1. Efficiency of crustacean zooplankton in transferring allochthonous carbon in a boreal lake.
- Author
-
Grosbois, Guillaume, Vachon, Dominic, del Giorgio, Paul A., and Rautio, Milla
- Subjects
- *
ZOOPLANKTON , *MARINE zooplankton , *CRUSTACEA , *CARBON , *LAKES , *ALGAL communities , *CARBON cycle , *ORGANIC compounds , *BIOMASS - Abstract
Increased incorporation of terrestrial organic matter (t‐OM) into consumer biomass (allochthony) is believed to reduce growth capacity. In this study, we examined the relationship between crustacean zooplankton allochthony and production in a boreal lake that displays strong seasonal variability in t‐OM inputs. Contrary to our hypotheses, we found no effect of allochthony on production at the community and the species levels. The high‐frequency seasonal sampling (time‐for‐space) allowed for estimating the efficiency of zooplankton in converting this external carbon source to growth. From the daily t‐OM inputs in the lake (57–3,027 kg C/d), the zooplankton community transferred 0.2% into biomass (0.01–2.36 kg C/d); this level was of the same magnitude as the carbon transfer efficiency for algal‐derived carbon (0.4%). In the context of the boundless carbon cycle, which integrates inland waters as a biologically active component of the terrestrial landscape, the use of the time‐for‐space approach for the quantifying of t‐OM trophic transfer efficiency by zooplankton is a critical step toward a better understanding of the effects of increasing external carbon fluxes on pelagic food webs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF