Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95

www.elsevier.nl/locate/palaeo

Limnologic history of Lago de Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, Mexico

for the past 48,000 years: impacts of climate and man
J. Platt Bradbury 1
Geobotanical Institute, University of Bern, CH 3013 Bern, Switzerland
Received 8 December 1999; accepted for publication 21 June 2000

Abstract

Lago de Pátzcuaro lies at an elevation of 2035 m (19° 36∞ N 101° 39∞ W ) on the west part of the volcanic Meseta
Central of Mexico, about 50 km east-southeast of Morelia. Pollen, diatom, and geochemical records from a 15 m core
taken in 6 m of water continuously track vegetation and limnological changes in the Pátzcuaro basin for the past 48 ky
(calendar years). Pine, oak, and alder pollen dominate both the Wisconsin and Holocene vegetation record, and indicate
that this region did not witness strongly arid climates during that time. Before the Holocene, Juniperus-type and
Artemisia pollen document cooler climates of more effective moisture at least seasonally. Isoetes characterizes the full
and late glacial interval (25–13 ka) and implies, along with the diatoms Aulacoseira and Stephanodiscus, cool, deep,
freshwater conditions at Lago de Pátzcuaro. The freshest and deepest lacustrine phase in the lake occurred 38 to 25 ka.
During this time, Lago de Pátzcuaro may have drained into the Lerma River system. Between 30 and 10 ka, diatom
species that bloom in the winter and early spring imply moisture during those seasons. Evaluation of contemporaneous
marine and terrestrial records west and east of Lago de Pátzcuaro suggests that this moisture probably originated from
westerly storm tracks shifted south by the Laurentide ice sheet. After 10 ka, Lago de Pátzcuaro became shallower and
more eutrophic. Rooted aquatic plants prospered under a climate regime of negative hydrologic budgets, increased
seasonality, and moisture arriving during the summer as it does today. The lake became alkaline enough by the mid-
Holocene to deposit ostracode-rich marls at the core site for the first time in the past 48 ky. Indigenous agriculture in
the Pátzcuaro drainage and around the lake appears about 4 ka, with the appearance of Zea and Chenopodiineae
pollen. Iron and potassium track increased soil erosion, and planktic diatoms (Cyclostephanos) record nutrients flushed
into the lake from the drainage basin. © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: diatoms; geochemistry; pollen; human impact; late Quaternary; Mexico; paleolimnology; Pátzcuaro Lake

1. Introduction Limnológica de Pátzcuaro provided critical limno-

A millennium before its description by the
Spanish in the 16th century, native Tarascans
utilized Lago de Pátzcuaro as a source of fish,
tules and transportation. The pioneering work of
De Buen (e.g. De Buen, 1944a) at the Estación
1 Present address: 28551 Golden Gate Canyon Rd., Golden,
CO 80403, USA.
logical baseline information about the lake before
cultural impacts became especially severe. By the
late 1940s, Lago de Pátzcuaro had become the
best limnologically studied lake in Mexico
(Deevey, 1957), a reputation that it probably still
enjoys today with the work of Chacón-Torres
(1993).
From a paleolimnological perspective, the value
of Lago de Pátzcuaro lies in the fact that for much

0031-0182/00/$ - see front matter © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S0 0 3 1 -0 1 8 2 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 14 6 - 2
70 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95
of the mid- and late Wisconsin and throughout
the Holocene, the lake has never been dry. Its
deposits, therefore, preserve an uninterrupted his-
tory of past lake changes and of climate, unlike
most lake basins in central Mexico, because of
their arid surroundings and intermittent history of
desiccation.
Pollen, geochemistry, and diatoms from short
Hiller cores in the southern part of the basin first
documented the paleoenvironmental value of the
Lago de Pátzcuaro sediment record (Deevey, 1944;
Hutchinson et al., 1956). The stratigraphy was
interpreted as past fluctuations of temperature and
water level, but a lack of radiocarbon dates allowed
only speculative correlations to the archaeological
sequence from the Cuenca de México.
This paper examines diatoms and geochemical
proxies of past limnological change from a radio-
carbon-dated, 14 m core from Lago de Pátzcuaro
that encompasses the past 48 ky. These data com-
pliment and extend pollen analyses from this core
( Watts and Bradbury, 1982) that documented veg-
etational and climate changes in Michoacán from
the late mid-Wisconsin through the arrival of the
Spaniards in the early 16th century. A comparison
of the Lago de Pátzcuaro record with marine and
terrestrial records from central Mexico shows that
the climatic effects of the Laurentide ice sheet
during the full glacial extended at least to the
latitude of 20° N, influencing vegetation, lake
depth, productivity, and dynamics. The record of
pollen, diatoms, and geochemistry also documents
interactions between the lake and land-use strate-
gies by native, Hispanic, and modern cultures.
2. Physiography, geology, and climate
Lago de Pátzcuaro (19° 36∞ N 101° 39∞ W ) lies
at an elevation of 2035 m on the west part of the
volcanic Meseta Central of Mexico ( Fig. 1), about
50 km east-southeast of the city of Morelia.
Volcanic rocks, chiefly basalt, dominate the sur-
rounding terrane at higher elevations, whereas
colluvial, fluvial, and lacustrine sediments, and
thick, weathered, red soils characterize lower eleva-
tions (Chacón-Torres, 1993). There is much evi-
dence of recent volcanic activity, including basalt
flows and cinder cones such as the newly formed
(1943) volcano Paricutı́n 50 km west of the lake.
Indeed, volcanic activity, through the action of
lava flows and uplift that dammed and compart-
mentalized pre-existing drainages of the Rı́o Lerma
system sometime during the Pleistocene, has been
implicated in the formation of Lago de Pátzcuaro
as well as lakes Zirahuén and Cuitzeo (De Buen,
1943; Barbour, 1973). Faulted, tilted, and uplifted
diatomites and diatomaceous lake sediments,
including numerous layers of volcanic ash, crop
out especially along the southwestern side of the
basin and testify to the pervasive effects of tectonic
and volcanic activity in controlling the morphology
and depth of the basin. Evidence for surficial
hydrologic linkage between Lago Chapala on the
Rı́o Lerma and the now isolated (but presumed
once tributary) basins of Zirahuén, Pátzcuaro, and
Cuitzeo is based on the biogeographic distribution
of species of Chirostoma (pescado blanco), an
endemic fish genus of central Mexico (Barbour,
1973).
The present climate of central Mexico, including
Lago de Pátzcuaro in Michoacán, is characterized
by mid- to late-summer rainfall that results from
the northward migration of the Inter-Tropical
Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and the expansion of
the Bermuda/Azores and East Pacific Highs
(Metcalfe, 1987). The moisture has been presumed
to come from the east, in the Caribbean, although
eastern Pacific and Gulf of California moisture
sources may be more important, especially for
western Mexico (Douglas et al., 1993). During the
winter, stable, dry conditions occur as the ITCZ
returns towards the equator and the subtropical
high pressure belt with westerly flow aloft extends
over much of Mexico. However, cold outbreaks
of polar air (nortes) associated with meridional
flow can bring winter rainfall and low temperatures
to the Meseta Central at the latitude of Lago de
Pátzcuaro and even farther south (Metcalfe, 1987).
Mean annual precipitation at Lago de
Pátzcuaro is about 950 mm, but varies significantly
from year to year. Between 1921 and 1986, the
lowest annual precipitation was 567 mm (1957),
whereas the highest value was 1636 mm (1935).
Mean annual evaporation (about 1500 mm/year)
is greatest during the spring and early summer
when high temperatures and windy conditions
 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95 71

Fig. 1. Index map showing location of Lago de Pátzcuaro. ‘J’ identifies the island of Janitzio, and the core location (cross) about
1 km to the south-southeast. 5 and 10 m bathymetric contours are shown. Adapted from Chacón-Torres (1993).

co-occur during the dry season. Annual temper-
ature averages about 16.3°C (Chacón-Torres,
1993). The seasonal variation of temperature and
precipitation ( Fig. 2) documents maximum
monthly temperatures (about 20°C ) during the
early summer (May–June). Clouds and precipita-
tion significantly cool mid- and late-summer air
temperatures. Winter temperatures average about
12–13°C and frost occurs occasionally in winter
months. Mean minimum winter temperatures (1–
2°C ) in December and January are still too high
to promote freezing of the lake.
3. Limnology
Lago de Pátzcuaro is a ‘C’-shaped lake ( Fig. 1)
with a long axis of about 20 km, a maximum width
of 11 km, a maximum depth of 12 m in the north-
ern basin, and a mean depth of 5 m (Chacón-
Torres, 1993). The lake covers an area of about
130 km2 and contains approximately 628×106 m3
of water. Basalts and basalitic breccias form islands
in the central and southern parts of the lake basin.
Basalt also dominates the approximately 929 km2
drainage basin (Chacón-Torres, 1993).
The lake has no significant surface inflow or
any surface outflow, and appears to be largely
maintained by shallow groundwater and local
runoff during the rainy season. Variation of dis-
solved oxygen, temperature, and pH with depth in
the southwestern part of the lake (the
Erongarı́cuaro arm; Fig. 1) suggests important
subaqueous groundwater discharge to the lake (De
Buen, 1944a, 1945). Springs at and above the lake
margin also contribute to the lake. Lake level
72 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95

from evaporation. Nevertheless, Lago de

Fig. 2. Mean monthly temperature and precipitation at Lago
de Pátzcuaro for the period 1921–1944. Data from Chacón-
Torres (1993).
varies seasonally 0.5–1 m as a result of evapora-
tion, and the balance between groundwater dis-
charge to the lake and lake recharge to the
groundwater table. Assuming that groundwater
chemistry shows little seasonal variation, the
increase in lake conductivity between the wet
season (September, 1973) and the dry season
(May, 1974) ( Table 1) indicates that the lake level
drop (~0.9 m) during that time resulted mostly
Pátzcuaro never becomes particularly saline due
to evaporation because solutes gained by evapora-
tion eventually leave the lake through recharge to
the groundwater system. A close correspondence
exists between the annual precipitation–evapora-
tion balance and lake level. The fact that observed
lake level maxima are generally higher and later
than maxima predicted by lake level models based
on precipitation and evaporation underscores the
role of infiltration to the lake from precipitation
recharge within the drainage basin — estimated to
be between 8 and 12% of the annual water budget
(Chacón-Torres, 1993).
The hydrochemistry of Lago de Pátzcuaro
( Table 1) reflects the surrounding volcanic terrane,
as do the majority of lakes in the central Mexican
highlands which are dominated by sodium and
bicarbonate ions (Bradbury, 1989). Deevey’s
(1957) water analyses imply minor concentration
and loss of Ca and Mg by precipitation during the
dry years between 1939 and 1945, although overall
the hydrochemistry of Lago de Pátzcuaro had
been relatively constant between 1941 and 1973.
Conductivity values of 850 mS/cm (Chacón-Torres,
1993) measured in the lake in 1986–1987 may

Table 1
Chemistry of Lago de Pátzcuaro and Lago de Zirahuén, Michoacán, Mexico

Lake analysis Pátzcuaro Zirahuén

September, 1973 July, 1941 September, 1973

Na 118.4 140.7a 4.4

K 29.11 34.6a 2.8
Ca 13.2 3.2 5.8
Mg 27.2 2.5 4.6
Cl 20.4 21.3 2.2
SO 3.9 0.2 0
4
CO 19.2 0
3
HCO 414.6 458.0 54.3
3
Total P 0.0158 0.01 0.0054
IX 1973 cond. (mmhos/cm) 524 67
V 1974 cond. (mmhos/cm) 685 87
pH 9.5 8.7b 8.0–8.3c
Secchi (m) 1.25 1.20 4.0

Values in milligrams per liter except as indicated. 1941 data from Deevey (1957).
a reported as na+K=175.3 mg/l. This value was partitioned according to the ratio of Na and K in the September, 1973 analysis.
b De Buen (1944a).
c De Buen (1943).
 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95
indicate progressive hydrochemical concentration
related to increased inflow of waste water as well
as dry climates after 1980 and progressive degrada-
tion of the watershed. Nevertheless, water analyses
made in 1995 (Bridgewater et al., 1999) show no
significant differences in major ions from the 1941
and 1973 values.
Urban, domestic and agricultural waste water
from the city of Pátzcuaro and from surrounding
towns and fields contributes considerable phos-
phorus to Lago de Pátzcuaro, and increased defor-
estation of the drainage has resulted in greater
transport of suspended solids to the lake since the
initial limnological studies of Yamashita (1939)
and De Buen (1941). As a consequence, secchi
transparency values have decreased and the lake
has become increasingly eutrophic (Chacón-
Torres, 1993).
Lago de Pátzcuaro does not consistently stratify
in any season and oxygen is generally abundant at
the bottom (Deevey, 1957). Complete circulation
throughout the year ensures that lake turbidity is
comparatively high, especially after the rainy
season (Chacón-Torres, 1993).
Despite a comparatively large number of studies
and references on the limnology of Lago de
Pátzcuaro, serial data on the seasonal distribution
of phytoplankton are rare. Rioja (1940) reported
a massive bloom of diatoms [Melosira (=
Aulacoseira) granulata] accompanied by Ceratium
and Pediastrum in a sample taken in mid-March,
1940. Aulacoseira cells were fewer but still predomi-
nant in June and July of the same year, but fell to
minimum values by December (De Buen, 1944b).
Osorio-Tafall (1944) indicates that, in general,
cyanobacteria bloom May–June. Clearly seasonal
differences in weather patterns from year to year
play an important role in the development and
succession of algal blooms. The months of
February and March have the most wind at Lago
de Pátzcuaro (Chacón-Torres, 1993), and increas-
ing light levels coupled with wind-generated turbu-
lence and nutrients probably account for the spring
diatom blooms of Aulacoseira and other diatoms.
The appearance of cyanobacteria during the warm-
est months of the year is also consistent with
observations in many eutrophic temperate lakes
(e.g. Wetzel, 1983, p. 375). Cyanobacteria have
73
become important dominants of the summer phy-
toplankton as Lago de Pátzcuaro has become more
eutrophic due to human impact (Chacón-Torres,
1993; Rosas et al., 1993).
Although Aulacoseira predominates in Lago de
Pátzcuaro, modern sediment samples contain large
numbers of a small Stephanodiscus or Cyclo-
stephanos species that may also reflect human
impact on the lake system (Bradbury, 1997). Rosas
et al. (1993) report large numbers (>3000 cells/l )
of a Stephanodiscus species in the southern part of
the lake receiving phosphorus-rich outflows from
the town of Pátzcuaro. This diatom genus had not
been reported living in the lake by earlier workers,
and little is known about its seasonal dynamics.
However, if like many small Stephanodiscus species
(e.g. Kilham et al., 1986), the taxon in Lago de
Pátzcuaro is favored by low light conditions and
high phosphorus levels, under natural conditions
it might be reasonable to expect this species to
bloom in the fall or winter, after the rainy season
delivers increased supplies of phosphorus to the
lake at a time of declining insolation and high
turbidity (Chacón-Torres, 1993). The phosphorus
levels in the southern part of the lake receiving
Pátzcuaro town effluents are so high (up to
0.48 mg/l ) that diatoms, including both
Aulacoseira granulata and Stephanodiscus, grow in
abundance here even during the summer (Rosas
et al., 1993) and indicate that, as in many temper-
ate lakes, diatoms are limited by phosphorus in
Lago de Pátzcuaro.
At this time the proper generic identity of the
small ‘Stephanodiscus’ species in Lago de
Pátzcuaro is not certain. Specimens in modern
sediment resemble tiny (ca. 5 mm) forms of
Cyclostephanos, planktic diatoms often associated
with very high levels of eutrophication (Stoermer
et al., 1987).
Benthic and epiphytic diatoms (e.g. Surirella,
Synedra parasitica, and Diploneis) also enter the
plankton, especially when low lake levels allow
turbulence to detach epiphytic species from areas
of submerged vegetation (Potamogeton,
Myriophyllum) along the margins of the lake
( Rioja, 1940; Osorio-Tafall, 1944). Epiphytic dia-
toms (Cocconeis placentula, Epithemia adnata,
Gomphonema gracile, and Rhopalodia gibba) char-
74 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95

Table 2
Radiocarbon dates from Lago de Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, Mexico.

Depth (cm) Date (14C year B.P.) Sample number Calendar year (B.P.)

820–823 2890±80 QL 1341 3001

878–881 3640±80 QL 1342 3980
1042–1045 9210±150 QL 1343 10,320
1346–1349 17,700±300 QL 1344 21,150
1550–1553 25,600±750 QL 1345 29,929
1855–1858 30,500+1700−1400 QL 1346 35,129
2105–2115 44,100+3000−2400 QL 970 48,149

Depth in centimeters below water surface. Water depth=6.2 m

acterized Potamogeton beds at 3 m depth in 1973.
Metcalfe (1985) reports abundant Staurosira con-
struens and Staurosirella pinnata growing on rocky
substrates in the lake.
Lago de Pátzcuaro is rapidly changing in tro-
phic status and size as human impacts combine
with climate change over the lake and its drainage
basin. Limnologic observations made 50 years ago
are unlikely to be perfectly relevant throughout
the lake today, but can serve as analogs to past
conditions and processes useful for paleolimno-
logic and paleoclimatic interpretation. In this
regard, it appears that Aulacoseira species, particu-
larly Aulacoseira ambigua and Aulacoseira granu-
lata, represent the overall, unimpacted,
hydroclimatic environment of the basin in which
the summer precipitation signal nourishes the lake
by surface runoff and particularly by groundwater
recharge from the drainage for a large portion of
the following dry season. The abundance of epi-
phytic and benthic diatoms should track the past
extent of marginal submerged vegetation as it
varies in response to changes in lake level and
transparency.
4. Methods
4.1. Coring
38.6∞ W ). The wooden plank raft, floated by
attached 55 gallon steel drums, was part of a fleet
used to remove nuisance populations of water-
hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) from shallow regions
of the lake. The water column and top 2 m of
sediment were cased with 10 cm I.D. aluminum
pipe to facilitate coring. 1 m core sections were
extruded in the field, labeled, and wrapped in
plastic sheeting and aluminum foil. The core pene-
trated 14.8 m of diatomaceous gyttja and bottomed
in sand at a depth of 15.2 m.
4.2. Chronology
Seven bulk radiocarbon dates were obtained
from the organic, diatomaceous gyttja of the core
( Table 2). The date sequence shows no reversals
and can be utilized to construct an age model
( Fig. 3) that supports an assumed modern age for
the sediment surface and documents a reasonably
continuous sediment accumulation rate of about
34 cm/ky. To facilitate correlations of diatom,
geochemical, and pollen records with middle
Wisconsin marine records, the radiocarbon chro-
nology has been converted to calendar years
following the protocols of Stuiver and Reimer
(1993) and Bard et al. (1993). In this paper, ages
are reported as calendar years before
present×10−3 ka.

The Lago de Pátzcuaro sediment record was 4.3. Diatoms

cored in the spring of 1974 with a square-rod,
Livingstone-type sampler ( Wright, 1967) from an Diatoms were separated from 1 cm3 sediment
anchored raft about 1 km south of Janitzio Island aliquots by digestion in hot (100°C ), concentrated
(Fig. 1) in 6.2 m water depth (19° 33.7∞ N 101° nitric acid and rinsed with distilled water until
 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95
Fig. 3. Radiocarbon age vs. depth for Lago de Pátzcuaro core.
Data from Watts and Bradbury (1982). Modern age for sedi-
ment surface is assumed. A fifth-order polynomial curve fit
through the data establishes the age–depth relation of the core.
clean of dissolved solutes. Standardized aliquots
of diatoms suspended in water were settled onto
coverslips (Battarbee, 1973) and mounted in a
refractive (n=1.7) medium. Generally 400–500
diatoms were counted per slide. Insofar as possible,
diatom identifications were made from the pub-
lished literature.
4.4. Geochemistry
Saporito (1975) analyzed the Lago de Pátzcuaro
core carbon and nitrogen (CHN analyzer), phos-
phorus (wet chemical digestion and spectropho-
tometry), and calcium, iron, magnesium, and
potassium (atomic absorption of 4 N, HCl-
digested sediment).
5. Results and interpretative strategy
Geochemical, pollen, and diatom assemblages
track the paleolimnological history of Lago de
Pátzcuaro for the past 48 ka and contribute to the
understanding of climate and landscape changes
from the mid-Wisconsin to the present in central
Mexico.
5.1. Geochemistry
Carbon and nitrogen values (Fig. 4) indicate a
high but variable organic content of the diatoma-
75
ceous gyttja that characterizes the core, except in
the lowermost sandy samples where coring
stopped. Much of the variation in carbon and
nitrogen reflects dilution by volcanic ashes.
Carbon/nitrogen ratios >15 dominate the record
between 33 and 13 ka and suggest a relatively high
input of terrestrial organic matter (Meyers and
Lallier-Vergès, 1999), coincident with glacial envi-
ronments elsewhere. Lower values (<10) before
and after indicate a more important contribution
of algal material.
Three zones of abundant ostracode valves and
marl are reflected in the profiles of calcium and
magnesium in the upper part of the core (Fig. 4).
These carbonate phases represent a major shift in
the geochemical character of the 48 ky record.
Bridgwater et al. (1999) implicated rising salinity
in Lago de Pátzcuaro to precipitate calcite,
although hydrochemical changes of surface and
recharge to the lake as a result of agricultural and
other human impacts in the drainage basin may
be important as well.
Potassium shows systematic variation in the
Lago de Pátzcuaro record that approximately par-
allels the C/N ratio. Potassium probably reflects
detrital, generally unweathered clay washing or
blowing into the lake during storms. Some potas-
sium peaks coincide with tephra layers and possi-
bly reflect a labile fraction of potassium associated
with the eruption and deposition of those ashes.
The increase in potassium in the upper part of the
core undoubtedly documents increased erosion
related to indigenous and European agricultural
and land-use practices.
Peaks of iron in the upper part of the core
coincide with those of potassium and also indicate
erosion of iron-rich soils associated with tillage
and deforestation of the drainage basin (O’Hara
et al., 1993). Nevertheless, at the base of the core
and elsewhere, some peaks of iron coincide with
high values of phosphorus (Fig. 4). The presence
of vivianite at these levels, often associated with
fish bones or seeds (Saporito, 1975) indicates dia-
genesis of iron and phosphorus in appropriate, but
local, sedimentary environments of the core. These
iron and phosphorus peaks have little unambigu-
ous interpretive value for paleolimnology
( Engstrom and Wright, 1984). However, their
76 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95
Fig. 4. Selected geochemical profiles for the Lago de Pátzcuaro core. Data from Saporito (1975) plotted against an age model in
thousands of calendar years before present (ka).
stratigraphic restriction to certain parts of the core
must imply a coincidental accumulation of source
materials (iron, phosphorus, and organic matter)
that ultimately relate to distinctive past limnologic
conditions at those times.
5.2. Pollen
Selected pollen types ( Fig. 5) from the pollen
record of Lago de Pátzcuaro ( Watts and Bradbury,
1982) provide a background perspective of
regional and local vegetation change for the past
46 ky that augments and focuses paleolimnologic
interpretations. Of the major tree taxa (Pinus,
Quercus, and Alnus), Pinus and Quercus are the
most common, but show few interpretable trends.
Alnus, on the other hand, consistently falls below
10% in the late Holocene, probably in response to
agricultural activities in the drainage basin and
perhaps drier climate. The Cupressaceous pollen,
possibly a xeric Juniperus species, has a distinctive
stratigraphy in which the highest values coincide
with Pleistocene levels in the core, but with virtu-
ally no important representation during the
Holocene. Other taxonomic possibilities for this
pollen type include riparian Cupressus or Taxodium
and (or) mesic Juniperus species from higher eleva-
tions ( Watts and Bradbury, 1982).
The stratigraphic distribution of herbaceous
pollen, particularly Artemisia, and to a lesser extent
Ambrosia, coincides with the distribution of
Juniperus, but with different trends and peaks. For
example, maxima (~5%) of both Artemisia and
Ambrosia occurred during the late glacial when
Juniperus values fell to less than 2%. Both
Artemisia and Ambrosia were considered to indi-
cate drier and possibly cooler conditions than
present ( Watts and Bradbury, 1982), consistent
with the presence of presumed xeric Juniperus
pollen. Ambrosia pollen returns to importance in
the uppermost part of the diagram (Fig. 5), most
likely indicating the abundance of agricultural
weeds in the region. The pollen record of
Chenopodiineae is restricted to the upper part of
the core. Although this herbaceous plant group
includes native agricultural crops such as
Amaranthus and Chenopodium, the pollen likely
represents weeds colonizing exposed lake shore
 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95 77

Fig. 5. Selected pollen profiles for the Lago de Pátzcuaro core. Data from Watts and Bradbury (1982) plotted against an age model
in thousands of calendar years before present (ka). Percentage of Isoetes calculated outside the pollen sum.

Fig. 6. Diatom ecological groups plotted against age in thousands of calendar years before present (ka). Planktic taxa include all
centric genera. ‘Fragilaria’ includes Staurosira construens and varieties, Pseudostaurosira brevistriata, and Staurosirella pinnata.
Attached taxa include species of the genera Achnanthes, Amphora, Cocconeis, Cymbella, Epithemia, Eunotia, and Gomphonema. Motile
taxa include species of the genera Anomoeoneis, Diploneis, Navicula, Nitzschia, Pinnularia, and Surirella.

habitats during drought (Deevey, 1944). The dis- Chenopodiineae, and also indicate closer approxi-
tribution and abundance of Cyperaceae pollen mation of shallow water habitats and lower lake
(probably mostly Scirpus) resemble that of the levels.
78 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95

PLATE I
 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95 79

Isoetes spores became particularly important in
the late Pleistocene record. This submerged aquatic
fern of cool, oligotrophic lakes on mineral-rich,
often sandy, littoral habitats documents climate-
related limnological change in Lago de Pátzcuaro.
Increased extent of coarse-grained, mineral-rich
habitat would accompany a rise in lake level,
particularly in the southern part of the basin where
the shore slopes are low and rocky (Chacón-
Torres, 1993). Cooler climates and reduced evapo-
ration coupled with increased precipitation could
produce a higher, fresher Lago de Pátzcuaro with
a more neutral pH and lower levels of HCO , and
3
would be consistent with growth of Isoetes
(Hutchinson, 1975, pp. 149, 370, 379, 424 ff.).
5.3. Diatoms
Planktic freshwater diatom species of
Aulacoseira, Stephanodiscus, Cyclostephanos, and
Cyclotella dominate the Lago de Pátzcuaro record
along with benthic species of ‘Fragilaria’ (taxa now
recognized as Staurosira construens, Staurosirella
pinnata, and Pseudostaurosira brevistriata; Fig. 6).
Attached and motile benthic diatoms are important
in the record, but only dominate in the sandy
sediments at the base of the core. Neither planktic
nor benthic, saline-alkalibiontic diatoms appear in
large numbers anywhere in the record, indicating
that for the past 48 ky Lago de Pátzcuaro was
essentially fresh, as it is today. The predominance
of freshwater planktic diatoms implies lake levels
and open-water areas at least as high and extensive
as today. Possibly lake levels rose high enough in
the past to allow the lake to drain by surface
outflow (2100 m), although it remains speculative
in this tectonically active region. The presence of
native fish in the lake today (Barbour, 1973), and
of fish scales and bones at prehistoric levels in the
core, implies some sort of past connection to the
Lerma drainage, however.
Some of the major planktic diatoms in the Lago
de Pátzcuaro record have not been identified with
any certainty, probably some are undescribed
species with unknown ecology, nutrient require-
ments and successional dynamics. Speculations
about such matters can be made from morphologi-
cally similar modern species, but resulting paleo-
limnological interpretations must be made with
caution (Plates 1–3). [ The plates document several
important centric diatom taxa from the Lago de
Pátzcuaro core that are new to Mexico or imper-
fectly known. The light photomicrographs show a
uniform enlargement (magnification) of 1200×.
The tentative identifications on the plate captions
follow the protocol used in the text. Paired figures
of the same specimen show first high, and then
low focus views to illustrate the nature of valve
ornamentation on undulate specimens of
Stephanodiscus and Cyclostephanos and to
illustrate the valve mantle surface and optical
section, respectively, of Aulacoseira valves.]
In general, species of Stephanodiscus (Plate 1),
with the possible exception of Stephanodiscus nia-
garae, bloom in the spring during conditions of
low but increasing levels of light and abundant
nutrients, particularly phosphorus (e.g. Bradbury,
1988; Bradbury and Forester, 2000). In the western
United States, S. niagarae often blooms in the fall,
and this may also have been the case in Lago de

PLATE I

1–5. Stephanodiscus oregonicus. 1a, b: a comparatively large specimen (14.62 m, ~45.6 ka). 2a, b: a slightly eccentric form of
the taxon. 3, 4, 5a, b: intermediate to small-sized specimens (5.12 m, ~13.0 ka).
6–8. Stephanodiscus sp. aff. Stephanodiscus oregonicus. Specimen series shows variable density of loose areolation in the central
part of the valve disk (7.88 m, ~24.5 ka).
9–11. Cyclotella stelligera (9.32 m, ~29.2 ka). These specimens show a form or variety of the taxon that does not have the
characteristic central flower or star.
12–14. Cyclostephanos sp. 12a, b, c: a comparatively large specimen at progressively deeper depths of focus. 13, 14: small, typical
specimens (0.45 m, ~0.6 ka). This taxon is characterized by scattered areolae in the central part of the valve disk.
15–21. Cyclostephanos sp. cf. Cyclostephanos tholiformis. 15, 16: comparatively large, heavily silicified individuals. 17–21: small,
weakly silicified individuals (13.22 m, ~37.7 ka). This taxon has dense, regular areolation in the valve disk center.
80 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95

PLATE II
 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95 81

Pátzcuaro in the past. If so, it implies some precipi-
tation and storms as well as cooling temperatures
at that time.
Aulacoseira granulata and Aulacoseira ambigua
were likely spring and early summer species, as
they are today in the lake and in many temperate
lakes (Brugam, 1983). Of the two, A. granulata
apparently has the highest trophic requirements.
The heavily silicified and large-pored A. ambigua
v. robusta (Plate 2), by virtue of its similarity to
some species living in the great lakes of Africa,
may document high lake levels and conditions of
deep circulation and abundant silicon fluxes as
hypothesized by Kilham et al. (1986). The variety
has been found in the Holocene record of the
Meseta Central lakes Zacapu and Zirahuén
(Metcalfe, personal communication, 1999). Like
the nominate variety, it is presumed to be a high
light species blooming during the spring and
summer. The taxon referred to as Aulacoseira
(Plate 3) is apparently a heavily silicified form of
Aulacoseira islandica or A. ambigua v. robusta. In
north temperate lakes A. islandica proliferates
during the early spring in low temperature environ-
ments (ca. 6°C ) and high nutrient (especially sili-
con) fluxes (Stoermer et al., 1981).
Rhizosolenia eriensis was widely distributed but
rare in Lago de Pátzcuaro during August, 1982
(Rosas et al., 1993). Perhaps its presence reflects
a greater tendency towards stratified conditions
because this diatom often occurs during the
summer and early fall in fresh, stratified, moder-
ately deep temperate lakes (Bradbury, 1988;
Huber-Pestalozzi, 1942). Cyclotella stelligera has
a wide distribution in low alkalinity lakes, and
overall, it appears to have comparatively low nutri-
ent requirements (Brugam, 1983, 1993). It can
appear during circulation in oligo-mesotrophic
lakes (Bradbury, 1988) or perhaps in nutrient-
poor environments of eutrophic lakes such as near
the base of the epilimnion during stratification. C.
stelligera can be a common planktic diatom in
Lago de Zirahuén (elevation 2075 m, maximum
depth 46 m, conductivity 79–105 mS, Ca>Mg>
Na, secchi 4 m) only 12 km southwest of Lago de
Pátzcuaro, although nothing is known of its sea-
sonal dynamics in that system.
Little is known about the nutrient and light
requirements of Cyclostephanos sp. aff.
Cyclostephanos tholiformis (Plate 1), except that in
temperate North America C. tholiformis favors
highly eutrophic lakes and ponds and warm
summer temperatures (Stoermer et al., 1987).
6. Paleolimnological synthesis of Lago de
Pátzcuaro
Detailed diatom analyses (Fig. 7A–D), supple-
mented by pollen and geochemical data form the
basis of a paleolimnological synthesis for Lago de
Pátzcuaro. With the exception of the sandy sedi-
ment at the base of the core, the uniform diatoma-
ceous gyttja that accumulated during the past
48 ky implies a generally stable depositional envi-
ronment without large changes in basin configura-
tion and morphometry. Faulted diatomites along
the southern margin of the lake and 10 to >50 m
above the present shore elevation testify to an
earlier basin configuration and geologic setting
that included active volcanism and tectonic dis-
placements. Nevertheless, the diatoms characteris-
tic of those deposits (Stephanodiscus niagarae,
Stephanodiscus oregonicus, Aulacoseira granulata,
Aulacoseira ambigua) are the same as the species
of the past 48 ky found in the core and support a
Quaternary age and environment for the outcrops
in comparison with late Tertiary diatomaceous

PLATE II

22–26. Aulacoseira pfaffiana (2.62 m, ~4.4 ka). 22, 23: mantle views. 24–26: disk views.
27–31. Aulacoseira 27a, b, 28, 29: mantle views. 30, 31: disk views (0.8 m, ~1.1 ka). This taxon resembles Aulacoseira species 9
of the PRILA Iconograph. Disk views may represent different taxa or growth stages.
32–34. Aulacoseira ambigua v. robusta Gasse. 34b shows a valve section focus of the lower left double valves of 34a (12.22 m,
~35.0 ka).
35, 36. Aulacoseira granulata (13.22 m, ~37.7 ka). 36a shows terminal cell spine.
82 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95

PLATE III

37–46. Aulacoseira sp. 37–44: form with wide, hollow (?) sulcus in both high- and mid-focus views (13.22 m, ~37.7 ka). 45–46:
form with narrow, knife-like sulcus and morphology similar to A. islandica (6.82 m, ~20.3 ka). The two forms integrate.

deposits nearby (Israde Garduño, 1993). Benthic motile and attached diatoms dominate
Distinctive volcanic ashes in the diatomite and the basal sand ( Fig. 6). The genera Pinnularia and
lake sediment outcrops have potential for correla- Eunotia ( Fig. 7A) are generally too broken for
tion and absolute dating. reliable identification, but probably represent
 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95
Pinnularia maior and Eunotia monodon for the
most part and indicate local environments of fresh,
neutral to mildly acidic pH, but the common
presence of Cocconeis placentula ( Fig. 7D) indi-
cates alkaline water generally. Common valves of
Hantzschia amphioxys and Navicula mutica docu-
ment the close proximity of moist terrestrial habi-
tats, whereas the presence of megascopic root
molds in the sandy sediment, large numbers of
phytoliths and sponge spicules ( Fig. 7A) indicate
shallow, marshy conditions with emergent vegeta-
tion and well-oxygenated water. The high phos-
phorus and iron content (Fig. 4) of the basal sandy
sediment reflects vivianite associated with fish
bone. At 48 ka, this part of the Pátzcuaro basin
probably represented a marsh-margin environ-
ment, perhaps with through-flowing drainage to
the Rı́o Lerma or one of its tributaries. The basin
geometry implied by this environment was unsuit-
able for a large, comparatively deep lake and
implies that the tectonic, volcanic, and related
geomorphic changes that produced the modern
Lago de Pátzcuaro postdated 48 ka.
Between 47 and 10 ka, a period that preceded,
included, and followed the maximum extent of
continental glaciers in the northern hemisphere,
the Lago de Pátzcuaro diatom record was charac-
terized by planktic freshwater diatoms (Figs. 6 and
7B). Throughout this long period of time, the
distribution of major planktic diatoms followed a
stepwise pattern of appearance approaching the
interval correlating with the glacial maximum (25–
20 ka). In the succession of planktic diatoms that
led into the full glacial interval, first came
Stephanodiscus oregonicus (47–40 ka), followed by
Cyclostephanos (40–38 ka), then Aulacoseira ambi-
gua v. robusta (37–34 ka), Cyclotella stelligera
(30 ka), and finally Rhizosolenia eriensis (29–
25 ka). The early full glacial was dominated by
Stephanodiscus sp. (25–22 ka). Afterwards,
Aulacoseira sp. dominated (23–20 ka) followed by
Cyclostephanos (18–15 ka) and finally again by S.
oregonicus (15–10 ka). There were enough species
overlaps and fluctuations within this sequence of
changing diatom dominants to indicate an overall
limnologic (e.g. hydrochemical ) compatibility of
the species involved. Other species maintained
stratigraphic continuity throughout the record
83
( Fig. 7C and D). The pattern of shifting predomi-
nance therefore probably documented a subtle
limnologic response to nutrient fluxes (including
light) and turbulence, all under the seasonal cli-
matic control that governed the timing and
strength of circulation and stratification, and per-
haps the timing of overland nutrient delivery by
precipitation.
At 47 ka Aulacoseira pfaffiana became rather
common (Fig. 7B), indicating a transition to
cooler and probably more humic-rich water
according to the modern distribution of this taxon
(e.g. Lange-Bertalot and Metzeltin, 1996). If Lago
de Pátzcuaro was a through-flowing system at
48 ka, this transition suggests impoundment and
considerable macrophyte growth and decay.
Between 47 and 38 ka Navicula seminulum and
Staurosira construens dominated the Lago de
Pátzcuaro record with Stephanodiscus oregonicus
( Fig. 7A and B). This freshwater diatom assem-
blage indicates shallow water, but with enough
nearby open-water habitats for seasonal phyto-
plankton development. S. oregonicus blooms in
the spring in Klamath Lake, Oregon (Bradbury
and Forester, 2000) after ice out and coincident
with surface and groundwater recharge to this
lake. Windy conditions during this season supply
nutrients and turbulence to suspend this diatom,
and low light levels allow it to successfully compete
against Aulacoseira species and cyanobacteria in
Klamath Lake.
Modern ‘Fragilaria’-dominated diatom commu-
nities along rocky, littoral habitats in Lago de
Pátzcuaro (Metcalfe, 1985) suggest the water may
have been less than 4 m deep at the core site.
Abundant Quercus and comparatively common
Ambrosia pollen (Fig. 5) imply warm, seasonally
dry summer climate. Low values of Cyperaceae
pollen probably relate to fluctuating lake levels
that made inappropriate habitats for marsh vegeta-
tion, whereas abundant Alnus pollen probably
came from riparian habitats surrounding the lake.
Geochemical evidence (high iron and phosphorus
values) for observed vivianite may track local
accumulations of fish bone in the sediment. Algal
productivity was high, as evidenced by the gen-
erally low C/N ratios during this time ( Fig. 4).
Cyclostephanos sp. aff. Cyclostephanos tholi-
84 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95

(a)

(b)

Fig. 7. (A)–(D) Percentages of selected diatom genera and species plotted against age in thousands of calendar years before present
(ka) from the Lago de Pátzcuaro core. Percentages of phytoliths and sponge spicules (A) plotted as percentages outside the diatom sum.

formis (Plate 1) became sporadically abundant Cyclostephanos sp. aff. C. tholiformis at or near
after 41 ka (Fig. 7B). It presumably indicates an tephra layers ( Fig. 4) may implicate volcanism as
especially rich nutrient supply and warm summer a source of nutrients or turbidity ( low light condi-
temperatures. The occurrence of most peaks of tions?) for the development of this species. If so,
 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95 85

(c)

(d)

Fig. 7. (continued).
86 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95
its paleoclimatic significance may not be great.
Nevertheless, it is also possible that as lake levels
began to rise, increased fluxes of nutrients stored
in flooded marginal wetlands and marshes became
available to support Cyclostephanos.
Continued lake level rise and influx of silicon-
rich ground and surface water may have promoted
the abundant development of Aulacoseira ambigua
v. robusta 38–33 ka. Low C/N ratios ( Fig. 4) indi-
cate a predominance of algal production in the
fluxes of organic matter to the sediments, and low
values of iron and phosphorus may imply a greater
efficiency of nutrient cycling throughout this time
interval. Low percentages of Artemisia and
Ambrosia, but rising and comparatively high per-
centages of Pinus and Alnus, respectively ( Fig. 5),
are consistent with increased moisture.
Cyclotella stelligera and then Rhizosolenia
eriensis characterize the Lago de Pátzcuaro record
between 34 and 25 ka. In 1973, the surface sedi-
ments of Lago de Zirahuén contained abundant
C. stelligera, indicating that this diatom was a
common element of the phytoplankton of this
fresh, comparatively deep and rather oligotrophic
lake. R. eriensis, although rare today in Lago de
Pátzcuaro (Rosas et al., 1993), more commonly
characterizes the phytoplankton of cold, deep, low
alkalinity temperate lakes (Stoermer and Yang,
1970). The co-occurrence of R. eriensis and moder-
ate percentages of Isoetes spores 29–25 ka (Fig. 5)
further suggest fresh, oligotrophic limnological
conditions.
C/N ratios became high and potassium
increased ( Fig. 4) during the time when these
diatoms predominated, respectively indicating
increased deposition of terrestrial organic matter
and mineral detritus. High values of iron may also
be ascribed to increased erosion of iron-rich soils.
Climates of increased storminess and precipitation
were probably ultimately responsible for these
changes. The diatom assemblages between 34 and
25 ka probably document the deepest and freshest
episode in the recorded Quaternary history of
Lago de Pátzcuaro.
A Stephanodiscus species allied to
Stephanodiscus oregonicus (Plate 1) characterized
the period 25–22 ka. This taxon occurs in the
surface sediments of Lago de Chapala, a large,
fresh (cond. ~400 mS) lake fed and drained by the
Rı́o Lerma system in Jalisco, Mexico. Its presence
in Chapala suggests that Lago de Pátzcuaro may
have shared some limnological characteristics with
this turbid lake before the glacial maximum. Like
other Stephanodiscus species, this taxon probably
flourished under low light winter conditions with
abundant nutrients. Potassium reached very high
values during this episode ( Fig. 4), indicating large
detrital influx from winds and precipitation, and
high Isoetes percentages (Fig. 5) may have related
to extensive, coarse-grained, mineral-rich littoral
habitats maintained by high-energy lake margin
waves and currents. Storms and precipitation
almost certainly arrived during the winter months
during this time, and may have characterized much
of the year although prominent, episodic represen-
tation of Aulacoseira granulata ( Fig. 7C ) implies a
summer seasonality with warm, nutrient-rich, tur-
bulent conditions at times.
Very high percentages of Aulacoseira sp. charac-
terized the full glacial period at Lago de Pátzcuaro
(22–20 ka). The distribution of the possibly related
taxon A. islandica today suggests that the lake
may have regularly frozen in the winter, and that
precipitation occurred as snow. This enhanced
recharge to groundwater in the drainage basin that
consequently discharged large concentrations of
silicon to the lake during the spring to foster
blooms of this heavily silicified diatom. Other
paleolimnological indicators remain largely
unchanged except for iron, which reached its
lowest values in the entire record, and marginally
lower C/N ratios. Low iron values are generally
consistent with implied oligotrophic lake condi-
tions, as are continued high percentages of Isoetes,
whereas lower C/N ratios could be taken to indi-
cate somewhat reduced input of terrestrial organic
matter and consequently less wind and overland
runoff.
Aulacoseira sp. continued to characterize the
post-glacial period, although it is joined by
Aulacoseira granulata, Stephanodiscus niagarae
( Fig. 7C ), and Cyclostephanos sp., all of which
indicate greater seasonality of nutrient supplies,
light, and turbulence. Even so, Isoetes implies
generally oligotrophic lacustrine environments
until 15 ka. Very high amounts of Alnus pollen
 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95
and maximum ratios of C/N ( Figs. 5 and 4) indi-
cate abundant moisture in local riparian habitats
within the drainage and transportation of ter-
restrial organic material to the lake. Stephanodiscus
oregonicus reappeared during late glacial times
(15–10 ka) when high percentages of Artemisia
and then Ambrosia suggest drier terrestrial environ-
ments. High percentages of ‘Fragilaria’ species
during 13–10 ka ( Figs. 6, 7A and C ) also docu-
ment generally lower lake levels. However, the
occurrence of S. oregonicus indicates continued
input of winter season moisture, although biseaso-
nal moisture regimes cannot be discounted.
Elsewhere in Mesoamerica, especially to the east
and southeast of Lago de Pátzcuaro, the late
glacial period is dry until about 12 ka, indicating
that the easterly, summer moisture sources that
influence the area today did not become effective
until that time (Bradbury, 1997).
High but fluctuating percentages of Aulacoseira
ambigua and ‘Fragilaria’ species characterize the
Holocene at Lago de Pátzcuaro. These diatoms
live in the lake today (Osorio-Tafall, 1941),
although A. ambigua is much less common than
Aulacoseira granulata. Generally high percentages
of attached and motile benthic diatoms in the
Holocene (Fig. 6) testify to overall shallower lake
depths, and low C/N ratios indicate high algal
Fig. 8. Selected diatom, pollen, and geochemical profiles from the Lago de Pátzcuaro core for the past 10 ka plotted against age in
thousands of calendar years before present. ‘Z’ denotes the occurrence of Zea pollen grains in the core.
87
production as Lago de Pátzcuaro became more
eutrophic. The abundance of planktic Synedra
species — chiefly Synedra acus and Synedra rum-
pens — especially about 5 ka (Fig. 7C ) implies
episodes of stronger stratification and high Si/P
ratios ( Tilman et al., 1982; Bradbury, 1988) that
could reflect the hot, dry climates of the modern
precipitation regime during the early summer. The
shallow-water Aulacoseira species, Aulacoseira dis-
tans and Aulacoseira pfaffiana ( Fig. 7B and C ),
indicate local environments of neutral to low pH
resulting from decomposition of lake margin vege-
tation and production of humic acids. Overall, the
mid-Holocene diatom assemblages imply a fresh-
water and persistent low lake stand under balanced
hydrologic conditions. To some extent this could
reflect a progressive shallowing of the lake by
sedimentation.
After 5 ka and throughout the late Holocene,
large, abrupt fluctuations of diatoms, pollen, and
geochemical indicators of paleolimnology, vegeta-
tion, and climate ( Fig. 8) relate to strong environ-
mental variation, in part caused by human and
possibly volcanic impacts around the lake and in
its drainage. Low lake levels documented by ostra-
code marls and high weight percentages of calcium
between 4.6 and 3.8 ka precede the first indication
of agriculture in the basin identified by the appear-
88 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95
ance of Zea pollen (Fig. 8). Tephra layers preceded
and followed the calcium-rich, low-lake interval
and suggest a potential interaction between cli-
mate and volcanism. Nevertheless, the role of man
in affecting the water balance of Lago de Pátzcuaro
cannot be ruled out. Alnus pollen had rapidly
declined and Chenopodiineae pollen had already
begun to rise above background levels by 4 ka,
both events unprecedented in the 48 ky vegetation
history of the lake. Watts and Bradbury (1982)
suggested human manipulation of the watershed
as a possible cause for the Alnus decline, although
abnormally dry climates could have been responsi-
ble as well as human impact.
Lake changes potentially attributable to agricul-
tural practices in the basin occurred after 3.6 ka
when Zea first appeared. Erosion and deposition
of iron-rich red clay in the lake basin after 3.2 ka
(Fig. 8) coincides with a large increase in percen-
tage of Aulacoseira ambigua that indicates higher
lake levels in response to increased precipitation
after the mid-Holocene low stand. The influx of
detrital material was minor compared with later
episodes of erosion, however (O’Hara et al., 1993),
and it seems likely that climate-related limnologic
change may have acted in concert with agriculture
to produce this record. Possibly the favorable
moist climates at that time led to the development
of agricultural practices in the region.
Low lake levels, again indicated by ostracodes
and high calcium values as well as by ‘Fragilaria’
species and other benthic diatoms ( Fig. 6), charac-
terized the interval between 2.8 and 2.0 ka. The
benthic diatoms Amphora veneta and Anomoeoneis
sphaerophora and the planktic species Cyclotella
meneghiniana (Fig. 8) show that during part of
this arid interval Lago de Pátzcuaro became more
saline than any time previously. Low percentages
of Chenopodiineae pollen, to the extent that this
pollen type represents agricultural weeds, may
imply reduction of tillage and other forms of
human impact at this time. However, increased
consumption of water for irrigation in drainages
away and upstream from the lake might produce
a similar paleolimnological response. High C/N
ratios indicate increased deposition of organic
matter from terrestrial vegetation in response to
lower lake levels and (or) watershed management.
By 2.4 ka Aulacoseira ambigua again signaled a
temporary rise in lake level.
Large amounts of iron-rich clay and phytoliths
entered the basin between 1.8 and 1.2 ka, coinci-
dent with increases of eutrophic planktic diatoms
(Aulacoseira granulata and Cyclostephanos sp.) that
suggest a significant influx of nutrients to the
basin. These changes correspond to a major epi-
sode of indigenous agriculture related to early
Classic occupation in the area (O’Hara et al.,
1993). Overall, however, Lago de Pátzcuaro
remained shallow and somewhat saline compared
with the preceding millennium. It is possible that
indigenous water management technology had
improved to a level that consistently deprived the
lake of water. The flooding of clay to the basin
decreased somewhat after 1.2 ka, and ostracodes
flourished in shallow-water habitats until 0.8 ka
( Fig. 8). Episodes of flooding and marginally
higher lake levels indicated by pulses of Aulacoseira
ambigua and (or) A. granulata briefly punctuated
the ‘Fragilaria’- and Cyclostephanos-dominated
lake system at 1.0–0.6 ka and again during the last
200 years of the record. These intervals probably
relate to short-term climate changes within a
system progressively more impacted by man. The
dominance of a tiny Cyclostephanos species during
the past millennium testifies to greatly increased
trophic levels as erosion and hydrochemical con-
centration prevailed in Lago de Pátzcuaro. Very
large numbers of phytoliths washing into the basin
during the past 200 years ( Figs. 7A and 8) proba-
bly relate to the progressive deforestation of the
drainage that continues today (Chacón-Torres,
1993).
7. Discussion
The Lago de Pátzcuaro sediment record repre-
sents a continuous chronicle of Quaternary lacus-
trine and climate changes for the past 48 ky.
Although the lake has no surface outlet, it is not
a closed basin inasmuch as it receives and dis-
charges significant amounts of groundwater.
Consequently it has always been essentially a fresh-
water lake. Only in the past 3 ky has water diver-
sion to agriculture led to any significant chemical
 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95
concentration of this lake which allowed precipita-
tion of calcium carbonate and abundant ostra-
codes. The pollen record ( Fig. 5) as well as the
long stratigraphic distribution of several diatom
species (Fig. 7D) indicate that the lake has not
witnessed climates dry enough to convert the basin
into a shallow, saline lake like Lago de Cuitzeo,
or the historic lakes in the Cuenca de México
(Bradbury, 1989). Today, under the influence of
climate and human impact, the lake is as low,
saline, and productive as it has ever been.
However, climate and hydrologic change before
the mid-Holocene and throughout the past 48 ky
combined to produce long periods when Lago de
Pátzcuaro was probably higher and certainly
fresher than it is at present.
7.1. The pollen record
From the perspective of the pollen record, eco-
logically silent pollen types (Pinus, Quercus, and
Alnus) dominate the terrestrial vegetation record
of the Lago de Pátzcuaro region. Only the modest
presence of Cupressaceae (Cupressus or Juniperus)
or Taxodiaceae (Taxodium) pollen (up to 20%)
differentiates the Wisconsinan environment. The
‘Juniperus-type’ pollen in the Pátzcuaro record was
assumed, by virtue of its co-occurrence with low
percentages of Artemisia and Ambrosia pollen, to
represent a xeric juniper species ( Watts and
Bradbury, 1982), but this assessment conflicts with
diatom evidence of lake conditions fresher than
today during most of Wisconsin time.
Unfortunately, ‘Juniperus-type’ pollen cannot
be ascribed to a particular taxon. This pollen type
is not important today nor in the Holocene, either
at Lago de Pátzcuaro or in the Cuenca de México
(e.g. Lozano-Garcia et al., 1993). Nevertheless, as
in the Lago de Pátzcuaro pollen record,
Cupressaceae/Taxodiaceae pollen also charac-
terized the full and late glacial periods in the
Chalco record of the Cuenca de México (Lozano-
Garcia and Ortega-Guerrero, 1994). The discovery
of a Taxodium log (Mirambel, 1986), radiocarbon-
dated at 23,150 14C [=~26.4 ka] (GX-0959)
(Garcia-Barcena, 1986), from the excavations at
Tlapacoya in the Chalco sub-basin (elevation of
2240 m) in the Cuenca de México could implicate
89
the swamp cypress, Taxodium mucronatum, as a
possible source for the pollen. According to
González Quintero (1986), this Taxodium suggests
local climates with precipitation of 1500 mm/year
and mean annual temperatures of 20°C based on
its current distribution in Mexico around lakes
and extensive marshes.
Because the Juniperus and Cupressus species in
the Meseta Central of Mexico grow today in a
summer-wet precipitation regime, they may be
inappropriate candidates for the source of
‘Juniperus-type’ pollen during the Pleistocene at
Lago de Pátzcuaro, at least when winter season
precipitation was more important. Juniperus calif-
ornica, a winter-wet species that occurs in late
glacial-aged packrat middens in Baja California
(Peñalba and Van Devender, 1998), might be a
possibility, although whether it extended as far
south as Michoacán would require macrofossil
records of appropriate age to determine.
The disappearance of ‘Juniperus-type’ pollen
characterizes the early Holocene vegetation record,
and by mid-Holocene time Chenopodiineae pollen
may indicate the presence of early agriculture in
the region. The Chalco sub-basin has a very similar
record (Lozano-Garcia and Ortega-Guerrero,
1994). At Tlapacoya, the presence of cultigens in
the pollen record by 5 ka (González Quintero,
1986) clearly implicates a human impact on
the vegetation that effectively compromises the
pollen record for paleoclimatic interpretation
(Bradbury, 1982).
7.2. Moisture sources
Today central Mexico experiences a summer-
wet (monsoonal ) moisture regime. Based on a
review of a number of sites throughout tropical
America, Bradbury (1997) argued that during the
full and late glacial periods, westerly moisture
sources predominated in west-central Mexico. The
evidence for this conclusion came from the fact
that sites in southeastern Mexico, Central America
and northern South America, which today are
under the influence of easterly tropical moisture
during the summer, were dry during the full and
late glacial periods. Consequently, easterly mois-
ture sources were presumed to have been ineffective
90 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95

Fig. 9. Organic carbon, biogenic opal, and 15N from Mexican ocean margin core NH15P and diatom ecological groups in the
Pátzcuaro core plotted against calendar year age for the past 50 ka. Marine geochemical and age data from Ganeshram (1996).
Diatom percentages smoothed by five-level averaging. ‘Fragilaria’ species as in Fig. 6. Fall–winter diatoms include all Stephanodiscus
species and Aulacoseira islandica.

or to have not existed at all at that time. In
contrast, sites west of the Cuenca de México
contained records of increased moisture or westerly
winds during the full and late glacial. However,
with the exception of some plant and animal taxa
from packrat middens in northern Mexico (e.g.
Van Devender, 1990a,b), no moisture proxy of the
records examined specifically indicates a winter-
wet seasonal moisture regime brought about by
westerly precipitation.
The distribution of the diatom Stephanodiscus
in full and late glacial records of northern Mexico
(e.g. Metcalfe et al., 1997), as well as in Lago de
Pátzcuaro, might indicate winter season moisture
because this low-light species tends to bloom in
the fall or winter months in relatively freshwater
lake systems. The same is probably true for
Aulacoseira sp. Although moisture from summer
precipitation that persisted into the winter under
cooler climates might possibly satisfy the ecological
needs of these diatoms, winter precipitation can
more effectively maintain high lake stands in arid,
subtropical regions (Prentice et al., 1992).
Support for westerly, winter season moisture
reaching western Mexico during the full and late
glacial periods also comes from a marine record
(NH15P) off the coast of Sinaloa (Mazatlán 22.5°
N ) (Ganeshram, 1996). Here, low values of
organic carbon, opal, and 15N indicate reduced
upwelling during the full and late glacial periods
( Fig. 9). Ganeshram and Pedersen (1998) attribute
the reduction of upwelling in this region to
increased westerly, on-shore winter winds which
brought moisture to western Mexico but canceled
shore-parallel currents and Ekman transport that
drives upwelling today. Like others, they ascribe
the ultimate cause of wind changes to growth of
the Laurentide ice sheet and displacement of storm
tracks to the south as the North Pacific High
and Aleutian Low pressure cells weakened and
strengthened, respectively.
Two remaining questions concerning the magni-
tude and extent of westerly moisture in Pleistocene
records of central Mexico are: (1) did significant
westerly moisture reach the Cuenca de México
during the full and late glacial? and (2) to what
 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95
extent was westerly moisture important in main-
taining Lago de Pátzcuaro before the full glacial
period, between 50 and 30 ka?
It is probable that the Cuenca de México
received some westerly moisture during the full
and late glacial periods. Records from lowland
Guatemala, although poorly dated, indicate cold
and dry conditions during this time (Leyden et al.,
1993). The implied absence of easterly precipita-
tion there would also have deprived central
Mexican lakes of this source of moisture. Diatom
records from the Cuenca de México indicate that
the Chalco sub-basin was a shallow but fresh lake
or marsh during the full and late glacial (Caballero-
Miranda, 1997), that contained significant percent-
ages of Stephanodiscus species. Nevertheless,
insufficient moisture reached the Cuenca de
México to unite the sub-basins into one lake and
overall, the full and late glacial periods were
apparently drier than before (Bradbury, 1989).
This might suggest a decreasing spatial trend (west
to east) of westerly moisture across central Mexico
during the late Wisconsin, although colder mean
annual temperatures may have been equally or
more responsible for marginally increasing effec-
tive moisture.
The second question relates to the first inasmuch
as its answer requires an evaluation of records east
and west of Lago de Pátzcuaro for the time under
consideration. The marine record off the coast of
northwest Mexico (NH15P) shows that proxies of
coastal upwelling ( Fig. 9) reached intermediate to
equivalent values compared with the Holocene
during oxygen isotope stage (OIS ) 3 (50–30 ka),
and that the North Pacific High and its related
shore-parallel ocean currents seasonally affected
the west coast of Mexico during this time. By
implication, easterly precipitation related to the
Bermuda–Azores High, and (or) monsoonal
summer precipitation related to the heat low in
northwestern Mexico (e.g. Ganeshram and
Pedersen, 1998; Douglas et al., 1993), must have
become important sources of moisture for Mexico.
Southeast of central Mexico, on the Yucatan
Peninsula, the pre-full glacial part of the Lago de
Quexil, Guatemala record documents cool and
moist montane vegetation that would also have
required an easterly moisture source (Leyden et al.,
91
1993). The Cuenca de México during this time
supported a large and comparatively deep, but still
alkaline lake that united at least the Texcoco and
Chalco sub-basins between 34 and 23.5 ka
(Bradbury, 1989; Caballero-Miranda, 1997).
Finally, the 33 ka mammal fauna at Tlapacoya,
which contains such species as Hydrochoreus (cap-
ybara) and Lutra (river otter), indicates riverine
terrestrial environments in the Cuenca de México
with warmer and more humid climates than during
the full glacial (Alvarez, 1986; Lorenzo, 1986).
Together these late OIS 3 records suggest that
effective moisture in the Cuenca de México may
have exceeded full glacial and also Holocene levels
where the summer monsoon dominates today.
Possibly easterly moisture was even greater and
more effective during late OIS 3 than during the
Holocene. However, the fact that most marine
upwelling proxies are, with the exception of 15N,
lower between 50 and 30 ka than during the
Holocene ( Fig. 9) implies that upwelling during
late OIS 3 was not as strong as during the
Holocene, and argues against a climate dynamic
that produced stronger than modern easterly
precipitation. Nevertheless, Lago de Pátzcuaro
was predominantly fresh 38–30 ka (Fig. 6).
Consequently, westerly moisture may have played
an additional, seasonal role, especially in western
central Mexico at that time. Perhaps other ocean
and atmospheric circulation patterns affected this
late OIS 3 record that were absent or reduced in
the Holocene.
7.3. Zirahuén as an analog for late OIS 3
Aulacoseira ambigua v. robusta and Cyclotella
stelligera prospered in Pátzcuaro between 35 and
25 ka. They both lived in Lago de Zirahuén histori-
cally, suggesting that from hydrochemical and
limnological perspectives, this lake could be a
reasonable analog for Lago de Pátzcuaro prior to
the full glacial period. Zirahuén lies 40 m above
and 12 km to the south of Pátzcuaro, but is an
order of magnitude smaller (1045 ha), less saline
than Pátzcuaro ( Table 1), and about three times
deeper. Zirahuén has a mean depth of 18 m and a
volume of about 188×106 m3. Precipitation at
Zirahuén (1180–1234 mm/year) is about 20%
92 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95
greater than at Pátzcuaro, but the mean annual
temperatures of the two lakes are similar (16.1
and 16.3°C, respectively). Topographically,
Zirahuén is the highest lake in the area and proba-
bly lies near the top of the groundwater flow
system. Although the distribution of endemic fish
(Chirostoma) supports a past surface hydrologic
connection between Zirahuén, Pátzcuaro, Cuitzeo
and ultimately the Rı́o Lerma (De Buen, 1943;
Barbour, 1973), the probability of a groundwater
flow system between these basins remains
unevaluated.
Annual evaporation at Zirahuén (1103 mm)
is significantly less than at Pátzcuaro
(1481 mm/year), and results in a positive
hydrologic balance for Zirahuén in contrast to
Lago de Pátzcuaro where evaporation exceeds
precipitation on an annual basis. Nevertheless,
lake levels at Zirahuén fluctuate about 1 m in
response to wet and dry season moisture (Bernal-
Brooks and MacCrimmon, 2000) as rapid infiltra-
tion to the groundwater table removes water from
the lake. Such rapid seepage from the lake plays
an important role in maintaining its very fresh
hydrochemistry and contributes significantly to the
regional groundwater system. In addition, the
greater depth and smaller area of Zirahuén relative
to Lago de Pátzcuaro means that its volume reduc-
tion by evaporation would be considerably less
than at Pátzcuaro. Based on the relative volume
loss, Pátzcuaro would need about five times more
effective precipitation (cooler temperatures and
increased rainfall ) to become as fresh as Zirahuén
is today. Unless seepage from Lago de Pátzcuaro
increased proportionally under this regime of
increased effective moisture, the lake would soon
have risen to the level of overflow and drained
towards the Rı́o Lerma. In either case, it became
fresh enough to support diatoms currently or
recently living in Zirahuén.
A combination of lower mean annual temper-
atures and increased precipitation is consistent
with the intermediate character of OIS 3 marine
and terrestrial records (Ganeshram, 1996;
Bradbury and Forester, 2000). The Zirahuén
analog allows the possibility that late OIS 3 tem-
peratures were similar to Holocene temperatures,
however. A precipitation increase of 1.5× or a
lowering of mean annual temperature by 7°C at
Lago de Pátzcuaro would independently suffice to
equate evaporation and precipitation. Of the two
independent possibilities, a precipitation increase
would seem more likely, especially because such
levels of annual precipitation fall within the range
of variability today (557–1636 mm). Nevertheless,
years of above average precipitation are also cooler
at Lago de Pátzcuaro (Chacón-Torres, 1993, figs.
4.3 and 4.4) and the high, fresh lake stage of
late OIS 3 must have resulted from a combined
effect of lowered temperature and increased
precipitation.
7.4. The limnological impact of man
The settlement of indigenous inhabitants in the
immediate area of Lago de Pátzcuaro had and
continues to have profound effects on the lake
inter-related with and exacerbated by climate
change. The effects of catchment erosion and
deposition of iron-rich clay in the basin as a result
of prehistoric agricultural practices along inflowing
drainages have been well documented (O’Hara
et al., 1993). In addition to the effects of erosion
and sedimentation, by using surface water for
irrigation, agriculture promotes evaporative losses
that ultimately resulted in increased hydrologic
deficits for the lake. What water did return to
Lago de Pátzcuaro via recharge and runoff would
have been more saline after its use for irrigation,
where evaporative losses are high. Possibly the
diatom evidence for shallow water and increased
salinity in Lago de Pátzcuaro after 3.6 ka docu-
ments this effect, although coincident climate
change cannot be ruled out.
The object of irrigation agriculture is to facili-
tate the conversion of soil nutrients into crop
plants. Although pre-Hispanic agriculturalists may
have fertilized their fields, apparently over-fertiliza-
tion did not occur to the extent that indigenous
irrigation would have transported significant nutri-
ents to the lake during the early phases of agricul-
ture (3.6–1.0 ka) around the basin. The
stratigraphic distribution of Cyclostephanos sp.,
the diatom most likely to represent strong eutro-
phication of Lago de Pátzcuaro, suggests that
significant and persistent fertilization of the lake
 J. Platt Bradbury / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 163 (2000) 69–95
did not begin until about 0.8 ka (Fig. 8) when the
post-Classic Purépecha inhabited the region.
Spanish accounts suggest that the Purépecha,
whose ceremonial and secular use of wood was
large (O’Hara et al., 1993), may have initiated
extensive deforestation within the Pátzcuaro basin.
With deforestation, minerals, elements, and nutri-
ents once involved in biologic cycling entered the
runoff and groundwater to Lago de Pátzcuaro and
increased the nutrient input to the lake. The arrival
of the Spaniards about 400 years ago (A.D. 1541)
caused a precipitous population decline in the
Pátzcuaro basin, presumably from imported
European disease, that may relate to the decrease
of Cyclostephanos sp. at that time and allowed
Lago de Pátzcuaro to recover from its highly
eutrophic state ( Fig. 8). Nevertheless, 200 years
ago unprecedented numbers of phytoliths washed
into the lake as the drainage basin suffered contin-
ued deforestation under Spanish and Mexican
dominion, and neolimnological studies document
continued and increased impacts on the limnology
of this picturesque lake.
High resolution diatom, geochemical and pollen
records from Lago de Pátzcuaro can certainly
track both human and climatic impact in the basin
at great detail for the past three millennia, and
will be useful in evaluating the character and
magnitude of human impact as well as providing
suitable baselines for lake restoration efforts. Pre-
cultural lake changes mediated by climate, when
studied in greater detail, may enable future lake
and land-use management strategies to avoid unde-
sirable consequences of climate change.
Acknowledgements
Coring and initial research on the Lago de
Pátzcuaro core were sponsored by NSF Grant
720-004500 and the Limnological Research Center
at the University of Minnesota. Mark S. Saporito
provided valuable help in the field in connection
with his thesis work on the lake. The coring raft
was graciously supplied by the Estación
Limnológica de Pátzcuaro. Fernando Bernal-
Brooks, Arturo Chacón, Sarah Davies and Sarah
E. Metcalfe provided much helpful information
93
about the limnology, climate, and physiography
of Lago de Pátzcuaro and Lago de Zirahuén.
Helpful reviews by Henry Hooghiemstra and T.C.
Johnson were much appreciated. I gratefully
acknowledge the Geobotanical Institute of the
University of Bern for facilities occupied and used
during the preparation of this paper.
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