Comparison of pelagic food webs in lakes along a trophic gradient and with seasonal aspects: influence of resource and predation

Auer, Bernhard; Elzer, Ulrich; Arndt, Hartmut

doi:10.1093/plankt/fbh058

Cited by 123 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 61 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Also, in eutrophic environments, phytoplankton communities are often dominated by Cyanophyceae (Reynolds et al 2002). Thus, besides the indirect effects of the absence of refuge offered by submerged aquatic vegetation, zooplankton communities may be directly affected by eutrophication as a result of the increased density of inedible and toxin producing species (Auer et al 2004;Schindler & Hecky 2009). As not all herbivorous species are able to maintain viable populations under these conditions, monopolies of a few zooplankton species are also expected.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Zooplankton Community Metrics as Indicators of Eutrophication in Urban Lakes

Lodi¹,

Vieira²,

Velho³

et al. 2011

NatCon

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although the direct effects of eutrophication are well known, its indirect effects are poorly understood and the interaction with non-nutrient factors may alter some expected relationships. We analyzed the reliability of community-level metrics derived from three zooplankton groups as predictors of eutrophication in urban man-made lakes. Univariate and multivariate correlation analyses were used to test for relationships between environmental variables and community metrics derived from zooplankton data. Our results indicated that rotifer community metrics were the best eutrophication indicators. The main implication of our results is that arguments against the use of simple community-level metrics as indicators of eutrophication cannot be generalized. Our findings also suggest the need of complete sample analyses (i.e., identification and counting) to estimate reliable ecological indicators of eutrophication.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Zooplankton Community Metrics as Indicators of Eutrophication in Urban Lakes

Lodi¹,

Vieira²,

Velho³

et al. 2011

NatCon

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Smetacek (1981) studied meta-and protozooplankton in the Kiel Bight (depth 20 m) and found they had comparable biomass in summer. In a study of hypereutrophic freshwater lakes Auer et al (2004) found that protozoans, consisting mainly of ciliates, averaged 42 percent of total zooplankton biomass as opposed to only 24 percent in mesotrophic lakes. Based on its algal biomass the Salton Sea can be considered extremely eutrophic with chlorophyll a concentrations often in the range of 30-40 µg l -1 or higher (Tiffany et al 2007a).…”

Section: Protozoa and Eutrophymentioning

confidence: 99%

Ciliate plankton dynamics and survey of ciliate diversity in the Salton Sea, California, 1997–1999

Tiffany

Swan

Gebler

et al. 2007

Lake and Reservoir Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The components of microbial food webs can be strongly affected by both bottom-up control -related to resource availability in the environment (Gasol et al, 1995;Šimek et al, 2003) -and top-down control, which is related to predation effects (Šimek et al, 1997;Auer et al, 2004). The impact of bottom-up mechanisms usually occurs slowly within the ecosystem (Sommer, 2008), and food resources are the main drivers of community abundance (Palijan, 2012;Weisse, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A m o n g t h e m i c r o b i a l c o m p o n e n t s , heterotrophic protozoa (flagellates and ciliates) are often considered as the main consumers of bacteria and phytoplankton (Auer et al, 2004;Comte et al, 2006;Palijan, 2012;Weisse, 2002). In addition, studies suggest that these microorganisms prefer to consume picocyanobacteria instead of bacteria Fontes & Abreu, 2012;Tarbe et al, 2011), and that ciliates can meet their carbon needs with a diet based exclusively on picophytoplankton.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This small size fraction of the phytoplankton represents an important food source when compared to the largest size fractions, which can be lost by either sedimentation or integration into the classic food web. Ciliates can also have strong impacts on the heterotrophic flagellate community through predation (Auer et al, 2004). Furthermore, ciliates act as competitors in relation to rotifers and can be consumed by them and other larger predators, such as cladocera and copepoda (Agasild et al, 2013;Müller et al, 1991).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Abundance and size structure of planktonic protist communities in a Neotropical floodplain: effects of top-down and bottom-up controls

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cite as: Meira, B.R. et al. Abundance and size structure of planktonic protist communities in a Neotropical floodplain: effects of top-down and bottom-up controls. Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia, 2017, vol. 29, e104. Abstract: Aim: We aimed to assess the influence of bottom-up and top-down control mechanisms on the abundance and size structure of protist communities (heterotrophic flagellates and ciliates). We formulated the following hypothesis: bottom-up control mechanisms, related to the availability of resources in the environment, are responsible for structuring the abundance of these communities, whereas top-down control mechanisms, related to predation effects, determine the size pattern of these organisms. Methods: Samples for planktonic organisms were taken in 20 shallow lakes belonging to the upper Paraná River floodplain. We evaluated linear regression models to select the best model which predicts the patterns observed according to Akaike Information Criterion. Results: The best models selected to explain the abundance of heterotrophic flagellates included negative relations with picophytoplankton abundance and positive with rotifers abundance, while for their size structure, negative relationships were found with heterotrophic bacteria, ciliates and rotifers biovolumes. In relation to the ciliates, their abundances were positively related to the rotifers and picophytoplankton abundances and negatively with the heterotrophic bacteria abundance. On the other hand, for the size structure, the best models selected strong negative relations with the microcrustaceans biovolumes, in addition to relations with the different fractions of the phytoplankton. Conclusion: For both flagellates and ciliates, their abundance is being mainly regulated by a bottom up control mechanism, whereas for the size structure the results showed that both food resources and predators were important, indicating that bottom-up and top-down mechanisms act simultaneously in determining the size of these microorganisms.

show abstract

Comparison of pelagic food webs in lakes along a trophic gradient and with seasonal aspects: influence of resource and predation

Cited by 123 publications

References 61 publications

Zooplankton Community Metrics as Indicators of Eutrophication in Urban Lakes

Zooplankton Community Metrics as Indicators of Eutrophication in Urban Lakes

Ciliate plankton dynamics and survey of ciliate diversity in the Salton Sea, California, 1997–1999

Abundance and size structure of planktonic protist communities in a Neotropical floodplain: effects of top-down and bottom-up controls

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About