Volcanic eruptions and glacier recession: understanding the effects of particle inputs on planktonic communities of Andean–Patagonian lakes

MODENUTTI, BEATRIZ; BALSEIRO, ESTEBAN; LASPOUMADERES, CECILIA; SCHENONE, LUCA; BASTIDAS NAVARRO, MARCELA; MARTYNIUK, NICOLÁS

JOURNAL OF PALEOLIMNOLOGY

SPRINGER

Año: 2024

0921-2728

Lakes areparticularly vulnerable to environmental changes and thus considered sentinels andintegrators of processes that occur in the atmosphere and terrestrialenvironments. Individual up to ecosystemic metabolic pathways and nutrient cyclingin lakes respond to both natural and human disturbances. Disentangling theeffect of such different forces is a particular challenge for lake ecological studies.Here we present a conference paper based on previous studies carried out inAndean- Patagonian lakes under two important events: the Puyehue–Cordon Caulleeruption in 2011 and the glacial recession with a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF)in 2009. We discuss how biological variables responded to these two naturalevents that produced the input of minerogenic inorganic particles into the lakes.We present the combination of observational and experimental research,including new molecular methods, that contributed to understanding the effects ofthese inorganic particles on aquatic ecosystems. Both events involved changesin the transparency of the lakes that affected phytoplankton parameters(biomass vertical distribution), bacteria composition and community structuringprocess. Finally, both events had very contrasting effects on zooplankton, inthe same range of particle concentrations. Particles from glacial melting arebeneficial for Daphnids reducing the impact of ultraviolet radiation andincreasing the quality of the food. In contrast, volcanic ashes are abrasivematerials that have a deleterious effect for filtering zooplankton