Microcosm experimental evidence that habitat orientation affects phytoplankton-zooplankton dynamics.
Sci Rep
; 7(1): 1443, 2017 05 04.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-28473696
ABSTRACT
Although spatial ecology has achieved a great success in the passing decades, the importance of habitat orientation has not been well studied, especially for its effects on prey-predator dynamics. Here, we examined the responses of zooplankton activity and grazing rate to habitat orientation and their consequences on the stability of phytoplankton-zooplankton system in a two-factor factorial experiment involving habitat orientation (three levels; small, medium, and large base area, respectively) and habitat size (64 ml and 512 ml) using two algal-grazer systems (Chlorella pyrenoidosa-Daphnia magna and C. pyrenoidosa- Moina micrura). In both systems, grazer density increased with increasing base area for a given chamber volume and with increasing chamber volume for a given orientation in the first 6 days, followed by a dramatic decrease, which corresponded to increasing the amplitude of density fluctuations in both zooplankton and phytoplankton species. Such an algal-grazer dynamics could be accounted for by the greater average swimming ability and grazing rate observed in large-based and large-volumed chambers. Our results demonstrate that habitat orientation affects the zooplankton behavior and population dynamics of both zooplankton and phytoplankton species, which further influences the stability of phytoplankton-zooplankton systems.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Fitoplancton
/
Zooplancton
/
Ecosistema
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Sci Rep
Año:
2017
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
China