Paleolimnology of two northern Michigan kettle lakes: a comparative study.

Abstract

The paleolimnological histories of Douglas and Andrus Lakes were examined from July 9th to August 4th, 1994 at UMBS on Douglas Lake in Pellston, Michigan. Two sediment cores were taken from the deepest part of each lake's basin. The top 1 cm and bottom 30 cm sections of each core were cleaned with the hydrogen peroxide-potassium dichromate cleaning procedure. Slides were mounted in Naphrax and counted under oil immersion at 1000x magnification. A total of 800 valves was recorded for each section of the lake that was examined in this study. Both sections of Douglas Lake were dominated primarily by Aulacoseira granulata. Andrus Lake, on the other hand, did not have one particular dominant species throughout its history. The flora in Andrus Lake was very diverse probably due to the soft water nature of the lake which may cause the diatom composition to fluctuate over time.