Partial diel vertical migrations in pelagic fish.

1. Field studies on diel vertical migration (DVM) usually report uniform behaviour with population-wide ascents and descents during crepuscular periods. This contrasts partial seasonal migrations of many animal populations, where individuals choose either the resident or the migrant strategy depending on population density, feeding opportunity and predation risk in the resident and migrant habitats. 2. We tested whether DVM of freshwater zooplanktivorous fish (Coregonus spp.) resembles partial migrations. Twenty-eight hydroacoustic surveys were performed in the deep Lake Stechlin (Germany) between 2000 and 2010, with samplings encompassing all months between March and December. Zooplankton samples were simultaneously taken in epilimnetic and hypolimnetic layers. Fish obtained from depth-stratified samplings by a midwater trawl were used to test for individual differences between residents and migrants. 3. We show for the first time that DVMs of freshwater fish resemble patterns of partial migrations often found in seasonal environments. Across all samplings, 7-33% of fish did not ascend at dusk, but exhibited the resident strategy. The proportion or residents increased at low zooplankton feeding rates in the daytime habitat and during months when the temperature difference between daytime and night-time habitats was minor. 4. Slightly larger size and higher caloric density of migrants over residents in one of the coexisting Coregonus species suggested that individual differences contributed to the migration strategy performed. However, these results were based on one sample only, and extrapolation to the entire data set is not possible. 5. Our results are indirect evidence that the balance between migrants and residents may primarily depend on the trade-off between feeding gains and metabolic and predation costs of migration. However, the results also suggest that the global fitness consequences for the resident and migrant strategies may not be identical, rendering the importance of individual traits in the 'decision to migrate' likely.

Assessing in situ dominance pattern of phytoplankton classes by dominance analysis as a proxy for realized niches.

This study looks at two facets of dominant phytoplankton classes during phytoplankton succession. A detailed assessment of this issue is of special interest with regard to realized niches from a theoretical point of view but also for lake management as practical application. A realized niche mirrors the functional adaptability of an organism in a lake-specific constellation of environmental parameters. Therefore, the characterization of realized niches could be a key factor for management of problematic waters. Different strategies exist to control eutrophication and the risk of blooms by harmful algae. During the last decades, many restoration measures were initiated to manage eutrophicated inland lakes. In the past, it has become evident several times that restoration strategies do not necessarily lead to a reduction of biomass of undesirable cyanobacteria but can even promote their development. Due to this uncertainty of success and the high costs for remediation strategies, new prediction tools are required - ideally, based on routine monitoring data. Therefore, we developed a new method to extract potential optimal growth conditions (POGC) as indicators of realized niches for different phytoplankton taxa from existing data to improve existing strategies used in lake remediation and restoration. The analysis presented in this work is based on dominance pattern of different phytoplankton groups relative to environmental variables. Interpretation of these dominance patterns as indicators of POGC showed distinct pattern for several phytoplankton classes for all investigated objects. We identified low nitrogen and phosphate concentrations as favorable condition for cyanobacteria in Lake Auensee and Lake Feldberger Haussee. The reservoir Bleilochtalsperre showed a high N/P-concentration and cyanobacteria dominance was generally very low.

Estimating In Situ Zooplankton Non-Predation Mortality in an Oligo-Mesotrophic Lake from Sediment Trap Data: Caveats and Reality Check.

BACKGROUND: Mortality is a main driver in zooplankton population biology but it is poorly constrained in models that describe zooplankton population dynamics, food web interactions and nutrient dynamics. Mortality due to non-predation factors is often ignored even though anecdotal evidence of non-predation mass mortality of zooplankton has been reported repeatedly. One way to estimate non-predation mortality rate is to measure the removal rate of carcasses, for which sinking is the primary removal mechanism especially in quiescent shallow water bodies. OBJECTIVES AND RESULTS: We used sediment traps to quantify in situ carcass sinking velocity and non-predation mortality rate on eight consecutive days in 2013 for the cladoceran Bosmina longirostris in the oligo-mesotrophic Lake Stechlin; the outcomes were compared against estimates derived from in vitro carcass sinking velocity measurements and an empirical model correcting in vitro sinking velocity for turbulence resuspension and microbial decomposition of carcasses. Our results show that the latter two approaches produced unrealistically high mortality rates of 0.58-1.04 d(-1), whereas the sediment trap approach, when used properly, yielded a mortality rate estimate of 0.015 d(-1), which is more consistent with concurrent population abundance data and comparable to physiological death rate from the literature. ECOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS: Zooplankton carcasses may be exposed to water column microbes for days before entering the benthos; therefore, non-predation mortality affects not only zooplankton population dynamics but also microbial and benthic food webs. This would be particularly important for carbon and nitrogen cycles in systems where recurring mid-summer decline of zooplankton population due to non-predation mortality is observed.

A global database of lake surface temperatures collected by in situ and satellite methods from 1985-2009.

Global environmental change has influenced lake surface temperatures, a key driver of ecosystem structure and function. Recent studies have suggested significant warming of water temperatures in individual lakes across many different regions around the world. However, the spatial and temporal coherence associated with the magnitude of these trends remains unclear. Thus, a global data set of water temperature is required to understand and synthesize global, long-term trends in surface water temperatures of inland bodies of water. We assembled a database of summer lake surface temperatures for 291 lakes collected in situ and/or by satellites for the period 1985-2009. In addition, corresponding climatic drivers (air temperatures, solar radiation, and cloud cover) and geomorphometric characteristics (latitude, longitude, elevation, lake surface area, maximum depth, mean depth, and volume) that influence lake surface temperatures were compiled for each lake. This unique dataset offers an invaluable baseline perspective on global-scale lake thermal conditions as environmental change continues.

Temperature sensitivity of vertical distributions of zooplankton and planktivorous fish in a stratified lake.

Recent studies have indicated that temporal mismatches between interacting populations may be caused by consequences of global warming, for example rising spring temperatures. However, little is known about the impact of spatial temperature gradients, their vulnerability to global warming, and their importance for interacting populations. Here, we studied the vertical distribution of two planktivorous fish species (Coregonus spp.) and their zooplankton prey in the deep, oligotrophic Lake Stechlin (Germany). The night-time vertical centre of gravity both of the fish populations and of two of their prey groups, daphnids and copepods, were significantly correlated to the seasonally varying water temperature between March and December 2005. During the warmer months, fish and zooplankton occurred closer to the surface of the lake and experienced higher temperatures. The Coregonus populations differed significantly in their centre of gravity; hence, also, the temperature experienced by the populations was different. Likewise, daphnids and copepods occurred in different water depths and hence experienced different temperatures at least during the summer months. We conclude that any changes in the vertical temperature gradient of the lake as a result of potential future global warming may impact the two fish populations differently, and may shape interaction strength and timing between fish and their zooplankton prey.