Late Holocene cooling drove drastic decreases in cladoceran diversity in a subarctic lake.

Abstract

Subarctic lakes are sentinels of climate change, showing responses in their physical, chemical, and biological properties. However, climate-induced changes in invertebrate diversity and their underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. We explored the relationship between past climate change and taxonomic composition of subfossil cladocerans in a subarctic lake during the last ca. 5700 years. The Cladocera community shifted from specialist to generalist species at ca. 3500 cal years BP, corresponding to the long-term cooling period between the Holocene Thermal Maximum and the Late Holocene. Taxonomic diversity declined driven by the collapse of the keystone herbivorous Daphnia longispina group, pelagic and littoral predators, and phytophilous benthic species, therefore resulting in a simplification of the food web and a reduction of trophic levels. Furthermore, the shift in cladoceran composition was associated with the decline of aquatic primary producers and the development of birch forest, suggesting a potential causal link between dissolved organic carbon dynamics and cladoceran community composition. This study provides empirical evidence of the response of cladocerans to climatic fluctuations and their underlying mechanisms through catchment-mediated processes and direct temperature-induced changes.