Lake Alchichica Limnology

The book provides a comprehensive account of a tropical lake, Alchichica, considering that tropical limnology is by far less known and well-understood than temperate. Many of the well-known temperate limnology paradigms do not apply in tropical limnology, such as the = 1ºC/m thermocline concept, or the role of phosphorous as a limiting nutrient. Lake Alchichica is - most likely - the best limnologically known Mexican lake up to date. Twenty years of continuous monitoring has led us to understand this deep, warm monomictic lake. The peculiar chemical composition of this saline lake - sodium-alkaline with a high concentration in magnesium waters, and groundwater-fed - led to the formation of its unique stromatolite ring that has become world-famous, studied by scientists from various countries. From a biological point of view, this relatively small maar lake displays a comparatively low species richness but surprisingly is plentiful in microendemic species for a recently-formed lake (13, 000-6, 300 years old, at the Late Pleistocene/Holocene Epoch), eleven of which already described, with more to come. Researchers and students interested in tropical limnology, extreme ecosystems, evolutionary biology, astrobiology, and microbiology will find this book a must-read.

Chapter 1 Lake Alchichica: History of Human Settlements. - Chapter 2 Geological Evolution of the Alchichica Crater. - Chapter 3 Paleoenvironmental Change in Central Mexico During the Last 20, 000 Years. - Chapter 4 Recent Climate of Serdán-Oriental Basin. - Chapter 5 Hydrogeology and Hydrochemistry of the Serdán-Oriental Basin and the Lake Alchichica. - Chapter 6 Meteorological Regime, Local Climate, and Hydrodynamics of Lake Alchichica. - Chapter 7 Physicochemical Characteristics. - Chapter 8 The Littoral Environment. - Chapter 9 Aquatic Vegetation. - Chapter 10 The Littoral Community. - Chapter 11 Bacterioplankton. - Chapter 12. - Phytoplankton of Alchichica: A Unique Community for an Oligotrophic Lake. - Chapter 13 Protozooplankton. - Chapter 14 Metazooplankton: The Joys and Challenges of Living in a Saline, Oligotrophic, Warm Monomictic Lake. - Chapter 15 Alchichica Silverside. - Chapter 16. - The Axolotl of Alchichica. - Chapter 17 The Deep Benthic Zone. - Chapter 18 Lake Metabolism. - Chapter 19 Lake Food Webs. - Chapter 20 Diversity and Endemisms. - Chapter 21 Conservation Actions. - Chapter 22 Microbialites: Diversity Hotspots in the Mexican Plateau. - Chapter 23 The Lake Alchichica from an Astrobiological Perspective. - Chapter 24 Lake Alchichica Traditions, Myths, and Legends: Interviews with Local Residents.