Some freshwater ostracods (Crustacea: Ostracoda) from South Wales

As background to a study of the application of astracods in environmental archaeology, a number of sites in South Wales were visited and sampled. Sites included seven broad environmental categories consisting of lakes, permanent ponds, non-permanent ponds, semi-static canals and reens (drainage ditches), non-permanent small lotic water-bodies, permanent fast-flowing waters and wells. In all, twenty-three species were recorded, and with one exception all belonged to the predominately freshwater Cypridoidea. Overall the most commonly encountered species in South Wales was Cypria ophthalmica. Comparing finds with earlier records, it would appear that Ilyocypris bradyi, Candona pratensis, Eucypris lilljeborgi, Herpetocypris chevreuxi, Potamocypris variegata, P. similis and P. pallida are new additions to the Welsh fauna.

湖泊沉积物碳氧同位素和介形虫Li/Ca比值与古环境重建

了解过去是认识现在和预测未来的基础。晚全新世是PAGES研究的目标时段之一。寻找和解译最近2000年连续、高分辨率自然记录是古气候研究的热点与难点。本项研究有针对性地选择程海、草海和青海湖开展湖泊沉积物环境记录的精细研究，结合14C、210Pb和137Cs定年，系统探讨了碳酸盐碳氧同位素、纤维素碳氧同位素、有机质碳同位素以及介形虫壳体Li/Ca比值指标的古环境指示意义。 通过研究，本论文取得了如下成果和新的认识： 1. 建立了一套有效的四阶段湖泊沉积物有机质纤维素提取方法（5%NaOH碱洗、5%HCl酸洗、亚氯酸钠和冰醋酸混合溶液漂白以及17.5%NaOH碱洗），红外光谱鉴定提取物为纯的α-纤维素，表明该实验方法是可行的，为今后广泛开展湖泊沉积物纤维素稳定同位素研究打下了坚实基础。 2. 多指标综合辨识了程海和草海沉积物碳酸盐主要是自生碳酸盐。程海和草海沉积物有机质C/N比值结合有机质碳同位素结果表明两湖的有机质分别源于水生植物藻类和大型水草。程海和草海沉积物碳酸盐含量主要反映了湖区温度的变化。 3. 程海、草海沉积物碳酸盐与青海湖沉积物介形虫壳体氧同位素组成均反映了湖区降水/蒸发比。降水/蒸发比大的湿润期，碳酸盐δ18O值小；降水/蒸发比小的干旱期，碳酸盐δ18O值大。程海沉积物碳酸盐碳同位素组成影响因素复杂，除了受大气与湖水之间的CO2交换影响外，还受水生植物光合/吸收作用的影响；草海沉积物碳酸盐碳同位素组成更大的变化范围，反映了湖区水生植物光合/吸收作用的影响，其异常的正值可能指示了湖区细菌参与有机质碳同位素分馏过程。 4. 利用草海沉积物有机质纤维素氧同位素定量恢复了湖水氧同位素组成变化。在此基础上，结合碳酸盐氧同位素组成初步恢复了草海地区过去500年来温度变化历史：草海地区在过去500年明显存在四个冷期，包括1550－1610年，1670－1730年，1770－1870年和1890－1920年冷期，其中前三个发生在传统意义上的现代小冰期时段。与其它记录研究结果的一致性表明纤维素氧同位素结合碳酸盐氧同位素是恢复古温度变化的最有效途径之一，同时也为现代小冰期在中国西南地区的存在提供了湖泊沉积学方面的证据。 5. 不同类型水生植物湖泊，湖泊沉积物有机质δ13C值对湖泊初级生产力变化的响应过程不同。大型水草为主的湖泊（草海），其沉积物有机质δ13C值随湖泊生产力的增大呈现增加的变化趋势；藻类为主的湖泊（程海），其沉积物有机质δ13C随湖泊生产力的增大呈现减小的变化趋势，藻类易降解是导致δ13C值随湖泊生产力的增大呈现减小变化趋势的主要原因。 6. 程海沉积物碳酸盐和有机质碳同位素组成的正相关变化以及草海沉积物碳酸盐和有机质碳同位素组成的负相关变化.表明湖泊生产力变化并不是导致碳酸盐和有机质碳同位素正相关变化的主要原因，湖泊水生植物类型以及湖泊大小均起着重要作用。湖泊沉积物碳酸盐与有机质之间的碳同位素分馏（△δ13C）是一种有效的湖泊生产力指示剂，即使是在有微生物参与有机质碳同位素分馏过程的草海，△δ13C值也反映了湖泊生产力的变化过程。 7. 青海湖沉积物单一种属介形虫壳体胖真星介（Eucypris inflata）Li/Ca比值与气象记录以及邻近地区都兰和祁连山树轮宽度指数恢复的古温度变化序列的对比研究揭示，介形虫壳体Li/Ca比值与温度呈明显的负相关变化（Li/Ca比值高，温度低；Li/Ca比值低，温度高），表明介形虫壳体Li/Ca比值是一种有效的古温度代用指标。 8. 青海湖沉积物单一种属介形虫壳体胖真星介（Eucypris inflata）Li/Ca比值、氧同位素与反映太阳活动的大气14C含量和冰芯10Be含量的一致性变化表明青海湖地区温度和降雨量的同步变化主要受太阳活动控制。

Assemblages and isotopic signals of modern ostracodes and host waters from Patagonia, Argentine

Ostracode species assemblages and stable oxygen and carbon isotope ratios of living and recent ostracodes, together with delta18O and delta13C_DIC values of host water samples, provide a first data set that characterizes a wide range of modern aquatic environments in the Laguna Cari-Laufquen (41°S, 68 - 69°W) and the Lago Cardiel area (48 - 49°S, 70 - 71°W) in Patagonia, Argentina. This data set will ultimately be used to interpret and calibrate data acquired from lake sediment cores with the goal of reconstructing past climate. Species assemblages and isotope values can be assigned to three groups; (1) springs, seeps and streams, (2) permanent ponds and lakes, and (3) ephemeral ponds and lakes. Springs, seeps and streams are characterized by Darwinula sp., Heterocypris incongruens, Eucypris fontana, Amphicypris nobilis and Ilyocypris ramirezi. Ostracode and water isotope values range between -13 and -5 per mil for oxygen, and between -15 and -3 per mil for carbon. They are the most negative of the entire sample set, reflecting ground water input with little or no evaporative enrichment. Limnocythere patagonica, Eucypris labyrinthica, Limnocythere sp. and Eucypris aff. fontana are typical species of permanent ponds and lakes. Isotope values indicate high degree of evaporation of lake waters relative to feeder springs and streams and range between -7 and +5 per mil for oxygen, and -5 and +4 per mil for carbon. Limnocythere rionegroensis is the dominant species in ephemeral ponds and lakes. These systems display the most enriched isotope values in both ostracodes and host waters, extending from -5 to +7 per mil for oxygen, and from -5 to +6 per mil for carbon. Living ostracodes show a positive offset from equilibrium values of up to 2 per mil for oxygen. Carbon-isotope values are up to 6? more negative than equilibrium values in highly productive pools. Comparison of ostracode and host water isotope signals permits assessment of the life span of the aquatic environments. Valves from dead ostracodes collected from ephemeral ponds and lakes show a wide scatter with each sample providing a snapshot of the seasonal history of the host water. The presence of the stream species Ilyocypris ramirezi and a wide range of ostracode isotope values suggest that ephemeral ponds and lakes are fed by streams during spring run-off and seasonally dry. A temporary character is also indicated by Heterocypris incongruens, a drought-resistant species that occupies most springs and seeps. In addition, Limnocythere rionegroensis has adjusted its reproduction strategies to its environment. Whereas only females were collected in fresh host waters, males were found in ephemeral ponds and lakes with higher solute content. Sexual reproduction seems to be the more successful reproduction strategy in high and variable salinities and seasonal droughts. The temporary character of the aquatic environments shows that the availability of meteoric water controls the life span of host waters and underlines the sensitivity of the area to changes in precipitation.

Investigations on sediments from Lake Nam Co (Tibetan Plateau)

This study focuses on the analysis of lake sediments retrieved from the deepest part of Lake Nam Co (Tibetan Plateau). One gravity core of 115 cm length, covering the last ~ 4000 cal BP, was analyzed for geochemical and biological parameters. High organic content at ~ 4000 cal BP and the coinciding presence of pyrite framboids until ~ 2000 cal BP point to hampered decomposition of organic material due to anoxic conditions within the lake sediments. At the same time sedimentological and biological proxies suggest a rather high lake level, but still ~ 5 m below the recent one, with less saline lake water due to enhanced monsoonal activity. During this time a change in the source of organic matter to lowered input of terrestrial components is observed. A rather quick shift to a dry environment with less monsoonal influence and a lake level ~ 15 m lower than today at ~ 2000 cal BP lead to the oxygenation of sediment, the degradation of organic matter and the absence of pyrite. Oscillations of the lake level thereafter were of minor amplitude and not able to establish anoxia at the lake bottom again. A wet spell between ~ 1500 cal BP and ~ 1150 cal BP is visible in proxies referring to catchment hydrology and the ostracod-based water depth transfer function gives only a slightly elevated lake level. The last ~ 300 years are characterized by low TOC and rising TN values reflecting enhanced nutrient supply and hence an advancing influence of human activity in the catchment. Decreasing TOC/TN values point to a complete shift to almost solely aquatic biomass production. These results show that hydrological variations in terms of lake level change based on monsoonal strength can be linked to redox conditions at the lake bottom of Nam Co. Comparison with other archives over larger parts of the Tibetan Plateau and beyond exhibits a rather homogeneous climatic pattern throughout the late Holocene.

Ostracode relative abundances and geochemistry in surface sediments from Lake Ohrid

Understanding the ecology of bioindicators such as ostracods is essential in order to reconstruct past environmental and climate change from analysis of fossil assemblages preserved in lake sediment cores. Knowledge of the ecology of ancient Lake Ohrid's ostracod fauna is very limited and open to debate. In advance of the Ohrid ICDP-Drilling project, which has potential to generate high-resolution long-term paleoenvironmental data of global importance in paleoclimate research, we sampled Lake Ohrid and a wide range of habitat types in its surroundings to assess 1) the composition of ostracod assemblages in lakes, springs, streams, and short-lived seasonal water bodies, 2) the geographical distribution of ostracods, and 3) the ecological characteristics of individual ostracod species. In total, 40 species were collected alive, and seven species were preserved as valves and empty carapaces. Of the 40 ostracod species, twelve were endemic to Lake Ohrid. The most common genus in the lake was Candona, represented by 13 living species, followed by Paralimnocythere, represented by five living species. The most frequent species was Cypria obliqua. Species with distinct distributions included Heterocypris incongruens, Candonopsis kingsleii, and Cypria lacustris. The most common species in shallow, flooded areas was H. incongruens, and the most prominent species in ditches was C. kingsleii. C. lacustris was widely distributed in channels, springs, lakes, and rivers. Statistical analyses were performed on a "Lake Ohrid" dataset, comprising the subset of samples from Lake Ohrid alone, and an "entire" dataset comprising all samples collected. The unweighted pair group mean average (UPGMA) clustering was mainly controlled by species-specific depth preferences. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) with forward selection identified water depth, water temperature, and pH as variables that best explained the ostracod distribution in Lake Ohrid. The lack of significance of conductivity and dissolved oxygen in CCA of Ohrid data highlight the uniformity across the lake of the well-mixed waters. In the entire area, CCA revealed that ostracod distribution was best explained by water depth, salinity, conductivity, pH, and dissolved oxygen. Salinity was probably selected by CCA due to the presence of Eucypris virens and Bradleystrandesia reticulata in short-lived seasonal water bodies. Water depth is an important, although indirect, influence on ostracod species distribution which is probably associated with other factors such as sediment texture and food supply. Some species appeared to be indicators for multiple environmental variables, such as lake level and water temperature.