Climatic and human impacts on Patagonian terminal lakes.

We study the causes of the reduction in the surface area of five terminal lakes since 2007, within Laguna Blanca National Park, a Ramsar site in Patagonia (Southern South America). The terminal lakes in this park are critical habitats for several species of animals, some of which are endemic and endangered. We analyzed the lakes' area time series (1998-2024), a climatic index determining dry and wet periods, and human land use changes in the basin of the lakes.

Global distribution of a key trophic guild contrasts with common latitudinal diversity patterns.

Most hypotheses explaining the general gradient of higher diversity toward the equator are implicit or explicit about greater species packing in the tropics. However, global patterns of diversity within guilds, including trophic guilds (i.e.

A global experiment suggests climate warming will not accelerate litter decomposition in streams but might reduce carbon sequestration.

The decomposition of plant litter is one of the most important ecosystem processes in the biosphere and is particularly sensitive to climate warming. Aquatic ecosystems are well suited to studying warming effects on decomposition because the otherwise confounding influence of moisture is constant. By using a latitudinal temperature gradient in an unprecedented global experiment in streams, we found that climate warming will likely hasten microbial litter decomposition and produce an equivalent decline in detritivore-mediated decomposition rates.