LONG‐TERM PERSPECTIVES ON LAKE SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT

Long-term limnological data sets are increasingly valued for the unique perspective they provide on the complex dynamics of organisms and ecosystems, particularly as lakes respond to both anthropogenic perturbations and longer-term environmental phenomena. Even a quick perusal of Limnology and Oceanography’s publication history demonstrates the increasing contributions of long-term data to scientific productivity (Figure 1), and several large collaborative projects focused on integrating long-term data sets over the past decade (e.g., Jeppesen et al 2005, Lenters et al 2012) have drawn attention to a multitude of ongoing long-term limnological programs that generate rich data sets.