike previous studies, we found that resource variability was the key driver of community composition and beta-diversity. In habitats that receive strongly fluctuating external nutrient loads, environment heterogeneity may overweigh stochastic community processes. In addition, freshwater diatoms are characterised by great dispersal capabilities and short life cycles and therefore may be a more sensitive indicator for evaluating the role of resource variability than previously used model organisms. These results suggest that productivity-diversity relationship vary with the nature of nutrient loading and the life history of the community studied. 4. Overall, our study highlights that the transport of nutrients by sockeye salmon across ecosystem boundaries is a significant driver of algal community and biodiversity in nursery lakes, mainly through changing the magnitude of nutrient variation. As such, freshwater species diversity in regions like the U.S. Pacific Northwest may become impoverished where there have been long-term declines in salmon populations and decreases in nutrient variability among lakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses issues related to digital image overload in museums in the U.S. It states that the bulk of digital images in the institutions consisted of exhibition documentation, general research, surrogates as well as permanent collection. In addition, the authors mention that the national efforts to maintain a complete centralized digital archive can be hindered by the immediate demands of museums and the absence of collaboration between them.