Lake Depth Transfer Functions from Testate Amoebae Taxonomy and Morphology

A 229-sample calibration dataset from 28 temperate lakes provides the first direct comparison of lake-depth transfer functions based on testate amoebae species versus their physical traits. Taxonomy-based reconstructions captured latitudinal climate signals, while morphotrait-based reconstructions responded to local depth and trophic status independent of latitude. Both models performed well in littoral and metalimnetic zones but failed in profundal zones where environmental gradients weaken.

Use Cases

• Reconstructing historical lake depth based on fossil testate amoeba assemblages.
• Comparing the sensitivity of taxonomic versus functional trait approaches to climatic versus local drivers.
• Calibrating statistical models, like the Weighted Modern Analogue Technique, for palaeoecological transfer functions.
• Studying the distribution of testate amoebae across littoral, metalimnetic, and profundal lake zones.

Strengths

• Provides a directly comparable 229-sample calibration dataset for two distinct modelling approaches.
• Rigorous model testing identified the Weighted Modern Analogue Technique as the best performer for this data.
• Explicitly maps ecological dimensions, showing taxonomy captures latitude/climate while morphotraits capture local depth/trophic status.

Limitations

• Predictive accuracy collapses in profundal lake zones, a stated limitation of both approaches.
• Column names and a precise row count are not provided in the available metadata.
• The dataset is focused on temperate lakes of the East European Plain, limiting geographic generalizability.

Provenance

Source

Vlad Sysoev

Collection Method

Data compilation from 28 lakes across the temperate East European Plain.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-14.

Geography

Temperate realm, East European Plain (northern to mid-latitude temperate regions).