User:Strubdr/Lake Annie - Florida

Lake Annie - Florida
Lake Annie is a public lake located in Polk, Florida. This 407 acre lake is home to the research of University of Southern Florida. Extensive research has been performed assessing lake data, culture of the lake, populations within the lake, and the effects of historical events on the lake. The earliest sampling of Lake Annie began in 1970 with continuous sampling still occurring. Lake Annie is most known for its 11m deep sedimentary record, which has been projected to be nearly 50,000 years old. Annie is part of the Peace Creek Canal Watershed.

Lake Ecology
Located in Southwestern Florida, Lake Annie is a 407 acre lake sinkhole lake. Reaching a depth of 5.8m, Lake Annie contains nearly 1,876,574,189 gallons of water volume. It is categorized as oligotrophic to mid-eutrophic lake, which means it is enriched with nutrients and oxygen providing abundant resources to support plant and animal biodiversity. Water samples collected from Lake Annie showed a value of 40 on the Trophic State Index Scale, which is labeled as good. Lakes that test higher than 70 are categorized a poor, being too eutrophic for sustainable organism life. Being completely eutrophic can be catastrophic for lakes as it saturates the water quality with too many nutrients and dissolved oxygen harming organisms.

Fish Species

 * Bass
 * Black Bass
 * Black Crappie
 * Bluegill
 * Brown Bullhead
 * Catfish
 * Channel Catfish
 * Crappie
 * Largemouth Bass
 * Redear Sunfish
 * Yellow Bullhead

Effects of Climate Change on Lake Annie
Climate change is dramatically changing many environmental factors on earth. An impact we have noticed specifically is on the lake ecology of Lake Annie. The large-scale lake responses to climate change are dramatic and could potentially end in catastrophic events, making aquatic environments uninhabitable. Factors impacted by the threats of climate change include surface temperatures, water levels, and ice cover. Lakes account for nearly 87% of Earth's surface freshwater and hold a large amount of biodiversity of species and ecosystems. With the increase of global climate temperatures, lake ecosystems are responding in such a way that the hydrology could potentially be impacted. Furthermore, water quality and abundance of food sources within lake ecosystems will change as a result. Inland lakes are equally as vital to regional landscapes as are forests, grasslands, wildlife, and human interaction. By studying the relationship between climate change and its effect on lakes it is likely to be able to predict future changes expected to be seen on such bodies of water.

Through studying the historical changes of lake ecology because of climate change, data was collected and compared on limnological factors like yearly ice cover, annual thermal stratification, light attenuation, the abundance of phytoplankton, and zooplankton, and lastly the chemical components of the water. Many of the factors previously stated are interrelated and can complicate many of the predictions of lake response to climate change. While studying lake ecology it is vital to incorporate historical cycles and include continuous cycling of water and nutrients into the prediction of the impacts of climate change. Changes in average temperature in lakes have been studied and found to be one of the most impacting factors affected by climate change. Trends in lake ecology can be expected to continue to change as global temperature changes. An implication of such dramatic changes can be pointed towards the increase of solar radiation and infrared radiation absorbed by the water. Fossil fuels in emissions are rapidly increasing the effects of climate change. We are observing a higher abundance of CO2 in the atmosphere, with those higher levels the amount of infrared radiation absorbed by those molecules increases. Rather than emitting the radiation, it is being trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere, warming the average temperatures.

Thermal stratification of lakes is a process in which the water column of the lakes divides into three portions. The epilimnion, metalimnion, and the hypolimnion. Prior to thermally stratifying lakes experience a whole water turnover. This process provides abundant nutrients and dissolved oxygen to all depths of the water. As temperatures of the water change due to absorption, lakes thermally stratify. During thermal stratification layers of the lake begin losing nutrients and oxygen by providing essentials for organisms occupying such layers. As a result of climate change, lakes are experiencing thermal stratification earlier in the year and it lasts for a longer amount of time. An earlier and more prolonged stratification period can be detrimental to organisms. The aquatic organisms are continuously utilizing resources at the same rate as prior years, but the number of resources available towards the end of stratification will be decreased and ultimately fully utilized. Thus, forcing organisms to move to unknown habitats which could potentially kill the organisms.

The surface temperature the lake is increasing due to the effects of climate change. This increase in temperature can be predicted from factors such as cloud cover, wind speed, atmospheric temperature, relative humidity, and solar radiation. Warm-season lakes are found to be increasing at an average rate of 0.34° C per decade and for lakes, in cold winter regions, they are increasing at an average rate of 0.40° C per decade. While these changes don’t seem very large, it has been impacting lakes for 30 years. In total, Lake Annie has increased by nearly 1.0°C in the past three decades. Warming surface temperatures affect thermal stratification. The lake energy is balanced through variables such as light, dissolved oxygen, and temperature. Lake water evaporation is caused by increased atmospheric temperatures and can affect the water levels of each lake. With evaporation, the H2O molecules are evaporated into atmospheric gas and the molecules such as calcium and sodium chloride are left in the water causing spikes in chemical concentrations. Increasing chemical components can be harmful to vegetation and aquatic species.

Climate change is very impactful to our ecosystem and many times can be detrimental to organisms and environments. Lake hydrology and ecology are largely impacted by the effects of climate change. The rise in annual air temperature and lake surface water temperatures has been observed to be increasing at an increased rate and thermal stratification has been shifted and prolonged. With both major effects, the chemical composition of lake ecosystems can be seen to have a dramatic shift in abundance. It has been occurring over many decades, but with recent knowledge and research, the trajectory of aquatic habitats is declining.

There are agreements and plans to slow the rate of climatic change and conserve our aquatic environments. The Paris Agreement is an international treaty to combat climate change, with the efforts made by many countries it is possible to slow the change and restore our natural ecosystems. Lake hydrology is a big contributor to environments and a resource for many organisms. The drastic changes in water quality are providing a harmful environment for all aquatic species.