Holocene relationships between climate, waterfowl, and lacustrine nutrient cycling at Kettle Lake, North Dakota, USA

Bibliographic Data

ID12267479
AuthorsNicole K Murray (0000-0002-2915-3057, Department of Earth Science and Environmental Change, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, corresponding author), Jessica L Conroy (0000-0003-3652-3199, Department of Earth Science and Environmental Change, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA), Kate O’brien (0009-0008-4398-4982, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA), Eric C Grimm (0000-0002-6977-3859, University of Minnesota), Joseph J Donovan (0000-0001-5427-657X, West Virginia University)
Year2023
Volume33
Issue9
Pages1132-1141
Publication date2023-06-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Holocene (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0959-6836 • E-ISSN: 1477-0911
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/09596836231176490
OpenAlexW4380033674
LanguageEN
References cited63

Avian populations can substantially influence lacustrine nutrient loading and biogeochemical cycling through guano deposition. Here, we examine the influence of climate-forced avian migration throughout the Holocene on Kettle Lake, North Dakota, using stable nitrogen and carbon isotope values (δ 15 N, δ 13 C) of lake sediment organic matter. Carbon content and δ 13 C values are negatively correlated with δ 15 N and appear to be driven by changes in charcoal abundance and watershed vegetation, respectively. We find enriched δ 15 N values when the guano mineral struvite is present in the lake sediment core in the early to Mid-Holocene. A strong δ 15 N-percent Nitrogen content relationship during periods with struvite, relative to periods without struvite, indicates that guano deposition from mass bird visitations altered past nitrogen cycle processes, likely through enhanced denitrification. These results attest to the ability of waterfowl to alter lacustrine N-cycling in a mid-continental North American lake, and indicate that paleo-N data in this particular lake are recording a unique history that does not necessarily represent regional paleoenvironmental conditions. However, a significant, positive relationship between δ 15 N and Ambrosia and Amaranthaceae pollen abundance suggests avian visitation and its impacts on the N-cycle occurred during periods of anomalously wet summers superimposed on the background conditions of early to Mid-Holocene drought

Archaeology · Biogeochemical cycle · Biology · Cycling · Geography · Guano · Holocene · Macrofossil · Sediment · Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics · Environmental Science · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Isotope Analysis in Ecology · Ecology · Geology · Oceanography