No description available.

Various aspects of the feeding ecology of zooplankton are described for hypertrophic Hartbeespoort Dam, where the phytoplankton is dominated by the cyanophyte Microcystis. The study considers zooplankton succession, community grazing rates, and speciesspecific filtration rates on Microaystis colonies and natural bacterioplankton. Seasonal abundance of the main herbivorous zooplankton between 1981 and 1986 is described both in respect of biomass and specific densities. In situ community grazing rates were measured from January 1983 to March 1985 using 14C-Iabelled Chlorella . Zooplankton succession and community grazing rates are examined in relation to food quantity and quality. Experiments measuring species-specific filtration rates on labelled Chlorella and Microcystis colony fractions revealed low filtration rates for small-bodied cladoceran species on cyanophyte colonies. Daphnia fed significantly on Microcystis colonies up to 60-100 ).μm but Daphnia filtration rates on Chlorella were suppressed by ~707. during the mid-summer increase in Microcystis abundance. Filtration rates of small cladoceran species were not suppressed by MicpocystisJ which was not an important food resource . Cladoceran filtration rate:body length models were developed for Chlorella and Microcystis colony fractions as food. Multiple regression models explained variance in filtration rates on these foods as a function of body length, food type and size, grazer species and temperature (in order of significance). Inclusion of food quality factors such as cyanophyte colony size seems justified in models of plankton feeding in eutrophic or hypertrophic lakes. Methods for in situ measurement of zooplankton filtration rates on 'H-thymidine-Iabelled natural bacteria were improved for use under hypertrophic conditions, and associated isotope-adsorption errors were measured. Community, species-specific and length-specific filtration rates on bacterioplankton were measured (late-spring to late-summer 1986-87) . Ceriodaphnia exhibited no preference for bacteria or Chlorella. Other cladocerans preferred the algal food . Algal/bacterial selectivity coefficients of the zooplankton community revealed an increased algal preference following the mid-summer shift to phytoplankton dominance by largely inedible Microcystis. This implies that bacterioplankton is not an important food resource for the summer cladoceran community. Estimates of the contribution of bacterial carbon to the daily zooplankton carbon requirements are low. The implications of all results are discussed in relation to seasonal succession, the clear-water phase', and biomanipulation in this hypertrophic reservoir.

The trophodynamic implications of reduced freshwater inflow on the zooplankton of eastern Cape estuaries was investigated by a comparison of the community composition and standing stocks, grazing rates and food resources of zooplankton in two systems, the Kariega and the Great Fish estuaries, which are subject to contrasting freshwater inflow. The climate of South Africa is semi-arid, and the low rainfall, coupled with high evaporative loss, result in the region having one of the lowest conversions of rainfall to run-off in the world. In addition, many of the major rivers are extensively impounded, consequently, estuaries often experience prolonged periods of zero or reduced freshwater inflow. The amount of freshwater available for estuarine management in the future is expected to decline as the demand for domestic, agricultural and industrial use increases. The influence of climate, tidal amplitude and wave action are essentially constant, consequently, the individual characteristics of an estuary are determined largely by the indirect influences of catchment size and regulation. Estuaries along the eastern Cape coast range from negative hypersaline systems, to positive systems in which a salinity gradient is well established. The Kariega estuary is a homogeneous marine estuary as a result of minimal freshwater inflow, whereas the Great Fish estuary receives sustained freshwater inflow and is partially-stratified. The quality and quantity of particulate food resources for suspension-feeders depended to a large extent on the allochthonous import of material associated with freshwater inflow. Nutrients, rather than light penetration of the watercolumn are the major factor limiting phytoplankton standing stocks. In the Kariega estuary, phytoplankton standing stocks were low (up to 1.0 μg l⁻¹) and the estuary is classified as oligotrophic. Correlation analyses indicated that lower quality detritus, originating from fringing macrophytes, may contribute substantially to suspended particulate organic material. Phytoplankton food resources were considerably higher in the Great Fish estuary (up to 21.8 μg ⁻¹) which is classified as mesotrophic/eutrophic, and correlation analyses indicated that phytoplankton comprised the dominant fraction of the particulate organic material. Although this suggested that the organic material was of a higher quality, the seston was "masked" by a higher suspended inorganic load. Consequently, the organic fraction comprised between 13 and 22% of total particulate material in the Great Fish estuary, compared with between 20 and 39% in the Kariega estuary. Food resources demonstrated a fairly uniform distribution along the length of the Kariega estuary and exhibited a slight seasonal increase during warmer months. By contrast, the point source influence of freshwater inflow resulted in a spatial gradient of food resources in the Great Fish estuary with higher values recorded towards the upper reaches. There was evidence that higher concentrations of particulate material in the upper reaches are also a consequence of hydrodynamic trapping. There was no marked seasonal pattern in the availability of food resources which were generally elevated in response to sporadic pulses of freshwater inflow. Tidal currents were responsible for elevating suspended food resources by re-suspension of material from the sediments. This effect was probably of greater importance in the Kariega estuary where food resources were generally limiting. In the Kariega estuary, the zooplankton community was dominated by calanoid copepods of the genera Acartia and Pseudodiaptomus. However, in the Great Fish estuary, the community was dominated by the mysid Mesopodopsis siabberi, and the calanoid P. hessei. Community biomass generally reflected the trophic status of the estuary. The mean seasonal biomass recorded in the Kariega estuary was 38 mg m⁻³ compared with 1597 mg m⁻³ in the Great Fish estuary. Greater spatial variability in community biomass was evident in the Great Fish estuary, partly in response to the food resource gradient, but also due to the inability of the mysid shrimps, which dominated the community biomass, to penetrate the lower salinity water of the upper reaches. Zooplankton in the Kariega estuary demonstrated a seasonal pattern of abundance whereas in the Great Fish estuary, community biomass was elevated in response to sporadic pulses of freshwater inflow. Grazing rates, measured in situ using a modified Gliwicz-Haney chamber, indicated that the zooplankton communities were capable of "clearing" substantial proportions of the watercolumn at certain times of the year. The pattern of grazing pressure over a diel cycle was examined in relation to the diel vertical migration movements of the zooplankton. Higher nighttime grazing rates were generally associated with the greater abundance of zooplankton resulting from the movement of zooplankton into the watercolumn after dusk, and their return to the sediments at dawn. Seasonal estimates of diel grazing pressure, extrapolated from daytime and nighttime feeding rates, indicated that the zooplankton "cleared" up to 40% of the watercolumn in a day in the Kariega estuary, and up to 120% d⁻¹ in the Great Fish estuary. However, values of around 25% d⁻¹ in the Kariega estuary, and 50 to 80% d⁻¹ in the Great Fish estuary, were not uncommon. Multiple regression analyses were used in an attempt to explain the influence of environmental factors on the variation in in situ grazing rates. These attempts were largely unsuccessful and the possible reasons, as well as recommended improvements to the methods used, are discussed. Seston concentration in the estuaries was highly variable as a result of the effects of tidal re-suspension and freshwater inflow. Consequently, further laboratory-based experiments were carried out to examine the influence of seston concentration on the filtration rates of the dominant calanoid copepods. Results indicated that some of the unexplained variability in the community filtration rates may be attributed to differences in species-specific response to changes in seston concentration.

In estuaries, like the Indian River Lagoon, mesozooplankton have a vital role in the food web by connecting trophic levels. In this study, mesozooplankton abundance and species composition were monitored weekly on the incoming and outgoing tides from September 2006 to May 2009. For the incoming tide, the mean abundance was 2298.2 mesozooplankton/m3 (+/-325.2), and for the outgoing tide the mean abundance was 1180.0 mesozooplankton/m3 (+/-153.1). The mesozooplankton abundance on the incoming tide was significantly greater than on the outgoing tide. The most abundant type of mesozooplankton was the copepod Acartia tonsa, representing 35.0% and 52.1% of the individuals on the incoming and outgoing tides respectively. Mesozooplankton abundance values were compared with environmental data obtained from the South Florida Water Management District. The strongest positive correlation was found between chlorophyll a concentrations and A. tonsa abundance, likely due to phytoplankton being the primary food source for A. tonsa. / by Miranda Hoover Kerr. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

No description available.

Effects of log storage on water quality, zooplankton and juvenile salmonids were investigated at Babine Lake, British Columbia in a series of enclosure, field and laboratory experiments. Enclosures were stocked with lake zooplankton and treated with lodgepole pine (Pinus Contorta) and white spruce (Picea glauca) logs for two 25 day periods. Oxygen depletion, to levels as low as 2.5 mg/l, and increased lignin and tannin (L-T) concentration (a measure of wood leachate) occurred in log treated enclosures. Zooplankton density significantly decreased with increased log number, but changes in community diversity were not consistent. In field studies at Morrison Arm, Babine Lake, extreme oxygen depletion (<1 mg/l) was observed in localized surface waters within a log storage area. Dye tracer studies within the log bundles implied reduced water movement, which may be involved in oxygen depletion. Local zooplankton abundance was usually lower at log storage sites than nearby undisturbed littoral sites and sockeye fry held in situ for 24 h periods acquired fewer and/or a lower diversity of prey items in log storage areas. Laboratory toxicity studies indicated that spruce bark leachates were more toxic than pine, but lethally toxic bark leachates had higher L-T values than those measured in the Morrison Arm log storage area. In chronic Daphnia bioassays, mortality rates significantly increased and fecundity rates significantly decreased during long term exposure to low concentrations of bark leachates. Results of enclosure experiments, field studies and laboratory bioassays provide evidence that zooplankton are reduced in abundance by conditions which accompany log storage, possibly through chronic toxicity or reduce fecundity. Because fry diet was sensitive to small changes in food abundance, there is potential for reduced survival of sockeye fry exposed to low oxygen concentrations and reduced food levels. / Science, Faculty of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

Ephemeral patches of hydrodynamic and chemical sensory cues at fine scales are fundamentally important to the life success of plankton populations and thus the overall health and vitality of nearshore marine ecosystems. We employed various tools from experimental fluid mechanics to create ecologically-relevant hydrodynamic and chemical conditions in a recirculating flume system for zooplankton behavioral assays. The goal was to quantify and correlate changes in zooplankton behavior with coincident sensory cues. A laminar, planar free jet (the Bickley jet) was used to create finescale, free shear layers with targeted hydrodynamic characteristics as well as finescale, sharp-edged layers of both beneficial and toxic ("red tide") phytoplankton species. Planar particle image velocimetry (PIV) and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) were used to quantify the flow and concentration fields, respectively. Behavioral assays with a variety of crustacean zooplankton species including Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), estuarine crab larvae (Panopeus herbstii), and calanoid copepods (Temora longicornis and Acartia tonsa), each unique in its ecology, morphology, and life history, show clear and statistically-significant behavioral responses to relevant hydrodynamic and chemical cues. Estuarine crab larvae optimize short term and long term behavioral needs (foraging and habitat selection) by sensing and exploiting the information contained in multi-directional free shear flows. In the presence of thin layers of toxic algal exudates (Karenia brevis), T. longicornis and A. tonsa exhibit explicit avoidance behaviors through significant increases in swimming speed and overall behavioral variability resulting in a conspicuous hydrodynamic signature in a risk/benefit behavioral response. Finally, Antarctic krill exploit the hydrodynamic cues contained in a free shear layer to modify swimming behaviors and ultimately graze in a thin phytoplankton layer (Tetraselmis spp.). Each species is able to sense and exploit the information contained in coherent hydrodynamic and chemical sensory cues to change swimming kinematics and alter macroscale trajectory characteristics. Quantifying changes in zooplankton behavior in response to ecologically-relevant sensory cues is a crucial step towards modeling (e.g. via biophysically-coupled individual-based ecosystem models) and managing sustainable marine fisheries.

Florescimentos de cianobactérias têm sido cada vez mais frequentemente detectados em reservatórios do Estado de São Paulo, especialmente naqueles da bacia do Médio rio Tietê. A presença de cianobactérias pode acarretar prejuízos à qualidade da água nestes ambientes, em razão de seu potencial tóxico à biota aquática, incluindo riscos à saúde humana. O presente estudo teve por objetivo analisar a estrutura da comunidade zooplanctônica de três reservatórios do Médio rio Tietê, SP (Barra Bonita, Bariri e Ibitinga) e sua relação com as cianobactérias presentes nas florações, com ênfase nos efeitos da toxicidade destas sobre o dafinídeo Ceriodaphnia silvestrii, uma espécie nativa. Para tanto, amostragens foram realizadas nos períodos de junho e setembro de 2008, e janeiro e maio de 2009. Foram efetuadas medições de diversos parâmetros físicos, químicos e biológicos em cada reservatório. As florações de cianobactérias foram coletadas com redes de plâncton, e armazenadas para análise e quantificação de cianotoxinas e também para a realização de ensaios ecotoxicológicos. Verificou-se que a comunidade zooplanctônica dos reservatórios é dominada por copépodos e rotíferos na maior parte das camadas de água dos reservatórios. Os copépodes Cyclopoida foram mais abundantes que os Calanoida, com grande representatividade de formas jovens (náuplios e copepoditos). A espécie de Cladocera Bosminam longirostris e grande parte das espécies de rotifera, como Brachionus calyciflorus foram frequentes em todas as represas, indicando que podem ter estratégias para coexistir com as toxinas dos blooms de cianobactérias. As concentrações de microcistinas LR foram detectadas em todas as amostras de florações dos reservatórios do médio rio Tietê, com concentrações variando e 18,2 a 100 \'mü\'g/L. Os testes de toxicidade aguda revelaram que os extratos brutos das florações de cianobactérias foram tóxicos ao dafínideo Ceriodaphnia silvestrii, provocando inibição dos movimentos natatórios mesmo em baixas concentrações de microcistina-LR, podendo portanto influenciar negativamente a biota aquática. / Cyanobacteria blooms are increasingly being detected in São Paulo state reservoirs, particularly in those of middle Tietê river basin. The presence of cyanobacteria can cause deterioration of water quality in these systems due to its potential toxicity to the aquatic biota, and also risks to human health. The aim of the present srtudy was to analyse the structure of the zooplankton community in three reservoirs placed in middle Tietê river basin, SP (Barra Bonita, Bariri and Ibitinga) and its relationships with blooms of cyanobacteria, with emphasis on its toxic effects upon the daphnid Ceriodaphnia silvestrii, a native species. Sampling was carried out in June and September 2008 and January and May 2009. Measurements of several physical, chemical and biological parameters were carried out in each reservoir. Samples of cyanobacteria blooms were taken with phytoplankton nets and properly kept for posterior analysis of species composition, cyanotoxin quantification and also for acute toxicity testing. It was found that zooplankton communities in the reservoirs are dominated by rotifers and copepods in most of the water layers sampled. The cyclopoid copepods were more abundant than calanoid ones with great representativiness of the young forms (nauplii and copepodids). The Cladocera species Bosmina longirostris and some species of Rotifera as Brachionus calyciflorus were frequent in all reservoirs, indicating that they might have strategies to cope with the cyanobacteria bloom toxicity. Microcystin LR concentrations were detected in all samples of blooms from Middle Tietê River reservoirs with concentrations varying from 18,2 to 100 \'mü\'g/ L. Acute toxicity tests revealed that raw extracts from cyanobacteria scums were toxic to the daphnid Ceriodaphnia silvestrii, causing immobilization of natatory movements even at low LR microcystin concentrations, thus negatively affecting the aquatic biota.

The formation of novel ecosystems by non-native species poses management challenges that are both socially and ecologically complex. This complexity necessitates consideration of both ecological dynamics and social attitudes and perceptions. Red mangrove propagules were introduced to Moloka'i, Hawaii in 1902 to mitigate the effects of soil erosion and they have since spread along the coast and to adjacent islands creating novel habitat. Non-native mangroves in Hawai'i present a unique case study to examine diverse social attitudes and perceptions resulting from a long history of land cover transformations on the Hawaiian Islands, socio-cultural diversity of involved stakeholders, and the potential array of ecosystem services they may provide under changing land use and climatic conditions. Ecological dynamics were examined to (1) determine whether novel mangrove habitat affects zooplankton diversity and richness, (2) test the hypothesis that zooplankton community composition differs significantly among established mangrove and coastal non-mangrove habitat, and (3) assess other factors driving differences in zooplankton community assemblages. This study found no significant differences found between sites with and without mangroves in terms of richness, diversity, or community composition. However, lunar cycles and site dynamics, including fishpond structure, mangrove and open shoreline length, percentage of mangrove shoreline length, total percentage of carbon in mangrove leaves, and disturbance in the upstream watershed influenced zooplankton community composition. These findings suggest that non-native mangroves support community composition, richness, and diversity similar to non-mangrove areas, though some widespread taxa have lower abundances in mangrove habitat. My research suggests that in the face of declining fisheries, threatened reef habitat, and changing climate and ocean conditions, mangroves may provide zooplankton habitat in novel locations similar to that provided by native habitat, such that habitat availability for zooplankton is not hindered by non-native mangroves. To understand social dynamics 204 residents of Moloka'i, Hawaii were surveyed to evaluate: 1) attitudes and perceptions about this non-native species, 2) what factors influence these attitudes, and 3) how attitudes influence perceptions about management. A belief that mangroves should be removed, concern about threats to Moloka'i's coast, and not relying on mangroves for benefit were the primary drivers of negative attitudes towards non-native mangroves. Support for management actions was predicted by attitudes towards mangroves, perception and concern about threats to Moloka'i's coast, and experiences involving mangroves. I propose a framework for assessing and incorporating diverse perceptions and attitudes into decision-making around non-native species that have created novel ecosystems. An active management approach allowing mangroves to thrive in certain locations and to provide services such as habitat and crabbing access while in other locations limiting their extent to protect native bird habitat and cater for human needs, including safe beach and ocean access, may ultimately offer the greatest benefits to both the ecosystem and society. As environmental issues, such as species introductions, become increasingly complicated in the age of the Anthropocene, with intricate relationships made more difficult in the face of climate change, integrated research in socio-ecological systems may provide a comprehensive approach to better evaluate and understand our changing world.

Due to the complex nature of aquatic food webs, the interaction between abiotic and biotic factors that govern ecosystem dynamics is often elusive. Recent advancements in both the collection of reliable field data and the development of ecological models have enabled researchers to gain insights into these more complex interactions. In this study the relationship between physical and ecological processes has been explored by applying a process based coupled physical and ecological model (DYRESM-CAEDYM) to the data sets of three aquatic ecosystems. In the first, the role of zooplankton in the nutrient cycles of Lake Kinneret, Israel was quantified. The model was parameterized and calibrated using an extensive field data set. It was found that the excretion of dissolved nutrients by zooplankton accounted for up to 58% of phytoplankton demand and that this value varied seasonally in response to patterns of stratification and mixing. In the second ecosystem, Mono Lake, USA, results from model simulations were studied to determine the significance of the transport of nutrient rich hypolimnetic water via the benthic boundary layer (BBL) on lake productivity. Model results indicated that although on average the impact of BBL transport on Mono Lake ecology was not large, significant nutrient fluxes were simulated during periods when BBL transport was most active. The timing of these fluxes in the context of seasonal changes were found to be critical to specific aspects of food web dynamics. In the final application, the ecological gradients of the primary salt ponds of Shark Bay, Australia were studied with specific focus on the role of zooplankton as a determinant of ecosystem dynamics. Model results indicated that zooplankton grazing was responsible for reduced water column particulate organic matter and increased light available for the development of microbial mats. However, no direct 8 link between zooplankton grazing and observed changes in planktonic algal species composition or nutrient limitation across the salinity gradient of the ponds was found. Results from this study demonstrate the potential of a lake ecosystem model to extract useful process information to complement field data collection and address questions related to the relationship between physical and ecological processes in aquatic ecosystems.