Interpreting
the hydrological history of a temporary pond from chemical and microscopic
characterization of siliceous microfossils
Evelyn
E. Gaiser1,*, Mark J. Brooks2, William F. Kenney3,
Claire L. Schelske3 and Barbara E. Taylor4
1 Southeast Environmental Research Center and Department of
Biology, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA;
2Savannah River Archaeological Research Program, South Carolina
Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of South Carolina,
P. O. Box 400, New Ellenton, SC 29809, USA;
3Land Use and Environmental Change Institute, Department of
Geological Sciences, University of Florida, Box 112120, Gainesville, FL
32611, USA;
4Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia,
P. O. Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, USA;
* Author for correspondence (e-mail: gaisere@fiu. edu)
Received 7 February 2003; accepted in revised form 27 July 2003
Key words: Biogenic or amorphous silica, Diatoms, Paleolimnology, South Carolina, Sponge spicules, Temporary pond
Abstract
The hydrological
history of a temporary pond in South Carolina was inferred from a 5500-year
record of siliceous microfossils, including diatoms, freshwater sponge
spicules, chrysophyte cysts, plates of testate amoebae and plant phytoliths.
Microfossil abundance was estimated by microscopic quantification of siliceous
particles and by chemical extractions of silica. Diatom, sponge and mineral
particle volumes were correlated with silica concentrations attributable
to these fractions. Both techniques suggested a sequence of four distinct
community types. Basal sediments (4630-5520 14C YBP) containing
phytoliths and sponge spicules indicative of a wetland community were
covered by sediments dominated by the remains of planktonic protists (3750-4630
14C YBP) suggesting a transition from a vegetated marsh to
an openwater, permanently flooded pond. Microfossil assemblages above
this zone indicate the return of a wetland community ca. 3750 YBP that
persisted until recently, when pond water levels stabilized as a result
of seepage from a reservoir constructed nearby in 1985. This study suggests
that the suite of siliceous micro- fossils commonly found in pond sediments
can be used to infer historical alternations between macrophyte and plankton-dominated
states in shallow basins. Regional climate inferences from this record
include a mid-Holocene hydrological maximum and the onset of the modem
climate ca. 3500 YBP.
SREL Reprint #2736
Gaiser, E. E., M. J. Brooks, W. F. Kenney, C. L. Schelske and B. E. Taylor. 2004. Interpreting the hydrological history of a temporary pond from chemical and microscopic characterization of siliceous microfossils. Journal of Paleolimnology 31:63-76.
