ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2015
Continuous 1.3-million-year record of East African hydroclimate, and implications for patterns of evolution and biodiversity.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers.
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28 citing papers in PubMed.
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- Microcomputed tomography used to link head morphology and observed feeding behavior in cichlids of Lake Malaŵi.Ecology and evolution · 2021Article
- Early human impacts and ecosystem reorganization in southern-central Africa.Science advances · 2021Article
- Genetic evidence for the origin of Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito, in the southwestern Indian Ocean.Molecular ecology · 2020Article
- East African cichlid lineages (Teleostei: Cichlidae) might be older than their ancient host lakes: new divergence estimates for the east African cichlid radiation.BMC evolutionary biology · 2019Article
- High-resolution record reveals climate-driven environmental and sedimentary changes in an active rift.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Only true pelagics mix: comparative phylogeography of deepwater bathybatine cichlids from Lake Tanganyika.Hydrobiologia · 2019Article
- Whole-genome sequences of Malawi cichlids reveal multiple radiations interconnected by gene flow.Nature ecology & evolution · 2018Article
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11 authors.
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Abstract
The transport of moisture in the tropics is a critical process for the global energy budget and on geologic timescales, has markedly influenced continental landscapes, migratory pathways, and biological evolution. Here we present a continuous, first-of-its-kind 1.3-My record of continental hydroclimate and lake-level variability derived from drill core data from Lake Malawi, East Africa (9-15° S). Over the Quaternary, we observe dramatic shifts in effective moisture, resulting in large-scale changes in one of the world's largest lakes and most diverse freshwater ecosystems. Results show evidence for 24 lake level drops of more than 200 m during the Late Quaternary, including 15 lowstands when water levels were more than 400 m lower than modern. A dramatic shift is observed at the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT), consistent with far-field climate forcing, which separates vastly different hydroclimate regimes before and after ∼800,000 years ago. Before 800 ka, lake levels were lower, indicating a climate drier than today, and water levels changed frequently. Following the MPT high-amplitude lake level variations dominate the record. From 800 to 100 ka, a deep, often overfilled lake occupied the basin, indicating a wetter climate, but these highstands were interrupted by prolonged intervals of extreme drought. Periods of high lake level are observed during times of high eccentricity. The extreme hydroclimate variability exerted a profound influence on the Lake Malawi endemic cichlid fish species flock; the geographically extensive habitat reconfiguration provided novel ecological opportunities, enabling new populations to differentiate rapidly to distinct species.
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