For most life forms on Earth, oxygen is a necessity, not an optional extra – and because of our warming planet, oxygen is quickly disappearing from our freshwater lakes, putting aquatic life and ecosystems under threat.
And when you start losing oxygen, you have the potential to lose species. Lakes are losing oxygen 2.75-9.3 times faster than the oceans, a decline that will have impacts throughout the ecosystem.
While lakes only cover about 3 percent of the surface of the Earth, they contain a disproportionate concentration of the planet s biodiversity . Lakes are indicators or sentinels of environmental change and potential threats to the environment because they respond to signals from the surrounding landscape and atmosphere, said lead author Stephen Jane, also of Rensselaer. We found that these disproportionally more biodiverse systems are changing rapidly, indicating the extent to which ongoing atmospheric changes have already impacted ecosystems.
(Photo : Getty Images)
Change in Oxygen Levels
Scientists examined samples and measurements collected from 393 lakes in temperate regions of the globe across a period from 1941 to 2017, discovering a general decrease in dissolved oxygen in both shallow and deep water habitats. That change in oxygen levels has a contagion effect, all the way from the water biogeochemistry to the health of human populations who may depend on these lakes.
It could also bring about boosted greenhouse gas emissions from aquatic bacteria that generate methane. Kevin Rose, an environmental biologist from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute said: All complex life relies on oxygen, It s the aquatic food web s support system. And when you begin to lose oxygen, you have the possibility of losing species.
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