Application of subfossil cladocerans(water fleas) in assessing ecological resilience of shallow Yangtze River floodplain lake systems(China)

作     者：Giri KATTEL Ke ZHANG Xiangdong YANG 

作者机构：State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment Nanjing Institute of Geography and LimnologyChinese Academy of Sciences Environmental Hydrology and Water Resources Group Department of Infrastructure EngineeringThe University of Melbourne 

出 版 物：《Science China Earth Sciences》 (中国科学（地球科学英文版）)

年 卷 期：2018年第61卷第9期

页      面：1157-1168页

核心收录：

学科分类：07[理学] 0708[理学-地球物理学] 0704[理学-天文学] 0713[理学-生态学] 

基　　金：supported by the National Key Basic Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2017YFA0605200) the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41530753 & 41772378) One Hundred Talent Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. Y6SL011001) Giri Kattel would like to acknowledge the CAS-PIFI Professorial Fellowship Program (Grant No. 2016VEA050) at Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGLAS) 

主　　题：Subfossil cladoceran Yangtze River lake system Food web Ecological resilience Regime shift Threshold 

摘      要：Majority of shallow floodplain lake ecosystems of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River(China) have gone through serious eutrophication problems over the recent past. The severe environmental deterioration accompanied by cyanobacterial blooms have become major water resource management challenges in the region. An advanced research method is urgently needed to tackle these challenges. The concept of ecological resilience address pressing questions of non-linear dynamics, threshold effects and regime shifts in shallow floodplain lakes, and help manage the ecosystem effectively. Palaeolimnological techniques are important for assessing long term resilience and associated thresholds effects of shallow lake ecosystems. However, the lack of reliable proxy methods available, the assessment of long term ecological resilience of shallow Yangtze River lake systems has become increasingly difficult. Cladocerans(water fleas) play a central role in lacustrine food webs by responding to external drivers and internal ecosystem processes in lakes. Their subfossils are well preserved and becoming one of potential proxy indicators of lake ecosystems change for a longer time scale. This study explores the potential application of subfossil cladocerans and their ephippia in assessing a long term ecological resilience and help better management strategies of lake ecosystems and water resources of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China.