Thesis
Grazing Impacts of Rotifer Zooplankton on a Cyanobacteria Bloom in a Large, Shallow Temperate Lake (Vancouver Lake, WA, USA)
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2021
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000005526
Abstract
Zooplankton grazers’ consumption of phytoplankton can often influence and control phytoplankton community dynamics, including those affected by harmful cyanobacteria blooms. While the trophic roles of copepods and some microzooplankton on cyanobacteria have been investigated, much less is known about the influence of rotifer grazing. Therefore, experiments with field-collected rotifers grazing upon a natural microplankton prey community were performed from July through October 2019, utilizing water and organisms from Vancouver Lake, a large shallow lake in western Washington State (USA) annually affected by severe cyanobacteria blooms. Results show that rotifers directly ingested cyanobacteria at rates significantly higher than for other prey categories each month, yet usually preferred dinoflagellates. Rotifers also had an substantial grazing impact (%) on dinoflagellates and ciliates after the bloom in September and October, indicating that rotifers’ consumption of cyanobacteria is not enough to control blooms, but their high impact on other prey groups may indicate other multi-trophic grazing dynamics in autumn. Results from supplemental microzooplankton community grazing experiments with the rotifer grazing results together suggest that micrograzers were largely responsible for the dissipation of the cyanobacteria bloom in Vancouver Lake. Thus, the present study provides novel contributions to our previous understanding of plankton dynamics in this model eutrophic lake and further supports past conclusions that micrograzers are important in controlling harmful cyanobacteria blooms.
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Details
- Title
- Grazing Impacts of Rotifer Zooplankton on a Cyanobacteria Bloom in a Large, Shallow Temperate Lake (Vancouver Lake, WA, USA)
- Creators
- Kathryn Elizabeth Sweeney
- Contributors
- Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens (Advisor)Stephanie Hampton (Committee Member)Stephen Bollens (Committee Member)Jonah Piovia-Scott (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- School of the Environment (CAS)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 53
- Identifiers
- 99901052140201842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis