Title: TROPHIC CASCADES AND COMPENSATION: DIFFERENTIAL RESPONSES OF MICROZOOPLANKTON IN WHOLE-LAKE EXPERIMENTS
Abstract: EcologyVolume 79, Issue 1 p. 138-152 Article TROPHIC CASCADES AND COMPENSATION: DIFFERENTIAL RESPONSES OF MICROZOOPLANKTON IN WHOLE-LAKE EXPERIMENTS Michael L. Pace, Michael L. Pace Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Box AB, Millbrook, New York 12545 USASearch for more papers by this authorJonathan J. Cole, Jonathan J. Cole Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Box AB, Millbrook, New York 12545 USASearch for more papers by this authorStephen R. Carpenter, Stephen R. Carpenter Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 USASearch for more papers by this author Michael L. Pace, Michael L. Pace Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Box AB, Millbrook, New York 12545 USASearch for more papers by this authorJonathan J. Cole, Jonathan J. Cole Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Box AB, Millbrook, New York 12545 USASearch for more papers by this authorStephen R. Carpenter, Stephen R. Carpenter Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 USASearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 January 1998 https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(1998)079[0138:TCACDR]2.0.CO;2Citations: 64Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract Food webs in three lake basins were manipulated by altering fish communities to either reduce or increase the abundance of Daphnia. These basins were subsequently fertilized with nitrogen and phosphorus for two years. We tested three predictions about the response of heterotrophic flagellates, ciliates, and rotifers (collectively, microzooplankton) derived from prior studies. We predicted that (1) microzooplankton would increase with lake fertilization, (2) lakes with abundant Daphnia would have lower increases in microzooplankton, and (3) both increases in resource availability and suppression by Daphnia would determine microzooplankton dynamics. Contrary to the first prediction, microzooplankton did not increase with fertilization relative to the reference lake, except in the low-Daphnia system. The second prediction was supported, as Daphnia prevented microzooplankton from increasing in the fertilized lakes with the strength of the Daphnia effect being greater than anticipated. Because of this strong effect, microzooplankton dynamics were in all but one case most strongly related to suppression by Daphnia rather than to a combined effect of resources and suppression. The microzooplankton communities were differentially affected by the trophic cascade. Heterotrophic flagellates appeared to be limited by a variety of predators. Even in the low-Daphnia fertilized lake, mortality was apparently high. Ciliates and rotifers increased in the low-Daphnia fertilized lake and were strongly suppressed otherwise. These experiments indicate that small-scale, short-term experiments and larger-scale comparative analyses may be inadequate for assessing the strength of trophic interactions. The potential for community-level responses, not well assessed except at the ecosystem scale, may alternatively dampen or enhance the impacts of trophic cascades in food webs. Literature Cited Abrams, P. A., B. A. Menge, G. G. Mittelbach, D. A. Spiller, and P. Yodzis . 1996. The role of indirect effects in food webs. Pages 371–395 in G. A. Polis and K. O. Winemiller, editors. Food webs: integration of patterns and dynamics. Chapman and Hall, New York, New York, USA. 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Publication Year: 1998
Publication Date: 1998-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 107
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