Lake biota response to human impact and local climate during the last 200 years: A multi-proxy study of a subalpine lake (Tatra Mountains, W Carpathians) Ladislav Hamerlík a, ⁎, Daniela Dobríková a , Katarzyna Szarlowicz b , Witold Reczynski c , Barbara Kubica b , Ferdinand Šporka d , Peter Bitušík a a Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Matej Bel University, Tajovského 40, 97401, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia b AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Energy and Fuels, Department of Coal Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, al. A. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059, Krakow, Poland c Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Material Science and Technology, AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland d Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 84506, Bratislava, Slovakia HIGHLIGHTS • We examined a short sediment core representing the last 200 years of a sub- alpine lake. • Direct organic pollution induced chang- es in the structure of the lake biota. • Climatic oscillations were detected by comparing rheophilic taxa and instru- mental measurements. • Elements analysed originated both from local and regional sources. • Hydromorphological properties can in- fluence the impact of organic pollution on the lake biota. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT abstract article info Article history: Received 26 July 2015 Received in revised form 26 November 2015 Accepted 11 December 2015 Available online xxxx Editor: D. Barcelo Element content, loss-on-ignition, chironomid analysis and 210 Pb dating were applied on a sediment core from a subalpine Tatra lake (Popradské pleso) to reveal the response of aquatic biota to eutrophication induced by human activities in the lake catchment. The lead dating indicates that the 0–8 cm section of the core represents the past ca 200 years, ending at ~1814 AD. Comparing the key changes of the proxies with human activities that are historically well documented, four phases of the recent lake development were distinguished: (1) a pre- tourism phase, (2) a phase of increasing touristic activity and early cottage development, (3) a phase of eutrophi- cation, and (4) a phase of post-eutrophication. Neither touristic activity, nor early cottage development around the lake (1st and 2nd phases) had considerable influence on the chironomid assemblage structure or organic con- tent of the lake. The most significant change both in chironomid assemblage structure and loss-on-ignition oc- curred during the 3rd phase, when a big tourist hotel was built close by the lake and started contaminating it via direct wastewater input. However, the structure of the chironomid assemblage has not changed significantly over time and the dominating taxa remained the same during the whole period. Parallel with the nutrient signal of the paleo assemblage, a secondary signal has been identified as the ratio of rheophilic taxa on total abundance Keywords: Paleolimnology Chironomidae Metal elements Loss-on-ignition Cultural eutrophication Lake Popradské pleso Science of the Total Environment 545–546 (2016) 320–328 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: ladislav.hamerlik@gmail.com (L. Hamerlík). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.12.049 0048-9697/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Science of the Total Environment journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scitotenv