High mountain lakes: extreme habitats and witnesses of environmental changes

Abstract

High mountain lakes offer research opportunities beyond what could be expected from their quantitative relevance in the Earth system. In this article we present a brief summary of the research carried out in the lakes of the Pyrenees in the last twenty years by the group of limnology of the Centre for High Mountain Research (CRAM) of the University of Barcelona. The studies can be included in three main topics: life in extreme conditions, catchment-lake relationships and environmental changes.