Lake Alchichica Limnology

The book provides a comprehensive account of a tropical lake, Alchichica, considering that tropical limnology is by far less known and well-understood than temperate. Many of the well-known temperate limnology paradigms do not apply in tropical limnology, such as the ≥ 1ºC/m thermocline concept, or the role of phosphorous as a limiting nutrient. Lake Alchichica is - most likely – the best limnologically known Mexican lake up to date. Twenty years of continuous monitoring has led us to understand this deep, warm monomictic lake. The peculiar chemical composition of this saline lake – sodium-alkaline with a high concentration in magnesium waters, and groundwater-fed – led to the formation of its unique stromatolite ring that has become world-famous, studied by scientists from various countries. From a biological point of view, this relatively small maar lake displays a comparatively low species richness but surprisingly is plentiful in microendemic species for a recently-formed lake (13,000-6,300 years old, at the Late Pleistocene/Holocene Epoch), eleven of which already described, with more to come. Researchers and students interested in tropical limnology, extreme ecosystems, evolutionary biology, astrobiology, and microbiology will find this book a must-read.

Javier Alcocer graduated at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa, Mexico (1981; MSc.: 1988 & DSc.: 1995, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México), biologist, limnologist. He has been studying tropical epicontinental water bodies, including lentic and lotic; was founder and president of the Asociación Mexicana de Limnología, and the Grupo de Limnología Tropical of the FES Iztacala. He is also the coordinator of the Alchichica Lake Group of the Red Mexicana de Estudios Ecológicos a Largo Plazo, the Mexican branch of ILTER. He is Investigador Nacional III of the Sistema Nacional de Investigadores.