Search results for "Plankton"
showing 10 items of 549 documents
Lake restoration influences nutritional quality of algae and consequently Daphnia biomass
2020
AbstractFood quality is one of the key factors influencing zooplankton population dynamics. Eutrophication drives phytoplankton communities toward the dominance of cyanobacteria, which means a decrease in the availability of sterols and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (EPA and DHA). The effects of different restoration measures on the nutritional quality of the phytoplankton community and subsequent impacts on zooplankton biomass have rarely been considered. We analyzed the nutritional quality of phytoplankton in the eutrophic Lake Vesijärvi in southern Finland over a 37-year period, and studied the impacts of two restoration measures, biomanipulation and hypolimnetic aeration, on th…
Direct and indirect effects of sea ice cover on major zooplankton groups and planktivorous fishes in the Barents Sea
2019
AbstractReductions in Arctic sea ice affect marine food webs through a multitude of direct and indirect effects. We here analysed direct, indirect, and delayed associations between winter sea ice cover and year-to-year changes in biomasses of the main zooplankton groups (copepods, krill, amphipods) and planktivorous fishes (capelin, polar cod) in the central and northern Barents Sea from 1980 to 2015. Climate effects and species interactions were estimated jointly in a Bayesian state-space model framework. We found that population biomass of capelin increased in years with low sea ice cover, while biomasses of copepods and amphipods decreased. Furthermore, results suggested strong bottom-up…
Zooplankton species as indicators of trophic state in reservoirs from Mediterranean river basins
2019
Zooplankton abundance and composition is sensitive to eutrophication, and its top-down effect in the planktonic food web can alter the classification of the trophic state of waterbodies based on th...
Arctic sea ice algae differ markedly from phytoplankton in their ecophysiological characteristics
2021
Photophysiological and biochemical characteristics were investigated in natural communities of Arctic sea ice algae and phytoplankton to understand their respective responses towards variable irradiance and nutrient regimes. This study revealed large differences in photosynthetic efficiency and capacity between the 2 types of algal assemblages. Sea ice algal assemblages clearly displayed increased photoprotective energy dissipation under the highest daily average irradiance levels (>8 µmol photons m-2 s-1). In contrast, phytoplankton assemblages were generally light-limited within the same irradiance ranges. Furthermore, phytoplankton assemblages exhibited more efficient carbon assimilat…
The influence of thermal extremes on coral reef fish behaviour in the Arabian/Persian Gulf
2019
Despite increasing environmental variability within marine ecosystems, little is known about how coral reef fish species will cope with future climate scenarios. The Arabian/Persian Gulf is an extreme environment, providing an opportunity to study fish behaviour on reefs with seasonal temperature ranges which include both values above the mortality threshold of Indo-Pacific reef fish, and values below the optimum temperature for growth. Summer temperatures in the Gulf are comparable to those predicted for the tropical ocean by 2090–2099. Using field observations in winter, spring and summer, and laboratory experiments, we examined the foraging activity, distance from refugia and resting tim…
Osmotrophic glucose and leucine assimilation and its impact on EPA and DHA content in algae
2020
The uptake of dissolved organic compounds, that is, osmotrophy, has been shown to be an efficient nutritional strategy for algae. However, this mode of nutrition may affect the biochemical composition, for example, the fatty acid (FA) contents, of algal cells. This study focused on the osmotrophic assimilation of glucose and leucine by selected seven algal strains belonging to chlorophytes, chrysophytes, cryptophytes, dinoflagellates and euglenoids. Our laboratory experiments with stable isotope labeling showed that osmotrophy occurred in four of the selected seven strains. However, only three of these produced long chain omega-3 FAs eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5ω3) and docosahexaenoic a…
Nutritional quality of littoral macroinvertebrates and pelagic zooplankton in subarctic lakes
2021
Littoral benthic primary production is considered the most important energy source of consumers in subarctic lakes. We analyzed essential fatty acid (EFA) and amino acid (EAA) content of 23 littoral benthic macroinvertebrate taxa as well as cladocerans and copepods from pelagic and littoral habitats of 8–9 subarctic lakes to compare their nutritional quality. Pelagic crustacean zooplankton had significantly higher EFA and total FA content (on average 2.6‐fold and 1.6‐fold, respectively) than littoral macroinvertebrates in all our study lakes. Specifically, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), one of the most important EFA for juvenile fish, was almost exclusively found in pelagic copepods. In littor…
Seasonal changes in European whitefish muscle and invertebrate prey fatty acid composition in a subarctic lake
2019
Ambient light and temperature show extreme seasonal variation in subarctic lakes due to the midnight sun period in summer and cold polar night period in winter. These changes have clear impacts on fish feeding and reproduction cycles, potentially affecting the fatty acid (FA) composition of muscle. Despite extensive research into fish FA over recent decades, we know little about intra‐annual changes of fish FA profile and content. We studied intra‐annual changes in the FA profile (mol%) and content (mg g‐1 dry weight) of sexually mature European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) muscle in a large and deep subarctic lake located in northern Fennoscandia. We collected fish, zooplankton, and ben…
Small pelagic fish in the new millennium: A bottom-up view of global research effort
2021
The present review is an outcome of discussions at the ICES-PICES Symposium on Drivers of Dynamics of Small Pelagic Fish convened in Victoria, B.C., Canada in spring 2017.-- This review is a first contribution of a new international Working Group on Small Pelagic Fish started jointly by ICES (WGSPF) and PICES (WG43) to continue world-wide collaboration to advance knowledge on the drivers of populations of SPF.
Chironomid incorporation of methane-derived carbon in plankton- and macrophyte-dominated habitats in a large shallow lake
2018
1. While 13 C-depleted carbon derived from biogenic methane can substantially contribute to the benthic secondary production in deep stratified lakes, its role in shallow lakes is less clear. We investigated the dynamics of δ13 C and δ15 N in the larvae of Chironomus plumosus throughout an annual cycle in two ecologically distinct basins (open-water plankton-dominated and sheltered macrophyte- covered) of a large (270 km2 ), shallow, polymictic and eutrophic lake (Võrtsjärv, Estonia, North Europe). The larval stable isotopic compositions were linked to the presence of methane-oxidising bacteria (MOB) in larval guts and sediments. 2. Molecular detection of MOB revealed their presence in vari…