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Originally published in Science Express on 26 June 2003
Science 25 July 2003:
Vol. 301. no. 5632, pp. 505 - 507
DOI: 10.1126/science.1084846
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Reports

Ecological Consequences of a Century of Warming in Lake Tanganyika

Piet Verburg,1* Robert E. Hecky,1 Hedy Kling2

Deep tropical lakes are excellent climate monitors because annual mixing is shallow and flushing rates are low, allowing heat to accumulate during climatic warming. We describe effects of warming on Lake Tanganyika: A sharpened density gradient has slowed vertical mixing and reduced primary production. Increased warming rates during the coming century may continue to slow mixing and further reduce productivity in Lake Tanganyika and other deep tropical lakes.

1 Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada. 2 Algal Taxonomy and Ecology, c/o Freshwater Institute, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N6, Canada.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: pverburg{at}scimail.uwaterloo.ca

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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