Climate-driven changes in lakes from the Peruvian Andes

Abstract

The consequences of recent warming in the Andes have been dramatic, most iconically visualized by the rapid retreat of tropical mountain glaciers. Of all the ecosystems in the tropical Andes, lakes have received amongst the least research attention. We examined subfossil diatom and chrysophyte assemblages to chronicle recent (past ~150 years) ecological change in lakes from the Peruvian Andes. We recorded abrupt increases in planktonic diatoms and scaled chrysophytes beginning in the early 1900s. These changes are consistent with enhanced periods of thermal stratification, brought on by rising temperatures that have been documented throughout the Andes. These data indicate that ecological and likely physical limnological changes associated with Anthropocene warming are already under way in tropical high mountain lakes.