Aquatic ecosystem changes in a global biodiversity hotspot: evidence from the Albertine Rift, central Africa

Abstract

Aim \n Determine the extent to which remote, high-altitude (Afroalpine) aquatic ecosystems in \n tropical Africa have been impacted by global and regional-scale environmental change \nprocesses. \n Location \n Two volcanic crater lakes (Bisoke and Muhavura) in the Afroalpine zone, Albertine (Western) \n Rift, central Africa. \n Methods \n Sediment cores were collected from Bisoke and Muhavura lakes and dated using radiometric \n techniques. A range of sediment based-proxies was extracted from the cores and quantified. \n Sedimentary data were subjected to statistical analyses that contributed to the identification of \n influential environmental variables and their effects on diatom assemblages, the determination \n of variations in spatial beta diversity and estimates of the rate of compositional turnover over \n the last c. 1200 years. \n Results \n Sediments from the two sites provide evidence of the sensitivity of remote, Afroalpine aquatic \n ecosystems to perturbation. Climate variability has been a major driver of ecological change, \n particularly at Bisoke Lake, throughout the c. 1200 year-long record, while Muhavura Lake \n has been directly impacted by and recovered from at least one volcanic eruption during this \ntime. The effects of climatic warming from the mid- to late-19th century and especially from \nthe late-20th century, possibly accentuated by atmospheric deposition-driven nutrient \n enrichment, appear increasingly in lockstep. Effects include changes in diatom community \n composition, increased productivity and compositional turnover, and biotic homogenisation \n (reduced spatial beta diversity) between the two sites. \n Main conclusions \n The two Afroalpine sites record changes in atmospheric conditions and their effects on diatom \n assemblage composition, particularly over the last c. 150 years. Drivers of these changes have \n the potential to disrupt ecosystems at lower altitudes in the Albertine Rift, including \n biodiverse areas of forest, and across tropical Africa more widely.