Jenkins, DG. 2014. Lakes and rivers as microcosms, version 2.0. J. Limnology 73(s1): 20-32. (original) (raw)

Limnology in the 21st century: the importance of freshwater ecosystems as model systems in ecology and evolution

Journal of Limnology, 2014

In 1990, in order to celebrate the 50 th anniversary of the former Italian Institute of Hydrobiology, now Institute of Ecosystem Study, a special issue summarising the advances in limnology was published by Memorie dell'Istituto Italiano di Idrobiologia, now Journal of Limnology. After 25 years, it is time again for a synthesis of what limnology did in the past, but mostly for suggestions on widening the horizon of the discipline, by including new tools and techniques. We hope that limnology will live long, and we celebrate the 75 th anniversary of the Institute with this special issue, containing manuscripts on the advances in the field and introducing recent and new lines of research in lentic waters studies.

A lake as a microcosm: reflections on developments in aquatic ecology

Aquatic Ecology, 2013

In the present study, we aim at relating Forbes' remarkable paper on ''The lake as a microcosm'', published 125 years ago, to the present status of knowledge in our own research group. Hence, we relate the observations Forbes made to our own microcosm, Lake Krankesjön in southern Sweden, that has been intensively studied by several research groups for more than three decades. Specifically, we focus on the question: Have we made any significant progress or did Forbes and colleagues blaze the trail through the unknown wilderness and we are mainly paving that intellectual road? We conclude that lakes are more isolated than many other biomes, but have, indeed, many extensions, for example, input from the catchment, fishing and fish migration. We also conclude that irrespective of whether lakes should be viewed as microcosms or not, the paper by Forbes has been exceptionally influential and still is, especially since it touches upon almost all aspects of the lake ecosystem, from individual behaviour to food web interactions and environmental issues. Therefore, there is no doubt that even if 125 years have passed, Forbes' paper still is a source of inspiration and deserves to be read. Hence, although aquatic ecology has made considerable progress over the latest century, Forbes might be viewed as one of the major pioneers and visionary scientists of limnology.

Is limnology becoming increasingly abiotic, riverine, and global?

Limnology and Oceanography Letters

Has limnology had a consistent core of fundamental research topics through time, or, has the discipline's focus shifted with advances in knowledge and technology? The temporal trends in the main research themes addressed in thousands of freshwater studies from 2004 to 2016 suggest that the field of limnology is increasingly focusing on research that is global in scope and useful for decision-making, and that this shift implies an increased reliance on abiotic data and emerging technologies and a relative decrease in the proportion of more traditional organismal themes. These global and anthropogenic shifts are not unlike what has been observed in other ecological disciplines, and we hope these results will stimulate conversation on the direction of the field of limnology and highlight the need for new techniques or networks to bring organismal studies into a more global context.

Using Landscape Limnology to Classify Freshwater Ecosystems for Multi-ecosystem Management and Conservation

BioScience, 2010

Governmental entities are responsible for managing and conserving large numbers of lake, river, and wetland ecosystems that can be addressed only rarely on a case-by-case basis. We present a system for predictive classification modeling, grounded in the theoretical foundation of landscape limnology, that creates a tractable number of ecosystem classes to which management actions may be tailored. We demonstrate our system by applying two types of predictive classification modeling approaches to develop nutrient criteria for eutrophication management in 1998 north temperate lakes. Our predictive classification system promotes the effective management of multiple ecosystems across broad geographic scales by explicitly connecting management and conservation goals to the classification modeling approach, considering multiple spatial scales as drivers of ecosystem dynamics, and acknowledging the hierarchical structure of freshwater ecosystems. Such a system is critical for adaptive management of complex mosaics of freshwater ecosystems and for balancing competing needs for ecosystem services in a changing world.

The riverine ecosystem synthesis: toward conceptual cohesiveness in river science

2008

We propose an integrated, heuristic model of lotic biocomplexity across spatiotemporal scales from headwaters to large rivers. This riverine ecosystem synthesis (RES) provides a framework for understanding both broad, often discontinuous patterns along longitudinal and lateral dimensions of river networks and local ecological patterns across various temporal and smaller spatial scales. Rather than posing a completely new model, we arrange a conceptual marriage of eco-geomorphology (ecological aspects of fluvial geomorphology) with a terrestrial landscape model describing hierarchical patch dynamics. We modify five components of this terrestrial model for lotic ecosystems: (1) nested, discontinuous hierarchies of patch mosaics; (2) ecosystem dynamics as a composite of intra-and inter-patch dynamics; (3) linked patterns and processes; (4) dominance of non-equilibrial and stochastic processes; and (5) formation of a quasi-equilibrial, metastable state. Our conceptual model blends our perspectives on biocomplexity with aspects of aquatic models proposed from 1980-2004.

Man made Lakes: A means of Eradicating Man made Poverty_Prof. M.K. Mustapha Inaugural Lecture

Inaugural Lecture, 2021

Ladies and Gentlemen Preamble I give thanks to Almighty Allah, the beneficent, the merciful, who has been so merciful to me from birth till today, Thursday, 25 th November, 2021 that I am delivering the 210 th Inaugural lecture of this great University which happens to also be my Alma Mater. The inaugural lecture entitled "MAN-MADE LAKES: A MEANS OF ERADICATING MAN-MADE POVERTY" is the 7 th to be delivered from the Zoology discipline in this University, coming after those that has been delivered by my mentors, teachers and senior colleagues, right from the inception of the discipline at the former Departments of Biological Sciences and now Zoology in 1976 and 2005 respectively. I have been part and parcel of the Departments since 1986 when I was admitted to study Zoology at Undergraduate, then going on to obtain Master's and Doctorate Degrees in the discipline at the Departments. I was employed as an Assistant Lecturer in the Departments in June, 1999 and became a Professor of Zoology in October, 2017. My area of specialization is Fisheries, Aquaculture and Hydrobiology, with special emphasis on the ecology of man-made lakes, reservoirs and ponds. This sub-discipline of Zoology known as LIMNOLOGY is the study of the structure, relationships, productivity, dynamics and functional interactions among the physical, chemical and biotic properties of inland water ecosystems which include rivers, lakes, reservoirs and ponds. Limnology, a term derived from Greek word 'Limne' meaning lake, first used by François-Alphonse Forel (1841-1912). Limnology is a paradigm interdisciplinary science that helps in understanding the factors upon which life and its continued existence depends, and at the same time, through which life could be better off for humanity through sustainable use of water and its resources impounded in lakes, reservoirs and ponds. I picked interest in limnology as a result of a lecture I attended in 1989 during my undergraduate years in this University delivered by Emeritus Professor A.M.A.