It may be a truism that large lakes never have small problems. If there is
an environmental
problem, whether it be biological, chemical or physical in origin, the size
of
large lakes means that its effects and impacts are automatically amplified.
There-fore,
great lakes pose great challenges to scientists and managers. How do we detect,
or even better, anticipate new threats and address them before they become major
problems? Hindsight can be instructive, but foresight is what we need. The scientific
approach is to turn hindsight (observation and experimental testing) into foresight
(theory and prediction). Consequently, it is critical for the health of the
large lakes
of the world that we use opportunities such as the Great Lakes of the World
(GLOW)
Symposia to share experiences and knowledge of these large ecosystems. Such
knowl-edge
is always hard won from these physically imposing systems, and the studies
are often specially designed to answer specific questions of interest to water
resource
managers. Symposia offer the opportunity to contemplate the significance of
our results
to larger scales and issues and to integrate our experiences across systems.
As scien-tists
we accept the uncertainty principle that we can never know everything at one
time about large, aquatic ecosystems. This uncertainty arises from the spatial
scale
and temporal dynamics of these systems and not, as for the nuclear physicists,
from
the intrusiveness of our measurements, but it is a limitation we have to endure.
This
uncertainty can be reduced through sharing our knowledge of large systems so
that
others can incorporate our results into analyses of their systems. To that end,
this
book is a remarkable achievement as it does accomplish global coverage of large
and great lakes.
Nearly every lake that would come to mind as worthy of the connotation ‘great’
is addressed in this volume often in a very synthetic manner. The African Great
Lakes
are represented in papers detailing recent studies in Lake Malawi which address
both
the benthic and pelagic communities, recent changes in the phytoplankton and
pro-ductivity
of Lake Victoria, and physical-biological linkages in Lake Tanganyika. No
treatment of global great lakes is complete without treatment of the ancient
lakes
Baikal and Biwa which have received increasing attention from a widening group
of
researchers. Less well known large lakes in China and Indonesia are also addressed
filling in important gaps in our knowledge of both temperate and tropical Asian
lakes.
The mature state of studies on the Laurentian lakes allows comprehensive over-views
of how the flora and fauna are adjusting to phosphorus control, contaminants,
biological invasions and perhaps even climate change. A number of papers are
fo-cussed
on new technologies and approaches to the Laurentian lakes which deepen
our knowledge and ability to monitor the lakes. Rounding out the western hemisphere,
Lake Tahoe and Titicaca are the subjects of integrative reviews of the impressive
scientific records of studies which have been undertaken in these great, mountain
lakes. This is a true international feast of great lakes studies, and I challenge
any
reader to engage all these papers and not come away with new perspectives on
their
own favorite ecosystem. It is our hope that this will be the first of a regularly
occur-ring
series of books which will deal with great lakes on a global basis. Such a series
will enrich all aquatic science and increase our ability to address lakes increasingly
with foresight enriched by clear hindsight.
Most of the papers included in this monograph originated from an international
symposium “ Exploring the Great Lakes of the world (GLOW): Food-web dynam-ics,
health and integrity”. Some of the comparative papers resulting from this
sym-posium
have been published in a special issue of the AEHMS journal “Large Lakes
of the World: Comparative Ecology” (Munawar, 2000). The GLOW symposium
was
sponsored by the Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Society (AEHMS) in
collaboration with the South African Society of Aquatic Scientists (SASAS) at
Victoria
Falls, Zimbabwe in the summer of 1996. Some papers were added later to achieve
a
holistic picture of the Great Lakes of the world. The assistance and support
of vari-ous
committee members and sponsors listed is sincerely acknowledged. We thank
the Organizing Committee of the Victoria Falls conference committee particularly
D. Roux, M. Silberbauer and G. Quibell for their assistance in the organization
of
GLOW symposium at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Finally we are grateful to Drs.C.S.
Reynolds and C.E. Herdendorf for their contributions.
K. Irvine, G. Patterson, E.H. Allison, A.B. Thompson, A. Menz
The pelagic ecosystem of Lake Malawi, Africa: Trophic structure and current
threats
H.A. Bootsma, R.E. Hecky
Initial measurements of benthic photosynthesis in Lake Malawi
H.J. Kling, R. Mugidde, R.E. Hecky
Recent changes in the phytoplankton community of Lake Victoria in response to
eutrophication
P.S. Ramlal, G.W. Kling, L.M. Ndawula, R.E. Hecky, H.J. Kling
Diurnal fluctuations in Pco 2 , DIC, oxygen and nutrients at inshore sites in
Lake Victoria, Uganda
P.-D. Plisnier, E.J. Coenen
Pulsed and dampened annual limnological fluctuations in Lake Tanganyika
H. Rufli
Seasonal abundance of zooplankton and the planktivorous fish, Stolothrissa,
in Tanzanian waters of Lake Tanganyika.
C.R. Goldman, A.D. Jassby
Primary productivity, phytoplankton and nutrient status in Lake Baikal
W.Y.B. Chang
Chinese Great Lakes: Origin, changes and trends
M. Nakamura, W.Y.B. Chang
Lake Biwa: Largest lake in Japan
G.D. Haffner, P.E. Hehanussa, D. Hartoto
The biology and physical processes of large lakes of Indonesia: Lakes Matano
and Towuti
A. Pawley, S.C. Fritz, P.A. Baker, G.O. Seltzer, R. Dunbar
The biological, chemical, and physical limnology of Lake Titicaca, Bolivia/
Peru
M. Munawar, I.F. Munawar
An overview of the changing flora and fauna of the North American Great Lakes.
Part I: Phytoplankton and microbial loop.
M. Munawar, R. Dermott, J. Leach, S. Nepszy, D.V. Weseloh, D. Graham, S.Carou,
H. Niblock, O. Johannsson
An overview of the changing flora and fauna of the North American Great Lakes.
Part II: Zooplankton, benthos, fish, colonial waterbirds and exotics.
W.G. Sprules, T.J. Morris
Mysis relicta production in large lakes: Combining allometry with technology
D.M. Mason, A. Goyke, S.B. Brandt, J.M. Jech
Acoustic fish stock assessment in the Laurentian Great Lakes
P.J. Ewins, D.V. Weseloh, G.A. Fox, C.A. Bishop, T. Boughen
Using wildlife to monitor contaminants and their effects in the North American
Great Lakes ecosystem
R.E. Hicks, D.A. Pascoe
A comparison of cyanobacterial dominance within the picoplankton of the North
American Great Lakes estimated by 16S rRNA-based hybridisations and direct cell
counts
M. Legner, W.G. Sprules, R.J. Daley, E.D. Fillery
Flow cytometry for the unicellular plankton of the Laurentian Great Lakes
R. Jain, J.V. De Pinto
Considerations in the development and application of ecosystem models in large
lakes
D.C. McNaught
Control of grazing in the Great Lakes of North America and Asia: Natural and
industrial controls
A.D. Jassby, C.R. Goldman, J.E. Reuter, R.C. Richards, A.C. Heyvaert
Lake Tahoe: Diagnosis and rehabilitation of a large mountain lake
Subject Index
Taxonomic Index