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High-Mountain Lakes, Indicators of Global Change: Ecological Characterization and Environmental Pressures

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A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Freshwater Biodiversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2023) | Viewed by 23647

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Paolo Pastorino

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Guest Editor

Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, Turin, Italy
Interests: aquaculture; fish biology; fish diseases; ecotoxicology; freshwater ecosystems; antibiotic resistance; trace elements; emerging contaminants; microplastics; deep-sea species; invasive alien species
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Marino Prearo

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Guest Editor

Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Turin, Italy
Interests: fish and shellfish diseases; aquaculture; freshwater ecosystems; environmental contaminants; ecotoxicology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Diversity is launching a Special Issue dedicated to high-mountain lakes, focused on their ecological characterization and environmental pressures.

Though mountain lakes are generally much less influenced by human activities than other habitats, global and local anthropogenic threats can alter their natural condition. The most alarming threats are water exploitation, alien species introduction, climate change, and medium–long range atmospheric transport of contaminates. Originally fishless because they are isolated ecosystems, high-mountain lakes are sensitive to ecological damage caused by the invasion of alien species. The low taxon richness suggests that these habitats are not species saturated and are susceptible to invasive species or species that are expanding their ranges due to climate change. The threat to biodiversity is greater due to the low diversity and structure of such communities. Moreover, tourism and mountain farming are two other major sources of organic pollutants that can pose a local threat to aquatic biodiversity. Papers submitted this Special Issue should be original contributions focused on the ecological and morphological characterization, environmental pressures (i.e., alien species introduction, environmental contaminates), and use of bioindicators/tracers that will contribute to supporting adequate management plans.

Dr. Paolo Pastorino
Dr. Marino Prearo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Environmental contaminants
Climate change
Alien species
Hydrochemistry
Bioindicators
Paleolimnology

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Editorial

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5 pages, 231 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

High-Mountain Lakes, Indicators of Global Change: Ecological Characterization and Environmental Pressures

by Paolo Pastorino and Marino Prearo

Diversity 2020, 12(6), 260; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/d12060260 - 26 Jun 2020

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3416

Abstract

Though mountain lakes are generally much less influenced by human activities than other habitats, global and local anthropogenic threats can alter their natural condition. The most alarming threats are climate change, water exploitation and abstraction, alien species introduction, and the medium-long range atmospheric [...] Read more.

(This article belongs to the Special Issue High-Mountain Lakes, Indicators of Global Change: Ecological Characterization and Environmental Pressures)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

17 pages, 3301 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Factors Influencing the Distribution of Freshwater Mollusks in the Lakes of the Pyrenees: Implications in a Shifting Climate Scenario

by Guillermo de Mendoza, Rafael Araujo and Jordi Catalan

Diversity 2023, 15(4), 500; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/d15040500 - 01 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1413

Abstract

Climate warming is expected to drive an upward altitudinal shift of species distributions in mountain areas. In this study, we consider how environmental variables constrain the distribution of freshwater mollusks across elevations based on an extensive survey of the entire Pyrenean range. Results show that several altitude-related variables are significantly relevant for the distribution of all mollusks (i.e., temperature, sediment organic content). Others respond more precisely to some variables: fine substrate proportion increases the probability of finding Pisidium sensu lato (mostly Euglesa species), and the latter, the macrophyte presence, and Ampullaceana balthica. Despite the low acid-neutralizing capacity in many of the lakes, only the distribution of A. balthica was significantly constrained by this factor, independent from elevation. The results confirm a likely altitudinal expansion of the distributions of all species, particularly toward lakes with a summer surface temperature increasing above 12 °C. The pace of change is expected to differ among species according to different nonlinear thresholds in thermal response, which temperature value increases from Pisidium s.l. to Ampullaceana to Ancylus, and the taxon-specific sensitivity to substrates and chemical conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue High-Mountain Lakes, Indicators of Global Change: Ecological Characterization and Environmental Pressures)

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23 pages, 6499 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Diatom Red List Species Reveal High Conservation Value and Vulnerability of Mountain Lakes

by Stefan Ossyssek, Andrea Maria Hofmann, Juergen Geist and Uta Raeder

Diversity 2022, 14(5), 389; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/d14050389 - 14 May 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2256

Abstract

Mountain lakes are unique and often isolated freshwater habitats that harbour a rich biotic diversity. This high conservation value may be reflected by diatoms, a group of algae that is known for its reliability as a bioindicator, but which has not been studied extensively in mountain lakes of the northern European Alps. In this study, the conservation value of these lakes was assessed by characterizing the number, share, and abundance of diatom Red List (RL) taxa and their relationship with environmental variables, diatom α and β diversity (assemblage uniqueness). For this purpose, linear regression models, generalized linear models, and generalized additive models were fitted and spatial descriptors were included when relevant. Of the 560 diatom taxa identified, 64% were on the RL and half of these were assigned a threat status. As hypothesized, a decreasing share of RL species in sediment and littoral samples at higher trophic levels was reflected by higher total phosphorous content and lower Secchi depth, respectively. Species-rich lakes contained a high number of RL taxa, contrasting our hypothesis of a logarithmic relationship. In turn, RL abundance increased with uniqueness, confirming our initial hypothesis. However, some of the most unique sites were degraded by fish stocking and contained low abundances of RL species. The results demonstrate the importance of oligotrophic mountain lakes as habitats for rare freshwater biota and their vulnerability in light of human impact through cattle herding, tourism, damming, and fish stocking. Additional conservation efforts are urgently needed for mountain lakes that are still underrepresented within legal conservation frameworks. Species richness and uniqueness reflect complementary aspects of RL status and thus should be applied jointly. Uniqueness can indicate both pristine and degraded habitats, so that including information on human impacts facilitates its interpretation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue High-Mountain Lakes, Indicators of Global Change: Ecological Characterization and Environmental Pressures)

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24 pages, 5271 KiB

Open AccessArticle

20 Years of Global Change on the Limnology and Plankton of a Tropical, High-Altitude Lake

by Javier Alcocer, Alfonso Lugo, Rocío Fernández, Gloria Vilaclara, María Guadalupe Oliva, Luis A. Oseguera, Raúl A. Silva-Aguilera and Óscar Escolero

Diversity 2022, 14(3), 190; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/d14030190 - 05 Mar 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2386

Abstract

The present long-term (1993–2013) study was aimed at identifying the effects of global change on the environmental characteristics and the plankton community of the tropical, high-altitude Lake Alchichica, Puebla, Mexico. We found no statistically significant increasing trend in air temperature, but an increase from 2002 to 2013, and interannual variability in the meteorological variables. Accordingly, the water temperature rose from 1993 to 2003 and remained similar until 2013. Nonetheless, on a longer-term (1966-2018), longer than the period considered in the present study, air and water temperatures showed an increasing trend in the range considered indicative of climate change. The lake displayed a characteristic warm monomictic thermal pattern but exhibited interannual variability. The planktonic community composition and structure remained similar. The small chlorophytes (e.g., Monoraphidium minutum) dominated the phytoplankton abundance, while the large diatom Cyclotella alchichicana dominated the biomass. The calanoid copepod Leptodiaptomus garciai dominated both the zooplankton abundance and biomass. However, as the temperature increased the large-size phytoplankton (i.e., C. alchichicana) abundance and biomass increased, but the small-size phytoplankton abundance and biomass, as well as the adult copepod abundance and biomass, decreased. The increase in temperature could have favoured the large-size over the small-size phytoplankton. In addition, the temperature increase could have negatively affected the calanoid copepods in two different ways—direct association with the negative effects of higher temperatures on the physiology of the copepods, or indirect association with the negative effects of higher temperatures on the small-size phytoplankton, which diminish the copepods’ food resource. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue High-Mountain Lakes, Indicators of Global Change: Ecological Characterization and Environmental Pressures)

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9 pages, 6909 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Microplastics Occurrence in the European Common Frog (Rana temporaria) from Cottian Alps (Northwest Italy)

by Paolo Pastorino, Marino Prearo, Alessia Di Blasio, Damià Barcelò, Serena Anselmi, Silvia Colussi, Silvia Alberti, Giovanni Tedde, Alessandro Dondo, Michele Ottino, Elisabetta Pizzul and Monia Renzi

Diversity 2022, 14(2), 66; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/d14020066 - 19 Jan 2022

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 3833

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) pollution is arousing growing attention, yet knowledge about its occurrence in amphibians is scant to date. With this study, we aimed to determine whether plastic (>5000 μm) and MPs (10–5000 μm) could be detected in adult Rana temporaria from a high-mountain ecosystem (the Cottian Alps, northwest Italy). To do this, aquatic compartments and the digestive tract of adult R. temporaria were analyzed. Water, sediment, periphyton, aquatic macroinvertebrates, and tadpoles tested negative for plastic and MPs. Microplastics were detected in all the adult frogs (n = 5); all the identified items (one per specimen) were fibers (size range: 550.91–2355.51 µm). A statistically significant positive correlation between the particle length and frog size was recorded. The predominant fiber color was blue. The chemical composition was polyamide (60%), polyethylene (20%), and polyethylene terephthalate (20%). Since both the biotic and the abiotic freshwater compartments (tadpoles included) revealed the absence of MPs, it can be assumed that adult frogs ingest MPs from the surrounding terrestrial environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue High-Mountain Lakes, Indicators of Global Change: Ecological Characterization and Environmental Pressures)

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17 pages, 1190 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Phytoplankton Biodiversity in Two Tropical, High Mountain Lakes in Central Mexico

by Estela Cuna, Javier Alcocer, Martha Gaytán and Margarita Caballero

Diversity 2022, 14(1), 42; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/d14010042 - 10 Jan 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2592

Abstract

Lakes El Sol and La Luna, inside the crater of the Nevado de Toluca volcano, Central Mexico, are the only two perennial high mountain lakes [HML] in the country. HML are considered among the most comparable ecosystems worldwide. These lakes are “extreme” environments with diluted, oligotrophic, and cold waters exposed to high UV radiation doses. In this paper, we document the phytoplankton species inhabiting these two extreme tropical ecosystems. The phytoplankton diversity of Lakes El Sol and La Luna is low compared to the global phytoplankton diversity from other Mexican inland waters. Nonetheless, the phytoplankton diversity turned out to be high compared to other HML worldwide, both temperate and tropical. The phytoplankton community in Lake El Sol was formed by 92 morphospecies and in Lake La Luna by 63; in both, the most diverse groups were Bacillariophyceae and Chlorophyceae. All species found in Lake La Luna were present in Lake El Sol, but 29 species present in Lake El Sol were absent in Lake La Luna. Nevertheless, 57% of the most frequent and abundant taxa in Lake El Sol were rare in La Luna, and 47% of the most frequent and abundant taxa in Lake La Luna were rare in Lake El Sol. Associated with their shallowness and polymictic thermal pattern, 87.5% of the Bacillariophyceae morphospecies are tychoplantonic, while the remaining 12.5% are truly planktonic. Dominant taxa were Chlorophyceae in Lake El Sol and Cyanobacteria in Lake La Luna. The most extreme conditions of Lake La Luna (ultraoligotrophy, very low pH, high ultraviolet radiation) most likely explained the differences in the dominant species composition and lower species richness compared to Lake El Sol. Herein, we provide for the first time a taxonomic list of the phytoplankton community of Lakes El Sol and La Luna. This information constitutes a baseline needed to use these HML as sentinels of global and climate change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue High-Mountain Lakes, Indicators of Global Change: Ecological Characterization and Environmental Pressures)

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15 pages, 4503 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Joint Contributions of Environmental Filtering and Spatial Processes to Macroinvertebrate Metacommunity Dynamics in the Alpine Stream Environment of Baima Snow Mountain, Southwest China

by Muhammad Farooq, Xianfu Li, Zhengfei Li, Ronglong Yang, Zhen Tian, Lu Tan, Davide Fornacca, Yanpeng Li, Nima Cili, Zhongyong Ciren, Shuoran Liu and Wen Xiao

Diversity 2022, 14(1), 28; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/d14010028 - 03 Jan 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2093

Abstract

While macroinvertebrates are extensively investigated in many river ecosystems, meta-community ecology perspectives in alpine streams are very limited. We assessed the role of ecological factors and temporal dynamics in the macroinvertebrate meta-community assembly of an alpine stream situated in a dry-hot valley of Baima Snow Mountain, China. We found that spatial structuring and environmental filtering jointly drive the structure of macroinvertebrate meta-community, with relative contributions to the variance in community composition changing over time. RDA ordination and variation partitioning indicate that environmental variables are the most important predictors of community organization in most scenarios, whereas spatial determinants also play a significant role. Moreover, the explanatory power, identity, and the relative significance of ecological factors change over time. Particularly, in the years 2018 and 2019, stronger environmental filtering was found shaping community assembly, suggesting that deterministic mechanisms predominated in driving community dynamics. However, spatial factors had a stronger predictive power on meta-community structures in 2017, implying conspicuous dispersal mechanisms which may be owing to increased connectivity amongst sites. Thereby, we inferred that the alpine stream macroinvertebrate metacommunity composition can be regulated by the interaction of both spatial processes and environmental filtering, with relative contributions varying over time. Based on these findings, we suggest that community ecology studies in aquatic systems should be designed beyond single snapshot investigations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue High-Mountain Lakes, Indicators of Global Change: Ecological Characterization and Environmental Pressures)

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14 pages, 1604 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Responses of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities of Two Tropical, High-Mountain Lakes to Climate Change and Deacidification

by Javier Alcocer, Luis A. Oseguera, Diana Ibarra-Morales, Elva Escobar and Lucero García-Cid

Diversity 2021, 13(6), 243; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/d13060243 - 31 May 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1972

Abstract

High-mountain lakes are among the most comparable ecosystems globally and recognized sentinels of global change. The present study pursued to identify how the benthic macroinvertebrates (BMI) communities of two tropical, high mountain lakes, El Sol and La Luna, Central Mexico, have been affected by global/regional environmental pressures. We compared the environmental characteristics and the BMI communities between 2000–2001 and 2017–2018. We identified three principal environmental changes (the air and water temperature increased, the lakes’ water level declined, and the pH augmented and became more variable), and four principal ecological changes in the BMI communities [a species richness reduction (7 to 4), a composition change, and a dominant species replacement all of them in Lake El Sol, a species richness increase (2 to 4) in Lake La Luna, and a drastic reduction in density (38% and 90%) and biomass (92%) in both lakes]. The air and water temperature increased 0.5 °C, and lakes water level declined 1.5 m, all suggesting an outcome of climate change. Contrarily to the expected acidification associated with acid precipitation, both lakes deacidified, and the annual pH fluctuation augmented. The causes of the deacidification and the deleterious impacts on the BMI communities remained to be identified. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue High-Mountain Lakes, Indicators of Global Change: Ecological Characterization and Environmental Pressures)

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14 pages, 3191 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Liver Lipid Accumulation in European Bullhead (Cottus cobio) from a High-Mountain Lake: An Adaptive Strategy to Survive the Adverse Winter Season

by Paolo Pastorino, Marco Bertoli, Manuel Kušće, Piero Giulio Giulianini, Vasco Menconi, Marino Prearo and Elisabetta Pizzul

Diversity 2020, 12(12), 442; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/d12120442 - 24 Nov 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1966

Abstract

The hypothesis that liver lipid accumulation in fish is an adaptive strategy to survive the winter in the high-altitude environment was assessed in this study. During summer 2019, specimens of Cottus gobio were sampled in 15 watercourses of Friuli Venezia-Giulia Region (Italy) to verify if hepatic steatosis is or not normally present in the species. To do this, hepatic vacuolization was assessed by histology using a semiquantitative score. Furthermore, C. gobio were also captured during the ice-free season at Dimon Lake (1872 m a.s.l.) and But Stream (520 m a.s.l.) to compare the trend in lipid accumulation: water temperature, hepatosomatic index (HSI), gonadosomatic index (GSI), Fulton’s condition factor (K), and lipid area percentage (lipid %) were measured monthly. Findings revealed that liver steatosis is rather common in C. gobio. However, the trend in lipid accumulation of this species differed between Dimon Lake and But Stream. Based on the HSI and the GSI, the reproductive cycles differed in fish from the two environments (April–May in But Stream; May–June in Dimon Lake). While K values remained unchanged in the But Stream specimens, significant changes were recorded for Dimon specimens. The increase in lipid % from July to August in the Dimon Lake specimens coincided with greater food availability. With the rapid drop in lake water temperature in October, the lipid % decreased due to slower metabolic rate and lipid utilization from liver stores. There was a slight decrease in lipid % in the But Stream specimens, indicating that lipids were not being accumulated. Introduced years ago, the Dimon Lake bullhead population has since adapted to the winter conditions at high elevation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue High-Mountain Lakes, Indicators of Global Change: Ecological Characterization and Environmental Pressures)

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