Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

A lake as a microcosm: reflections on developments in aquatic ecology

Hansson, Lars-Anders LU orcid ; Brodersen, Jakob LU ; Chapman, Ben LU ; Ekvall, Mattias LU ; Hargeby, Anders LU ; Hulthén, Kaj LU ; Nicolle, Alice LU ; Nilsson, Anders LU orcid ; Skov, Christian LU and Brönmark, Christer LU (2013) In Aquatic Ecology 47(2). p.125-135
Abstract
In the present study, we aim at relating Forbes' remarkable paper on "The lake as a microcosm", published 125 years ago, to the present status of knowledge in our own research group. Hence, we relate the observations Forbes made to our own microcosm, Lake Krankesjon in southern Sweden, that has been intensively studied by several research groups for more than three decades. Specifically, we focus on the question: Have we made any significant progress or did Forbes and colleagues blaze the trail through the unknown wilderness and we are mainly paving that intellectual road? We conclude that lakes are more isolated than many other biomes, but have, indeed, many extensions, for example, input from the catchment, fishing and fish migration. We... (More)
In the present study, we aim at relating Forbes' remarkable paper on "The lake as a microcosm", published 125 years ago, to the present status of knowledge in our own research group. Hence, we relate the observations Forbes made to our own microcosm, Lake Krankesjon in southern Sweden, that has been intensively studied by several research groups for more than three decades. Specifically, we focus on the question: Have we made any significant progress or did Forbes and colleagues blaze the trail through the unknown wilderness and we are mainly paving that intellectual road? We conclude that lakes are more isolated than many other biomes, but have, indeed, many extensions, for example, input from the catchment, fishing and fish migration. We also conclude that irrespective of whether lakes should be viewed as microcosms or not, the paper by Forbes has been exceptionally influential and still is, especially since it touches upon almost all aspects of the lake ecosystem, from individual behaviour to food web interactions and environmental issues. Therefore, there is no doubt that even if 125 years have passed, Forbes' paper still is a source of inspiration and deserves to be read. Hence, although aquatic ecology has made considerable progress over the latest century, Forbes might be viewed as one of the major pioneers and visionary scientists of limnology. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Forbes, Microcosm, Trophic cascade, Zooplankton, Fish, Food web
in
Aquatic Ecology
volume
47
issue
2
pages
125 - 135
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • wos:000319747800002
  • scopus:84878545170
ISSN
1386-2588
DOI
10.1007/s10452-013-9435-2
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
d06d81d2-5617-4cd7-97b8-24f465aa9cfa (old id 3927043)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 13:33:14
date last changed
2024-01-24 12:04:04
@article{d06d81d2-5617-4cd7-97b8-24f465aa9cfa,
  abstract     = {{In the present study, we aim at relating Forbes' remarkable paper on "The lake as a microcosm", published 125 years ago, to the present status of knowledge in our own research group. Hence, we relate the observations Forbes made to our own microcosm, Lake Krankesjon in southern Sweden, that has been intensively studied by several research groups for more than three decades. Specifically, we focus on the question: Have we made any significant progress or did Forbes and colleagues blaze the trail through the unknown wilderness and we are mainly paving that intellectual road? We conclude that lakes are more isolated than many other biomes, but have, indeed, many extensions, for example, input from the catchment, fishing and fish migration. We also conclude that irrespective of whether lakes should be viewed as microcosms or not, the paper by Forbes has been exceptionally influential and still is, especially since it touches upon almost all aspects of the lake ecosystem, from individual behaviour to food web interactions and environmental issues. Therefore, there is no doubt that even if 125 years have passed, Forbes' paper still is a source of inspiration and deserves to be read. Hence, although aquatic ecology has made considerable progress over the latest century, Forbes might be viewed as one of the major pioneers and visionary scientists of limnology.}},
  author       = {{Hansson, Lars-Anders and Brodersen, Jakob and Chapman, Ben and Ekvall, Mattias and Hargeby, Anders and Hulthén, Kaj and Nicolle, Alice and Nilsson, Anders and Skov, Christian and Brönmark, Christer}},
  issn         = {{1386-2588}},
  keywords     = {{Forbes; Microcosm; Trophic cascade; Zooplankton; Fish; Food web}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{125--135}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Aquatic Ecology}},
  title        = {{A lake as a microcosm: reflections on developments in aquatic ecology}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10452-013-9435-2}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s10452-013-9435-2}},
  volume       = {{47}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}