Complexities in interpreting chironomid-based temperature reconstructions over the Holocene from a lake in Western Ireland

Investigation of Holocene climate variability remains challenging. This is largely due to chronological uncertainties and complexities associated with proxies and their relationship with climatic drivers. Pertinent questions still exist regarding the Holocene climate in Ireland, particularly in the early Holocene. We present a mean July air temperature reconstruction based on fossil chironomidae (non-biting midge flies), along with an assessment of chironomid functional traits from five guilds (based on their feeding habits) from Lough Nakeeroge, a small glacial lake in western Ireland. These records span the early to late Holocene (c. 10,000–150