Andean Lakes Research Articles

Nutrients limiting the growth of planktonic and benthic-littoral primary producers in Patagonian Andean Lakes

In this work, we assess differences in nutrient limitation (nitrogen and phosphorus) between benthic-littoral (in the littoral habitat) and planktonic (in the epi-pelagic habitat) primary producers of seven Patagonian Andean lakes in southern South America. We conducted nutrient enrichment experiments using nitrate, ammonium, and phosphate to identify which nutrient(s) restrict primary producers’ growth in each lake habitat. Also, we determined the concentration of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), soluble reactive phosphorous (SRP), and the nitrogen to phosphorous ratio (DIN:SRP) at the littoral and epi-pelagic habitats of each lake. For all the lakes, benthic-littoral primary producers were limited by nitrogen, while planktonic primary producers in the epi-pelagic habitat were colimited by nitrogen and phosphorus. Our study is the first to show that different nutrients limit the growth of benthic-littoral and planktonic primary producers in Patagonian Andean lakes. This contributes to our understanding of lake ecology in a region where there is limited information on benthic-littoral habitats. This is important because globally, there is an increase in periphyton blooms in the benthic-littoral habitats of oligotrophic lakes, while the pelagic habitats remain unchanged. Additionally, we found nutrient concentrations in the lakes are up to 7.4 times higher than those described in previous studies, which may be related to anthropogenic impact and natural events. If nutrient levels continue to increase, algal blooms in Patagonian Andean lakes may become a regional issue, especially in the benthic-littoral habitats.

Temperature and ultraviolet radiation on a high mountain daphnid: When do interactions become lethal to highly adapted populations?

ABSTRACT Aquatic organisms from high mountain lakes experience extreme influences of climate and solar radiation, especially ultraviolet radiation (UVR), manifested through alterations in physiology, life history, and phenology. Zooplankton, a pivotal component of lake ecosystems, is particularly sensitive to changes in environmental conditions because of their short life cycles and diminished mobility. In the high mountains of the tropical Andes, zooplankton populations are adapted to low temperatures and high UVR because most of the Andean lakes are >4000 m a.s.l. This study focuses on Daphnia pulicaria populations originating from high-mountain Andean lakes, investigating their responses to different temperatures and UVR exposure by means of lab experiments. Key findings indicate that temperature is the most important factor impacting population variables, with high temperatures and UVR exposure leading to unfavorable population outcomes; however, physiological variables (cell viability and pigmentation, measured as melanin) are similarly influenced by temperature and UVR exposure. Pigmentation increases with temperature and is accentuated by solar radiation, indicating an adaptive response to mitigate UVR damage. Conversely, cellular viability declines with elevated temperatures and UVR exposure, showing that higher temperatures may offset the protective effects of pigmentation. Overall, these findings underscore the vulnerability of daphnid populations in high-mountain Andean systems to anticipated climate change impacts, with potential consequences for ecological dynamics in these critical ecosystems. More importantly, they show the importance of studying temperature and UVR (and probably other environmental conditions) as interacting variables because the results will dramatically differ if each factor is considered separately.

Lake Bacterial Communities in North Patagonian Andes: The Effect of the Nothofagus pumilio Treeline

One of the most noticeable environmental discontinuities in mountains is the transition that exists in vegetation below and above the treeline. In the North Patagonian Andean lakes (between 900 and 1950 m a.s.l.), we analyzed the bacterial community composition of lakes in relation to surrounding vegetation (erected trees, krummholz belt, and bare rocks), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and total dissolved nutrients (nitrogen, TDN and phosphorus, TDP). We observed a decrease in DOC, TDP, and TDN concentrations with altitude, reflecting shifts in the source inputs entering the lakes by runoff. Cluster analysis based on bacterial community composition showed a segregation of the lakes below treeline, from those located above. This first cluster was characterized by the cyanobacteria Cyanobium PCC-6307, while in the krummholz belt and bare rocks, bacterial communities were dominated by Actinobacteria hgcl-clade and Proteobacteria (Sandarakinorhabdus and Rhodovarius), with the presence of pigments such as actinorhodopsin, carotenoids, and bacteriochlorophyll a. The net relatedness index (NRI), which considers the community phylogenetic dispersion, showed that lakes located on bare rocks were structured by environmental filtering, while communities of lakes below treeline were structured by species interactions such as competition. Beta-diversity was higher among lakes below than among lakes located above the treeline. The contribution of species turnover was more important than nestedness. Our study brings light on how bacterial communities may respond to changes in the surrounding vegetation, highlighting the importance of evaluating different aspects of community structure to understand metacommunity organization.

Hyperexpansion of genetic diversity and metabolic capacity of extremophilic bacteria and archaea in ancient Andean lake sediments

BackgroundThe Andean Altiplano hosts a repertoire of high-altitude lakes with harsh conditions for life. These lakes are undergoing a process of desiccation caused by the current climate, leaving terraces exposed to extreme atmospheric conditions and serving as analogs to Martian paleolake basins. Microbiomes in Altiplano lake terraces have been poorly studied, enclosing uncultured lineages and a great opportunity to understand environmental adaptation and the limits of life on Earth. Here we examine the microbial diversity and function in ancient sediments (10.3–11 kyr BP (before present)) from a terrace profile of Laguna Lejía, a sulfur- and metal/metalloid-rich saline lake in the Chilean Altiplano. We also evaluate the physical and chemical changes of the lake over time by studying the mineralogy and geochemistry of the terrace profile.ResultsThe mineralogy and geochemistry of the terrace profile revealed large water level fluctuations in the lake, scarcity of organic carbon, and high concentration of SO42--S, Na, Cl and Mg. Lipid biomarker analysis indicated the presence of aquatic/terrestrial plant remnants preserved in the ancient sediments, and genome-resolved metagenomics unveiled a diverse prokaryotic community with still active microorganisms based on in silico growth predictions. We reconstructed 591 bacterial and archaeal metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), of which 98.8% belonged to previously unreported species. The most abundant and widespread metabolisms among MAGs were the reduction and oxidation of S, N, As, and halogenated compounds, as well as aerobic CO oxidation, possibly as a key metabolic trait in the organic carbon-depleted sediments. The broad redox and CO2 fixation pathways among phylogenetically distant bacteria and archaea extended the knowledge of metabolic capacities to previously unknown taxa. For instance, we identified genomic potential for dissimilatory sulfate reduction in Bacteroidota and α- and γ-Proteobacteria, predicted an enzyme for ammonia oxidation in a novel Actinobacteriota, and predicted enzymes of the Calvin–Benson–Bassham cycle in Planctomycetota, Gemmatimonadota, and Nanoarchaeota.ConclusionsThe high number of novel bacterial and archaeal MAGs in the Laguna Lejía indicates the wide prokaryotic diversity discovered. In addition, the detection of genes in unexpected taxonomic groups has significant implications for the expansion of microorganisms involved in the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur.EPcqnK6xUD66cr6MUL2q3UVideo

Humans and climate in ritualized landscapes, the case of Lake Tota in the eastern highlands of Colombia

Tota is an Andean lake located in the Altiplano of the Eastern Andes of Colombia where socio-politically hierarchical societies of the Herrera and Muisca, flourished for millennia. To them, the lake and surrounding forest were places used for diverse of activities including religious rituals. In this study we produced a multi-proxy paleolimnological reconstruction using diatoms, isotopes, and geochemistry, to try to understand the lake’s pathways of change in response to natural climatic variations and anthropogenic activities. The diatom record is dominated by tychoplanktonic Staurosirella dubia and planktonic Aulacoseira species including species A. cf lirata, A. granulata, A. distans, and A. ambigua. Diatoms were grouped into functional groups and used to infer limnological changes that were further complemented with the geochemistry of the sediments to reconstruct the past environment. Results show three main periods in which the lake changed significantly, these are dated from ~800 to 1200, 1200 to 1500, and 1500 to 1900 CE. A correlation with the archeological record of the region, ethnohistoric accounts and climate suggests that these changes occurred simultaneously with changes in archeological stages, the Spanish arrival, and more recently by the industrial revolution, and the Little Ice Age.

Andean Lakes: endangered by natural and anthropogenic threats

The Andes mountains extend North-South in a latitudinal gradient of 8,500 km. Due to the great climatic variety and the peculiar north-south orographic distribution, lakes are very diverse, including different lake origins and very contrasting morphometries. Here, we reviewed more than 700 ecological studies on Andean lakes to identify the main threats to these freshwater systems. The most important threats are UV radiation, changes in water balance, eutrophication, all three interacting with climate change, alien species introduction, and mining. Ultraviolet radiation is an important factor in Andean lakes not only because of the altitude but also because many lakes are included in the Antarctic ozone hole. The introduction of alien species, particularly exotic salmonids, also had detrimental effects, affecting native fish populations and behaviour, and endemic species by disrupting the indigenous food web. Eutrophication and browning caused by human activities, including land use interacting with climate change, are increasing in Andean lakes causing a decrease in water quality. Finally, mining can cause water contamination (both groundwater and surface water) by chemicals emitted from mining processes thus, producing a loss of biodiversity. Although an important number of Andean lakes have been declared as RAMSAR sites because of their uniqueness and their extreme conditions, they are subject to significant human impacts. Here, for the first time, we identify these impacts all along the Andes, however, further studies at different scales are mandatory if we pretend to understand, conserve, and manage Andean lakes.

Andean Lakes, a proposal of lake districts

The Andes is the world's longest mountain system (8,500 km) and harbour important headwater systems, constituting crucial water resources for South America. Their complex topography significantly influences climate and hydrology. The Andes have a wide diversity of aquatic environments, with more than 5,000 lakes (> 0.1 km2, permanent and excluding man-made reservoirs) with different morphometry, including the largest and the deepest in South America (Titicaca and Viedma, respectively). Here we applied a grouping analysis based on available systematised information to delimit different lake districts along the Andes. More than 60% of the surface area of all Andean lakes is concentrated in only nine large lakes, while more than 80% of the lakes have less than a square kilometre area. The analysis proposes eleven lake districts corresponding two to the North Andes, six to the Central Andes and three to the South Andes. Each lake district is described based on the different morphologies, geological origins, climatic factors, and available limnological information. We consider that this study will benefit not only scientists but also decision-makers and stakeholders working in integrated water resources management in a region under climate change and socio-economic inequalities scenarios.

Late Pleistocene to Holocene vegetation changes in southeastern Patagonia (49° S): landscape changes related to disturbances

ABSTRACTSoutheastern Patagonia's (49° S) post‐glacial history inferred from high Andean lake sediments provides new insights regarding Late Pleistocene and Holocene vegetation dynamics at the eastern margin of the Southern Patagonian Icefield. The fossil records of pollen, charcoal and geochemical data from tephra layers from Laguna Chiquita and Laguna Gemelas Este were analysed to reveal past landscape dynamics related to vegetation changes, fire and volcanic events from ca. 15 200 cal a bp to the present. Nothofagus forest expanded over shrubland communities sometime between 15 200 and 4600 cal a bp, along with at least three disturbance sources related to the volcanic eruptions of Lautaro, Aguilera and Hudson, important local fire episodes, and neoglacial advances. Major charcoal deposition reveals moderate fire activity during the Late Pleistocene related to an open landscape characterised by a grass/shrub steppe. Local glacier advances may have affected the Laguna Gemelas Este sedimentation. Tephra deposition events do not correlate to vegetation changes inferred from the Laguna Gemelas Este and Laguna Chiquita pollen records. Late Holocene eastern Andean forest changes and fire activity at 49° S match other southern palaeoenvironmental records (50–52° S) suggesting that changes in the Southern Westerly Wind latitudinal position and intensity drove major palaeovegetation and fire dynamics before the European settlement. In the last centuries, fire and vegetation changes have been closely related to an increase in local ignition sources and the introduction of alien species.

Conservation of paramo birds in Ecuador in the face of climate change: on the need for a detailed classification of high-altitude habitats

When we think of "the paramo" most of us would think of waves of grass moving in the wind. However, our concept of paramo is limited by the lack of prehistoric data on what this ecosystem would have been like in the absence of human activity. Throughout the Holocene, humans have been part of the Andean landscape, shaping it through fire and by hunting important herbivores, such as deer and cottontails. Pollen records are scant due to glaciers having scraped high Andean lakes and peatlands off the landscape. What we find today at high altitudes is not "one paramo" but "several types of paramo" that are likely the result of various intensities of human activity. The different vegetation forms we see today are habitats for various birds within the ecosystem. The classification of vegetation for the Ecuadorian Andes by Sierra 1 recognizes several high Andean plant assemblages, yet these do not accurately describe the diversity of plant communities vis-à-vis avian habitats.

Conservation of paramo birds in Ecuador in the face of climate change: on the need for a detailed classification of high-altitude habitats

When we think of "the paramo," most of us think of waves of grass moving in the wind. However, our concept of paramo is limited by the lack of prehistoric data on what this ecosystem would have been like without human activity. Throughout the Holocene, humans have been part of the Andean landscape, shaping it through fire and by hunting important herbivores, such as deer and cottontails. Pollen records are scant due to glaciers having scraped high Andean lakes and peatlands off the landscape. What we find today at high altitudes is not "one paramo" but "several types of paramo" that are likely the result of various intensities of human activity. The different vegetation forms we see today are habitats for various birds within the ecosystem. The classification of vegetation for the Ecuadorian Andes by Sierra 1 recognizes several high Andean plant assemblages, yet these do not accurately describe the diversity of plant communities vis-à-vis avian habitats. For instance, the Antisana paramo is composed of a mixture of plant formations not recognized in previous classifications 2 that birds depend on for at least one life stage.

Human diphyllobothriasis in Argentina: assessing the epidemiological significance from historical records and reports of new cases.

Between 1898 and 1940, eight human cases of diphyllobothriasis were reported in Argentina, always in recently arrived European immigrants. In 1982, the first autochthonous case was detected, and since then, 33 other autochthonous cases have been reported, totaling 42 cases of human diphyllobothriasis in Argentina before the present study. Our aim is to update the information on diphyllobothriasis in Argentina by identifying specimens from new cases using morphometrical and/or molecular methods. We also aim to assess the epidemiological relevance of this food-borne disease in the country. Anamnestic data were obtained from patients or professionals, along with 26 worms identified using morphometrical (21 samples) and molecular techniques (5 samples). All the patients acquired the infection by consuming freshwater salmonids caught in Andean lakes in Northern Patagonia. Morphometrics and DNA markers of worms were compatible with Dibothriocephalus latus. In total, 68 human cases have been detected in Argentina, 60 of which were autochthonous. The human population living North-western Patagonia, whose lakes are inhabited by salmonids, is increasing. Similarly, the number of other definitive hosts for Dibothriocephalus dendriticus (gulls) and for D. latus (dogs) is also increasing. In addition, salmonid fishing and the habit of consuming home-prepared raw fish dishes are becoming widespread. Therefore, it is to be expected that diphyllobothriasis in Argentina will increase further.

Holocene Temperature and Water Stress in the Peruvian Andes: Insights From Lake Carbonate Clumped and Triple Oxygen Isotopes

AbstractGlobal climate during the Holocene was relatively stable compared to the late Pleistocene. However, evidence from lacustrine records in South America suggests that tropical latitudes experienced significant water balance variability during the Holocene, rather than quiescence. For example, a tight coupling between insolation and carbonate δ18O records from central Andean lakes (e.g., Lakes Junín, Pumacocha) suggest water balance is tied directly to South American summer monsoon (SASM) strength. However, lake carbonate δ18O records also incorporate information about temperature and evaporation. To overcome this ambiguity, clumped and triple oxygen isotope records can provide independent constraints on temperature and evaporation. Here, we use clumped and triple oxygen isotopes to develop Holocene temperature and evaporation records from three central Andean lakes, Lakes Junín, Pumacocha, and Mehcocha, to build a more complete picture of regional water balance (P–E). We find that Holocene water temperatures at all three lakes were stable and slightly warmer than during the latest Pleistocene. These results are consistent with global data assimilations and records from the foothills and Amazon basin. In contrast, evaporation was highly variable and tracks SASM intensity. The hydrologic response of each lake to SASM depends greatly on the physical characteristics of the lake basin, but they all record peak evaporation in the early to mid‐Holocene (11,700 to 4,200 years BP) when regional insolation was relatively low and the SASM was weak. These results corroborate other central Andean records and suggest synchronous, widespread water stress tracks insolation‐paced variability in SASM strength.

The extremophilic Andean isolate Acinetobacter sp. Ver3 expresses two ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase isoforms with different catalytic properties.

Ferredoxin/flavodoxin-NADPH reductases (FPRs) catalyze the reversible electron transfer between NADPH and ferredoxin/flavodoxin. The Acinetobacter sp. Ver3 isolated from high-altitude Andean lakes contains two isoenzymes, FPR1ver3 and FPR2ver3. Absorption spectra of these FPRs revealed typical features of flavoproteins, consistent with the use of FAD as a prosthetic group. Spectral differences indicate distinct electronic arrangements for the flavin in each enzyme. Steady-state kinetic measurements show that the enzymes display catalytic efficiencies in the order of 1-6 μm-1·s-1, although FPR1ver3 exhibited higher kcat values compared to FPR2ver3. When flavodoxinver3 was used as a substrate, both reductases exhibited dissimilar behavior. Moreover, only FPR1ver3 is induced by oxidative stimuli, indicating that the polyextremophile Ver3 has evolved diverse strategies to cope with oxidative environments.

Exploring Andean High-Altitude Lake Extremophiles through Advanced Proteotyping.

Quickly identifying and characterizing isolates from extreme environments is currently challenging while very important to explore the Earth's biodiversity. As these isolates may, in principle, be distantly related to known species, techniques are needed to reliably identify the branch of life to which they belong. Proteotyping these environmental isolates by tandem mass spectrometry offers a rapid and cost-effective option for their identification using their peptide profiles. In this study, we document the first high-throughput proteotyping approach for environmental extremophilic and halophilic isolates. Microorganisms were isolated from samples originating from high-altitude Andean lakes (3700-4300 m a.s.l.) in the Chilean Altiplano, which represent environments on Earth that resemble conditions on other planets. A total of 66 microorganisms were cultivated and identified by proteotyping and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Both the approaches revealed the same genus identification for all isolates except for three isolates possibly representing not yet taxonomically characterized organisms based on their peptidomes. Proteotyping was able to indicate the presence of two potentially new genera from the families of Paracoccaceae and Chromatiaceae/Alteromonadaceae, which have been overlooked by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing approach only. The paper highlights that proteotyping has the potential to discover undescribed microorganisms from extreme environments.

Planktic diatom responses to spatiotemporal environmental variation in high‐mountain tropical lakes

Abstract Tropical lakes harbour high levels of biodiversity, but the temporal and spatial variability of biological communities are still inadequately characterised, making it difficult to predict the impact of accelerated rates of environmental change in these regions. Our goal was to identify the spatiotemporal dynamics of the planktic diatom community in the Cajas Massif in the tropical Andes. We analysed seasonal diatom and environmental data over a period of 1 year from 10 lakes located in geologically distinct basins and modelled community–environment relationships using multivariate ordination and variation partitioning techniques. Generalised additive models with a full‐subset information theoretic approach also were used to determine which environmental variables explain single‐species abundance. Although the lakes are monomictic and thus have variable thermal structure across the year, seasonal variability of water chemistry conditions was negligible, and seasonal differences in diatom community composition were small. Across space, diatom community composition was correlated primarily with ionic content (divalent cations and alkalinity), related to bedrock composition, and secondly with lake thermal structure and productivity. The ionic gradient overrode the effect of the thermal structure–productivity gradient at the diatom community level, whereas individual diatom species responded more sensitively to variables related to in‐lake and catchment productivity, including chlorophyll‐a and iron, and the proportion of wetlands in the catchment. Our results indicate that the spatiotemporal variability of Cajas lakes and their diatom communities is the result of multiple intertwined environmental factors. The emergence of the ionic and thermal structure–productivity gradients in a rather small tropical lake district suggests segregation of ecological niches for diatoms that also may be important in other high‐elevation lake regions. Future studies that track tropical Andean lakes under natural and anthropogenically mediated change, both in contemporary times and in palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, would benefit from the modelling approach (community and species levels) developed here.

Through the prism of governance: the role of institutions in urban-rural (de)-regulation in southern Chile

ABSTRACT Between 2019 and 2021 multiple residential cores emerged in rural areas in Chile. Real estate companies and individuals acquired plots of agricultural land for housing purposes. The change prompted rapid changes in land use that were largely regulated. This article analyses the role of formal and informal rules, as well as territorial planning policies, in the spreading of residential cores in the Andean Lake axis, Villarrica – Pucón – Curarrehue. Based on document analysis, processing and analysis of satellite images, and semi-structured interviews with key actors, this article shows how external shocks, such as the COVID pandemic, contributed to shifts in the application of regulations and practices that transformed rural areas. It concludes that in order to avoid uncontrolled rural development, territorial planning needs to consider urban and rural areas from a multisystemic perspective.

A multiproxy approach to reconstruct the Late Holocene environmental dynamics of the semiarid Andes of central Chile (29°S)

Mountain ecosystems located in the Andes cordillera of central Chile (29–35°S) have been strongly affected by the ongoing Mega Drought since 2010, impacting the snow cover, the surficial water resources (and thereby water storage), as well as the mountain biota and ecosystem services. Paleoenvironmental records in this part of the semiarid Andes are key to estimating the effects of past climate changes on local communities helping to forecast the ecological and biological responses under the aridification trend projected during the 21st century. Here we present a 2400-year multiproxy paleoenvironmental reconstruction based on pollen, diatoms, chironomids, sedimentological and geochemical data (XRF and ICP-MS data) of Laguna El Calvario (29°S; 3994 m a.s.l), a small and shallow Andean lake. Four main hydrological phases were established based on changes in the lithogenic and geochemical results associated with allochthonous runoff input and the subsequent response of the biological proxies. Between 2400 and 1400 cal yrs BP, wetter than present conditions occurred based on the intense weathering of the lake basin and the dominance of upper Andean vegetation. A decrease in moisture along with sub-centennial discrete wet pulses and lake-level changes occurred until ~800 cal yrs BP followed long-term stable climate conditions between 1850 and 1950 AD as suggested by a drop in vegetation productivity and low lake levels. From 1950 AD to the present, a decline in moisture with a severe trend to drier conditions occurring in the last decades occurred as reflected by an upward vegetation belt displacement around Laguna El Calvario along with a turnover of diatom assemblages and high productivity in the water column.

On the origin and processes controlling the elemental and isotopic composition of carbonates in hypersaline Andean lakes

The Altiplano-Puna Plateau of the Central Andes hosts numerous lakes, playa-lakes, and salars with a great diversity and abundance of carbonates forming under extreme climatic, hydrologic, and environmental conditions. To unravel the underlying processes controlling the formation of carbonates and their geochemical signatures in hypersaline systems, we investigated coupled brine-carbonate samples in a high-altitude Andean lake using a wide suite of petrographic (SEM, XRD) and geochemical tools (δ2H, δ18O, δ13C, δ11B, major and minor ion composition, aqueous modelling). Our findings show that the inflow of hydrothermal springs in combination with strong CO2 degassing and evaporation plays an important role in creating a spatial diversity of hydro-chemical sub-environments allowing different types of microbialites (microbial mounds and mats), travertines, and fine-grained calcite minerals to form. Carbonate precipitation occurs in hot springs triggered by a shift in carbonate equilibrium by hydrothermal CO2 degassing and microbially-driven elevation of local pH at crystallisation. In lakes, carbonate precipitation is induced by evaporative supersaturation, with contributions from CO2 degassing and microbiological processes. Lake carbonates largely record the evaporitic enrichment (hence salinity) of the parent water which can be traced by Na, Li, B, and δ18O, although other factors (such as e.g., high precipitation rates, mixing with thermal waters, groundwater, or precipitation) also affect their signatures. This study is of significance to those dealing with the fractionation of oxygen, carbon, and boron isotopes and partitioning of elements in natural brine-carbonate environments. Furthermore, these findings contribute to the advancement in proxy development for these depositional environments.

WITHDRAWN: Water quality and trophic state in Outer Puno Bay, Lake Titicaca, a high-altitudinal Andean lake

WITHDRAWN: Water quality and trophic state in Outer Puno Bay, Lake Titicaca, a high-altitudinal Andean lake

Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Water Quality in High Andean Lakes with Sentinel-2 Satellite Automatic Water Products

The water of high Andean lakes is strongly affected by anthropic activities. However, due to its complexity this ecosystem is poorly researched. This study analyzes water quality using Sentinel-2 (S2) images in high Andean lakes with apparent different eutrophication states. Spatial and temporal patterns are assessed for biophysical water variables from automatic products as obtained from versions of C2RCC (Case 2 Regional Coast Color) processor (i.e., C2RCC, C2X, and C2X-COMPLEX) to observe water characteristics and eutrophication states in detail. These results were validated using in situ water sampling. C2X-COMPLEX appeared to be an appropriate option to study bodies of water with a complex dynamic of water composition. C2RCC was adequate for lakes with high transparency, typical for lakes of highlands with excellent water quality. The Yambo lake, with chlorophyll-a concentration (CHL) values of 79.6 ± 5 mg/m3, was in the eutrophic to hyper-eutrophic state. The Colta lake, with variable values of CHL, was between the oligotrophic to mesotrophic state, and the Atillo lakes, with values of 0.16 ± 0.1 mg/m3, were oligotrophic and even ultra-oligotrophic, which remained stable in the last few years. Automatic S2 water products give information about water quality, which in turn makes it possible to analyze its causes.