Modelling the Effects of Seston Food Quality on Zooplankton Growth: Implications for Broader food Web Dynamics

• Main Author: Perhar, Gurbir
• Other Authors: Arhonditsis, George
• Language: en_ca
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: Phytoplankton; Zooplankton; food web ecology; food quality; highly unsaturated fatty acids; stoichiometry; mathematical modelling; bifurcation analysis; 0329; 0472; Biogeochemistry
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/34843

An increasing number of contemporary studies in aquatic ecology emphasize the im- portance of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs) at the plant-animal interface. Studies have demonstrated a wide range of fatty acid profiles in primary producers, forcing her- bivorous zooplankton to differentially retain fatty acids to meet somatic requirements. Herbivores also vary in their somatic fatty acid profiles; cladocerans collect Eicosapen- taenoic Acid (EPA), copepods prefer Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA). Fatty acid internal reserves can be broken down to meet structural needs (i.e. phospholipid synthesis), fuel reproduction and may play a role in cold weather adaptation. Several authors have noted increases in HUFA concentration with lowering ambient temperatures. Cladoceran membranes form a gel at lower temperatures, while copepod membranes remain fluid and allow active overwintering. Both fish and crustaceans accumulate high concentrations of HUFAs during periods of rapid growth, but colimitation with elemental resources may exist. Recent modeling results suggest food webs with high quality (nutritional and biochemical) primary producers can attain inverted biomass distributions with efficient energy transfer between trophic levels. The adoption rate for this material into man- agement studies remains low, and while other sectors of the scientific community thrive on the potential of HUFAs, planktonic food-web studies are choosing traditional view points over forward thinking. Bearing in mind the emerging hypotheses on the critical factors that drive the energy flow in the plant-animal interface, my dissertation will at- tempt to address the following general questions: What are the distinct signatures of food quality and food quantity on planktonic food web dynamics? How do nutritional and biochemical factors affect the flow of energy at the plant-animal interface? What is our current understanding of the role of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs) in aquatic food webs? To what extent can the current generation of plankton models reproduce the lower food web patterns when explicitly accounting for HUFAs? Is the integration of the HUFA role into water quality management models feasible? Explicitly accounting for HUFAs requires integrating factors of animal physiology with macro-ecology: what are the ramifications? Finally, what are the evolutionary aspects of animals coping with food quality?