Seasons and seasonality in lakes: Synthesis amid global change

Abigail S. Lewis; David C. Richardson; Dexter W. Howard; Cayelan C. Carey; Benjamin M. Kraemer; Yael Amitai; Sheel Bansal; Elvira Eyto; Hans-Peter Grossart; Kathryn K. Hoffman; Rachel A. Hovel; Lesley B. Knoll; Isabella Oleksy; Arianto Santoso; Martin Schmid; Robert Schwefel; Dietmar Straile; Xinyu Sun; Gesa A. Weyhenmeyer; Whitney M. Woelmer; Sabine Wollrab; Petr Znachor

doi:10.1002/lol2.70116

Seasons and seasonality in lakes: Synthesis amid global change

Limnology and Oceanography Letters

By: Abigail S. Lewis, David C. Richardson, Dexter W. Howard, Cayelan C. Carey, Benjamin M. Kraemer, Yael Amitai, Sheel Bansal, Elvira Eyto, Hans-Peter Grossart, Kathryn K. Hoffman, Rachel A. Hovel, Lesley B. Knoll, Isabella Oleksy, Arianto Santoso, Martin Schmid, Robert Schwefel, Dietmar Straile, Xinyu Sun, Gesa A. Weyhenmeyer, Whitney M. Woelmer, Sabine Wollrab, and Petr Znachor

https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.70116

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Abstract

Seasonality in environmental conditions plays a fundamental role in shaping lake ecosystems. However, patterns of seasonality vary worldwide, and these patterns are shifting over time amid global change. Thus, it is increasingly important to evaluate how seasons and seasonality are represented in lake ecosystem research. Here, we used a literature review and global data analysis to synthesize approaches for conceptualizing seasons and seasonality in lakes. We found that a wide range of criteria are used to delineate discrete seasons in published literature, including fixed dates (e.g., months, solstice/equinox), environmental thresholds (e.g., temperature and precipitation cutoffs), and lake-specific indicators (e.g., ice cover, plankton phenology). Analyzing data from lakes worldwide, we found that using different criteria to define the same season resulted in divergent interpretations of ecosystem states. Based on our synthesis, we offer recommendations for how to incorporate seasonality into lake research and communications amid global change.

Suggested Citation

Lewis, A.S., Richardson, D.C., Howard, D.W., Carey, C.C., Kraemer, B.M., Amitai, Y., Bansal, S., Eyto, E., Grossart, H., Hoffman, K.K., Hovel, R.A., Knoll, L.B., Oleksy, I., Santoso, A., Schmid, M., Schwefel, R., Straile, D., Sun, X., Weyhenmeyer, G.A., Woelmer, W.M., Wollrab, S., and Znachor, P., 2026, Seasons and seasonality in lakes: Synthesis amid global change: Limnology and Oceanography Letters, v. 11, no. 2, e70116, 20 p., https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.70116.

Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	Seasons and seasonality in lakes: Synthesis amid global change
Series title	Limnology and Oceanography Letters
DOI	10.1002/lol2.70116
Volume	11
Issue	2
Publication Date	March 25, 2026
Year Published	2026
Language	English
Publisher	Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography
Contributing office(s)	Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Description	e70116, 20 p.