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The book provides a comprehensive account of a tropical lake, Alchichica, considering that tropical limnology is by far less 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 low species richness, but surprisingly is plentiful in microendemic species for a recently-formed lake (12,000 years old, at the onset of Holocene Epoch), eleven of which already described, with more to come. Researchers and students interested in tropical limnology, extreme ecosystems, evolutionary biology, and microbiology will find this book a must-read.
Chapter 1. Lake Alchichica: History of Human Settlements / Ismael Arturo Montero-Garcia and Roberto Esteban Junco-Sanchez
Chapter 2. Geological Evolution of the Alchichica Crater / Gerardo Carrasco-Nunez and Boris Chako-Tchamabe
Chapter 3. Paleoenvironmental Change in Central Mexico During the Last 20,000 Years / Margarita Caballero, Ma. del Socorro Lozano-Garcia and Beatriz Ortega-Guerrero
Chapter 4. Recent Climate of Serdan-Oriental Basin / Raul Alberto Silva-Aguilera, Oscar Escolero and Javier Alcocer
Chapter 5. Hydrogeology and Hydrochemistry of the Serdan-Oriental Basin and the Lake Alchichica / Raul A. Silva-Aguilera, Gloria Vilaclara, Maria Aurora Armienta and Oscar Escolero
Chapter 6. Meteorological Regime, Local Climate, and Hydrodynamics of Lake Alchichica / Anatoliy Filonov, Irina Tereshchenko, Maria del Refugio Barba-Lopez, Javier Alcocer and Lydia Ladah
Chapter 7. Physicochemical Characteristics / Javier Alcocer, Martin Merino-Ibarra, Jorge A. Ramirez-Zierold, Luis A. Oseguera, Daniela Cortes-Guzman, F. Sergio Castillo-Sandoval, Andrea P. Guzman-Arias, M. Guadalupe Perez-Ramirez
Chapter 8. The Littoral Environment / Javier Alcocer, Elva Escobar and Luis A. Oseguera
Chapter 9. Aquatic Vegetation / Elia Matias-Hernandez and Pedro Ramirez-Garcia
Chapter 10. The Littoral Community / Javier Alcocer, Elva Escobar, Luis A. Oseguera, Alfonso Lugo-Vazquez, Maria del Rosario Sanchez, Laura Peralta, Monica Cuellar and Maria Guadalupe Oliva
Chapter 11. Bacterioplankton / Rocio J. Alcantara-Hernandez, Miroslav Macek, Jesus Torres-Huesca, Juan Arellano-Posadas and Patricia M. Valdespino-Castillo
Chapter 12. Phytoplankton of Alchichica: A Unique Community for an Oligotrophic Lake / Gloria Vilaclara, Maria Guadalupe Oliva-Martinez, Miroslav Macek, Elizabeth Ortega-Mayagoitia, Rocio J. Alcantara-Hernandez and Cecilia Lopez- Vazquez
Chapter 13. Protozooplankton / Miroslav Macek, Ximena Sanchez-Medina, Gloria Vilaclara, Alfonso Lugo-Vazquez, Fernando Bautista-Reyes and Patricia M Valdespino-Castillo
Chapter 14. Metazooplankton: The Joys and Challenges of Living in a Saline, Oligotrophic, Warm Monomictic Lake / Elizabeth Ortega-Mayagoitia, Jose Arturo Alcantara-Rodriguez, Alfonso Lugo-Vazquez, Aidee Montiel-Martinez and Jorge Ciros-Perez
Chapter 15. Alchichica Silverside / Xavier Chiappa-Carrara, Elsah Arce Uribe, Gerardo Perez Ponce de Leon and Javier Alcocer
Chapter 16. The Axolotl of Alchichica / Gabriela Parra-Olea, Rafael Alejandro Calzada-Arciniega, Victor H. Jimenez-Arcos and Omar Hernadez-Ordonez
Chapter 17. The Deep Benthic Zone / Javier Alcocer, Elva Escobar, Luis A. Oseguera and Maria del Carmen Hernandez
Chapter 18. Lake Metabolism / Javier Alcocer, Luis A. Oseguera, Daniel Cuevas-Lara, Sandra Guadarrama-Hernandez and Benjamin Quiroz-Martinez
Chapter 19. Lake Food Webs / Elva Escobar and Javier Alcocer
Chapter 20. Diversity and Endemisms / Elizabeth Ortega-Mayagoitia, Gloria Vilaclara, Rocio J. Alcantara-Hernandez and Miroslav Macek
Chapter 21. Conservation Actions / Elva Escobar, Veronica A. Arellano-Peralta, Veronica Aguilar-Sierra and Javier Alcocer
Chapter 22. Microbialites: Diversity Hotspots in the Mexican Plateau / Patricia M. Valdespino-Castillo, Bernardo Aguila, Jesus Torres-Huesca, Carla M. Centeno, Margarita Reyes-Salas, Sonia Angeles-Garcia, Yislem Beltran, Rocio J. Alcantara-Hernandez, Hoi-Ying N. Holman and Luisa I. Falcon
Chapter 23. The Lake Alchichica from an Astrobiological Perspective / Karina Elizabeth Cervantes-de la Cruz, Elizabeth Chacon Baca and Lilia Montoya
Chapter 24. Lake Alchichica Traditions, Myths, and Legends: Interviews with Local Residents / Veronica A. Arellano Peralta, Angel Arellano Peralta and Javier Alcocer
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.
