Invited by ITP Prof. HOU Juzhi, Prof. Robert E. Hecky of Large Lake Observatory, University of Minnesota Duluth, U.S., conducted academic exchanges at ITP in late May.

During his visit, Prof. Hecky presented a talk on May 24, 2013, entitled “Global change impacts on the African great lakes: People, land use and climate”. Using lake ecological evolution in Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika in east Africa as an example, he highlighted the impact of cultural eutrophication on total fisheries and lake fish biodiversity. Through the study of limnological sediment cores from Lake Victoria, he attributed the lake eutrophication to the increased input of total phosphorous due to human activities, land use and global climate changes.

Prof. Hecky is Canadian commissioner for the Great lakes fishery commission, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Great Lakes Research. His rich experience in lake ecology in Africa will benefit ITP researchers in the study of lakes on the Tibetan Plateau, both for the paleoclimatology and modern ecosystem/ biodiversity.