A 50-year sediment record of algal assemblage changes in Hanabanilla Reservoir, Cuba

Hanabanilla Reservoir, south-central Cuba, is used for electric power generation, potable water supply and tourism. We examined stratigraphic shifts in algal assemblages that accumulated in the reservoir sediments from the time of construction in 1960 through 2012, and inferred the environmental drivers of such biological changes. Historical fluctuations in algal assemblages were driven by scouring of the reservoir bottom, changing water level,...