• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.423-436
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• 2023

The objectives of this review were to synthesize the community structure of phytoplankton and the role of atelomix in the phytoplankton dynamics in Ethiopian highland lakes. Changes in a lake's physical structure, light dynamics, and availability of nutrients are closely associated with phytoplankton ecology, and phytoplankton assemblages provide insight into phytoplank- ton responses to these environmental changes. Based on the available information, a total of 173 species of phytoplankton are grouped under seven classes, Chlorophyceae (80 taxa), Bacillariophyceae (55 taxa), Cyanophyceae (24 taxa), Dinophyceae (6 taxa), Eugleonophyceae (6 taxa), Xanthophyceae (1 taxon), and Cryptophyceae (1 taxon) were recorded in five different tropical Ethiopian highland lakes. Chlorophyceae and Bacillariophyceae dominated in terms of species composition. Partial atelomixis, seasonality, and low nutrient concentrations seem to be the main drivers in structuring phytoplankton composition and abun-dances in Ethiopian highland lakes, characterized by a high diversity of atelomix-dependent benthic diatoms and desmids. Thus, this review will help understand the role of atelomix and nutrient availability in the phytoplankton composition and biomass of tropical highland lakes of Ethiopia.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.40 no.4 s.109
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• pp.428-440
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• 2005

There is currently no agreement among archaeologists, environmental historians, and paleoecologists as to the relative significance of pre- and post-Conquest human impact on the environments of Highland Mexico. This paper presents the results of pollen, microscopic charcoal, dung fungal spore, isotope, and magnetic susceptibility analyses on ca. 4m sediment core. The coring site is Hoya Rincon de Parangueo, one of the seven maar lakes in the Valle do Santiago. Amaranthaceae pollen, one of important disturbance indicators and Zea mays pollen obviously indicate two periods of agricultural activities. The first period begins ca. 400 B.C. and ends ca. A.D. 850. The second begins around A.D. 1550 and continues to the present. During the first period, the degree of agricultural activities was related to periodical sunspot cycles and the most intense activities were present between ca. A.D. 150-ca. A.D. 400. The abrupt increase of $\delta^{18}O$ around 280cm may reflect that an important transition to a dry phase took place around A.D. 450. People probably stopped cultivating crops due to dry conditions prevailing since ca. A.D. 450. The second period, the post-Conquest, exhibits a dramatic increase of sporormiella, dung fungal spores resulted fron the introduction of cattle. Low Poaceae frequency and charcoal production and high $\delta^{13}C$ values, magnetic susceptibility, and organic contents all indicate the arrival of the Spanish. Most importantly, it seems that mesquite (Prosopis juliflora) could have benefits from declined fire frequencies caused by cattle grazing. The study area is now entirely dominated by woody plants like mesquite, which clearly demonstrates that serious vegetation change occurred in the study area.