The ecology of Lake Myvatn and the River Laxá: Variation in space and time

Abstract

Ecological features of Lake Myvatn and the outflowing River Laxa show a wide range of spatial and temporal variations. The physical division of the lake into three main basins and the variation in chemical composition and temperature of the artesian springs feeding this shallow productive lake have large spatial effects. Variation in groundwater characteristics depends on percolation time and proximity to geothermal sources. Variation in precipitation is evened out by the porous volcanic soil and bedrock and the spring-water discharge is therefore very stable. A pulse of volcanic activity in 1975–1984 (the Krafla Fires) heated the groundwater entering the North Basin of the lake and changed its chemistry. Although much reduced, these effects have not disappeared yet, but overall the impact of the volcanic activity on the biota seemed minimal. Recycling of nutrients through internal loading is important and occurs on various time scales. In winter, when the lake is ice-covered, the topmost 5-cm layer of sediment pore water has a hundredfold concentration of nutrients relative to the overlying lake water. The nutrients are released during the ice-free period by sediment resuspension, diffusion, bioturbation and recycling. In spring, resuspension events sometimes lead to spikes in dissolved phosphorus and nitrogen, but there is little evidence of any major desorption of nutrients from suspended particles during such events later in the summer. In contrast to the stable groundwater, the biota show more or less regular fluctuations with no straightforward correlation with external signals. The most prominent fluctuations, those of the chironomid Tanytarsus gracilentus seem to be driven by interactions between the species and its sediment resources. Fluctuations in other invertebrates could be a consequence of the Tanytarsus cycles due to the large impact this species has on the benthic environment of this detritus-driven ecosystem. Temporal variation in epibenthic chironomids and Cladocera translates into variable production of vertebrate predators (Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus, and ducks), body condition and mortality of fish and sometimes into return rates of migrating adult ducks. The waterfowl show large temporal variation on a centennial scale, e.g., the invasion of the tufted duck (Aythya fuligula) which arrived by the end of the 19th century and has by now outnumbered other species. Fluctuations of Cyanobacteria (Anabaena) and the fish Gasterosteus aculeatus (three-spined stickleback) harmonize with the cycles in the benthic community. Palaeolimnological studies indicate that primary production in the South Basin became increasingly benthic as the lake depth was reduced by sedimentation (around 2 mm year−1). Other trends include a decrease in Tanytarsus and Daphnia and an exponential increase in green algae (Cladophorales, Pediastrum) and associated organisms.