“…Water temperature was recorded with a hand-held thermometer, and samples for total phosphorus (unfiltered, TPu), trace metals (aluminum, Al; beryllium, Be; cadmium, Cd; chromium, Cr; cobalt, Co; copper, Cu; iron, Fe; lead, Pb;, manganese, Mn; molybdenum, Mo; nickel, Ni; vanadium, V; zinc, Zn; and silver, Ag), and major ions (calcium, Ca; magnesium, Mg; sodium, Na; potassium, K; chloride, Cl; sulphate SO 4 ) were retrieved, using pre-cleaned 125 mL sample bottles, from ~15 cm depth within the nearshore area of each site. We used sampling techniques and analyses identical to those of our previous limnological investigations, as well as a similar time frame, which allows us to make comparisons among regions (Douglas and Smol, 1994;Lim et al, 2001;Michelutti et al, 2002a, b;Lim and Douglas, 2003;Antoniades et al, 2003a, b;Lim et al, 2005).…”