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[Display omitted] Reconstructing hydrological variability is critical for understanding Lake Victoria's ecosystem history, the evolution of its diverse endemic fish community, the dynamics of vegetation in the catchment, and the dispersal of aquatic and terrestrial fauna in the East African Rift system during Latest Pleistocene and Holocene times. Whereas consensus exists on widespread desiccation of Lake Victoria ∼18 – 17 ka, the re-filling history (16 – 13 ka) has remained highly controversial. Here, we present data from four new sediment cores along a depth transect. We use lithostratigraphic core correlation, sediment facies, XRF data, wetland vegetation analysis (Typha pollen), and 14C chronologies of unprecedented precision to document Latest Pleistocene lake-level variability. At our coring site in the central basin, local Typha wetlands existed >16.7 ka, alternating with periods of desiccation. Moisture increased slightly between ca. 16.7 – 14.5 ka and wetlands with permanent, shallow ponds established simultaneously in the center and the marginal, more elevated parts of the flat lake basin. After ca. 14.0 ka, lake levels increased; wetlands in the central basin were submerged and replaced by lacustrine environments and a >50 m deep lake established ca. 13.5 ka, likely with intermittent overflow most of the time. The lake reached modern or even above-modern levels around 10.8 ka. This lake-level history is consistent with regional terrestrial paleoenvironmental reconstructions, notably the expansion of Afromontane and rainforest. Our data suggest a complex picture of paleoclimatic conditions in Eastern Africa and teleconnections to the North-Atlantic and Indian Ocean domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lake Victoria ecosystem is emblematic of the catastrophic effects that human activities, particularly cultural eutrophication, can have on freshwater biodiversity. However, little is known about the long-term spatial and temporal pattern of aquatic primary paleo-production (PP aq) and producer communities in Lake Victoria and how these patterns relate to past climate variability, landscape evolution, lake hydrology, mixing regimes, nutrient cycling, and biodiversity dynamics in the past 17 kyr. We use sediments from four well-dated cores along a transect from offshore to nearshore sites, and exploit XRF element scanning and hyperspectral imaging data, TC, TN, bSi, δ13C and δ15N, and sedimentary pigments to investigate paleolimnological variability and change. Our findings demonstrate that changes in PP aq and algal communities during the past 17 kyr were closely related to hydroclimatic changes, lake mixing, and nutrient availability. During the wetland phase (16.7–14.5 cal ka BP), PP aq levels remained generally low, while chromophytes and chlorophytes dominated the algal community. Following the rapid lake level rise (∼14.2 cal ka BP) during the early African Humid Period (AHP), PP aq levels steadily increased, accompanied by a shift towards cyanobacteria and chromophytes. During the Holocene, our results suggest repeated short-lived arid intervals (∼10.5, ∼9, 7.8–7.2, ∼4, and 3.2–3.0 cal ka BP) and two distinct periods of enhanced lake mixing associated with high PP aq and high diatom productivity: the first one between 11 and 9 cal ka BP, which coincided with the maximum of the AHP (high precipitation, high wind, enhanced mixing), and the second, less pronounced one, between 7 and 4 cal ka BP. Between these two periods (i.e. 9–7 cal ka BP) we observe reduced diatom productivity, relatively low PP aq , and high C/N ratios, suggesting conditions with more stable lake stratification, likely associated with reduced wind strength, and some nutrient limitation (N and P). Finally, the drier conditions around the end of the AHP (ca. 4 cal ka BP) and during the late Holocene were associated with decreasing lake mixing and increasing dominance of cyanobacteria. Given our reconstruction of PP aq over the past 17 kyr, we conclude that the levels in the 20th century are unprecedentedly high, consistent with the massive human-mediated impact on the Lake Victoria ecosystem including biodiversity loss. • Detailed reconstruction of aquatic primary production and its underlying drivers. • Primary production is linked to hydroclimatic changes, lake mixing, and nutrient availability. • The Holocene was marked by two distinct phases of increased lake mixing and higher primary production. • K and Rb/K profiles reflect hydroclimate oscillations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]