Search results for "plank"

Structural Composition of Protozooplankton Communities in Relation to Environmental Factors in Shallow Lakes and Reservoirs of Rīga, Latvia

2015

Abstract Protozooplankton are dominant grazers of phytoplankton and an important component of the microbial food web, as a link between pico and nanoplankton to higher trophic levels. Their fast growing rate, relative abundance, biomass and diversity are used as indicators of organic and toxic pollution. The impact of urbanisation on ecosystems and their sustainability and biodiversity have recently been much studied. We studied the protozooplankton ciliate communities during the vegetation period from April to October in two small lakes (Bābelītis, Gaiļezers) and two reservoirs (Bolderāja, Saurieši). The largest peak of biomass (15.7 × 102 mg/l) was found in Gaiļezers Lake in August and of…

Inferring Phytoplankton, Terrestrial Plant and Bacteria Bulk δ¹³C Values from Compound Specific Analyses of Lipids and Fatty Acids.

2015

Stable isotope mixing models in aquatic ecology require δ13C values for food web end members such as phytoplankton and bacteria, however it is rarely possible to measure these directly. Hence there is a critical need for improved methods for estimating the δ13C ratios of phytoplankton, bacteria and terrestrial detritus from within mixed seston. We determined the δ13C values of lipids, phospholipids and biomarker fatty acids and used these to calculate isotopic differences compared to the whole-cell δ13C values for eight phytoplankton classes, five bacterial taxa, and three types of terrestrial organic matter (two trees and one grass). The lipid content was higher amongst the phytoplankton (…

The impact of summertime food consumption by vendace on the abundance of zooplankton the following spring

2008

Terrestrial carbohydrates support freshwater zooplankton during phytoplankton deficiency

2016

Article

Long-term changes in pigmentation of arctic Daphnia provide potential for reconstructing aquatic UV exposure

2016

Abstract Despite the biologically damaging impacts of solar ultraviolet radiation (UV) in nature, little is known about its natural variability, forcing mechanisms, and long-term effects on ecosystems and organisms. Arctic zooplankton, for example the aquatic keystone genus Daphnia (Crustacea, Cladocera) responds to biologically damaging UV by utilizing photoprotective strategies, including pigmentation. We examined the preservation and content of UV-screening pigments in fossil Daphnia remains (ephippia) in two arctic lake sediment cores from Cornwallis Island (Lake R1), Canada, and Spitsbergen (Lake Fugledammen), Svalbard. The aims were to document changes in the degree of UV-protective p…

Phosphorus limitation enhances parasite impact: feedback effects at the population level

2014

Background Nutrient deficiency affects the growth and population dynamics of consumers. Endoparasites can be seen as consumers that drain carbon (C) or energy from their host while simultaneously competing for limiting resources such as phosphorus (P). Depending on the relative demands of the host and the parasite for the limiting nutrient, intensified resource competition under nutrient limitation can either reduce the parasite’s effect on the host or further reduce the fitness of the nutrient-limited host. So far, knowledge of how nutrient limitation affects parasite performance at the host population level and how this affects the host populations is limited. Results We followed the popu…

Oxidative stress biomarkers in the copepod Limnocalanus macrurus from the northern Baltic Sea : effects of hydrographic factors and chemical contamin…

2015

Inferring phytoplankton community composition with a fatty acid mixing model

2015

Abstract. The taxon specificity of fatty acid composition in algal classes suggests that fatty acids could be used as chemotaxonomic markers for phytoplankton composition. The applicability of phospholipid-derived fatty acids as chemotaxonomic markers for phytoplankton composition was evaluated by using a Bayesian fatty acid-based mixing model. Fatty acid profiles from monocultures of chlorophytes, cyanobacteria, diatoms, euglenoids, dinoflagellates, raphidophyte, cryptophytes and chrysophytes were used as a reference library to infer phytoplankton community composition in five moderately humic, large boreal lakes in three different seasons (spring, summer and fall). The phytoplankton commu…

Water chemistry, zooplankton and benthos in small lakes within the distribution area of the rare European pool frog Pelophylax lessonae (Camerano) in…

2020

Summary In June 2018, water chemistry, benthos and zooplankton were investigated in 7 small lakes/ ponds within the key area of the European pool frog Pelophylax lessonae (Camerano) in Norway. The geographic distribution of the Norwegian population is minor, limited to a very few small lakes in the county of Agder in southernmost Norway. Since the species is thermophilic, reproduction success only occurs in warm summers. Accordingly, the pool frog is one of the most rare vertebrates in Norwegian fauna, classified as critically endangered in the Norwegian red list. A breeding program is today established in order to rescue this species.The article deals with potential biotope challenges most…

Limnological aspects of sicilian reservoirs: A comparative, ecosystemic approach

1999

This paper is a report on the state-of-the-art of reservoir limnology in Sicily, the largest island of the Mediterranean Sea. The territory is characterised by a semi-arid climate with a dry and a wet semester occurring in the year. Evaporative losses are strong during the summer and, on an annual basis, they often exceed precipitation. Thus, reservoirs constitute an important water resource for the island to supply drinking water and to provide for agricultural needs in the periods of drought. However, despite their importance, they receive poor attention from the scientific and political communities and in the absence of any environmental policy or suitable territorial planning, their wat…