Zapis gwałtownych zmian klimatycznych przełomu plejstocenu i holocenu w szczątkach fauny Cladocera zdeponowanych w osadach jeziornych i torfowiskowych

Abstract

Contemporary climate change significantly affects terrestrial, aquatic, and wetland ecosystems, causing major shifts in their structure and species composition. One visible manifestation is global warming, which alters habitats such as forests, rivers, lakes, and peatlands. Organisms respond differently depending on habitat characteristics and the scale of environmental change. This dissertation examines abrupt climate changes during the Late Pleistocene–Holocene transition and their impact on aquatic ecosystems. Research was conducted at two peatland sites in Central Poland: Żabieniec (on a glacigenic upland) and Ługi (in a river valley). To reconstruct past environmental conditions, several methods were used: high-resolution subfossil Cladocera analysis (every 1 cm), radiocarbon dating, palynology, statistical methods, and, at Żabieniec, geochemical analyses.

Earlier studies in the Łódź region relied on low-resolution sampling (4–10 cm), limiting the detail of environmental reconstructions and often omitting transitional climatic phases. The high-resolution approach in this study (10–20 years per sample) allowed for more precise insight into ecological dynamics.

Findings show that ecosystem changes were driven not only by global climate shifts but also by local hydrological and geomorphological factors. The results revealed distinct patterns of response in each basin, offering detailed records of environmental change during key transitional periods. This work contributes to regional paleoclimatic reconstruction and underscores the value of peatlands as geoarchives of past climate and ecosystem dynamics.