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Terrestrial support of zooplankton biomass in northern rivers

Berggren, M. LU ; Bengtson, P. LU ; Soares, A. R.A. LU and Karlsson, J. (2018) In Limnology and Oceanography 63(6). p.2479-2492
Abstract

The contribution of terrestrially derived carbon to micro-crustacean zooplankton biomass (i.e., allochthony) has been previously studied in lakes, reservoirs, and estuaries, but little is known about zooplankton allochthony in rivers. In lacustrine environments, allochthony is regulated by distinct selective feeding behavior of different taxa. However, we hypothesized that restricted possibility for selective grazing in turbulent environments such as rivers would decouple zooplankton from specific microbial and algal food resources, such that their allochthony would mirror the terrestrial contribution to the surrounding bulk particle pool. We tested this idea by analyzing allochthony in 13 widely distributed Swedish rivers, using a... (More)

The contribution of terrestrially derived carbon to micro-crustacean zooplankton biomass (i.e., allochthony) has been previously studied in lakes, reservoirs, and estuaries, but little is known about zooplankton allochthony in rivers. In lacustrine environments, allochthony is regulated by distinct selective feeding behavior of different taxa. However, we hypothesized that restricted possibility for selective grazing in turbulent environments such as rivers would decouple zooplankton from specific microbial and algal food resources, such that their allochthony would mirror the terrestrial contribution to the surrounding bulk particle pool. We tested this idea by analyzing allochthony in 13 widely distributed Swedish rivers, using a dual-isotope mixing model. Zooplankton biomasses were generally low, and allochthony in different micro-crustacean groups (Cladocera, Cyclopoida, Calanoida) varied from 2% to 77%. As predicted, there were no correlations between allochthony and variables indicating the supply of algal and microbial food resources, such as chlorophyll a and bacterial production. Instead, the allochthony was generally similar to the share allochthonous contribution in bulk particulate organic matter, with relationships close to the 1: 1 line. The zooplankton community allochthony was strongly regulated by the ecosystem metabolic balance between production and respiration, which in turn was dependent upon the ratio between total autochthonous organic carbon concentrations and water color. Our study for the first time shows that micro-crustacean allochthony is regulated differently in rivers compared to in lacustrine systems, and points to inefficient support of zooplankton biomass by algal resources in turbulent waters.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Limnology and Oceanography
volume
63
issue
6
pages
2479 - 2492
publisher
ASLO
external identifiers
  • scopus:85050622623
ISSN
1939-5590
DOI
10.1002/lno.10954
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
24e98af3-e6aa-47d9-8bc0-1a93074604dc
date added to LUP
2018-09-26 14:23:42
date last changed
2022-03-17 17:32:20
@article{24e98af3-e6aa-47d9-8bc0-1a93074604dc,
  abstract     = {{<p>The contribution of terrestrially derived carbon to micro-crustacean zooplankton biomass (i.e., allochthony) has been previously studied in lakes, reservoirs, and estuaries, but little is known about zooplankton allochthony in rivers. In lacustrine environments, allochthony is regulated by distinct selective feeding behavior of different taxa. However, we hypothesized that restricted possibility for selective grazing in turbulent environments such as rivers would decouple zooplankton from specific microbial and algal food resources, such that their allochthony would mirror the terrestrial contribution to the surrounding bulk particle pool. We tested this idea by analyzing allochthony in 13 widely distributed Swedish rivers, using a dual-isotope mixing model. Zooplankton biomasses were generally low, and allochthony in different micro-crustacean groups (Cladocera, Cyclopoida, Calanoida) varied from 2% to 77%. As predicted, there were no correlations between allochthony and variables indicating the supply of algal and microbial food resources, such as chlorophyll a and bacterial production. Instead, the allochthony was generally similar to the share allochthonous contribution in bulk particulate organic matter, with relationships close to the 1: 1 line. The zooplankton community allochthony was strongly regulated by the ecosystem metabolic balance between production and respiration, which in turn was dependent upon the ratio between total autochthonous organic carbon concentrations and water color. Our study for the first time shows that micro-crustacean allochthony is regulated differently in rivers compared to in lacustrine systems, and points to inefficient support of zooplankton biomass by algal resources in turbulent waters.</p>}},
  author       = {{Berggren, M. and Bengtson, P. and Soares, A. R.A. and Karlsson, J.}},
  issn         = {{1939-5590}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{11}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{2479--2492}},
  publisher    = {{ASLO}},
  series       = {{Limnology and Oceanography}},
  title        = {{Terrestrial support of zooplankton biomass in northern rivers}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/lno.10954}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/lno.10954}},
  volume       = {{63}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}