Chironomid (Insecta: Chironomidae) community structure response to hydrological changes in the mid‐1950s in lake Nam Co, Tibetan Plateau

ABSTRACT The recent rise in air temperatures detected at high altitudes of the Tibetan Plateau has accelerated glacier melt and retreat. Moreover, enhanced monsoonal precipitation has increased runoff and transport of allochthonous material to the lakes. Consequently, water levels are rising, modifying the spatial distribution and composition of local aquatic biota. To infer these environmental and biological changes in recent decades, a 30‐cm‐long sediment core, representing the past ~160 years, from Nam Co, an endorheic lake, was analyzed for subfossil chironomid assemblages and sediment geochemistry. In total, 25 chironomid morphotypes were identified. Nineteen were considered as non‐rare taxa (abundances ≥2%) and six as rare taxa (abundances