Collaborative Reasearch: The Impact of UV Radiation on Trophic Interactions in Lakes: Direct and Indirect Effects on Zooplankton Communities

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Williamson9973938In spite of the importance of abiotic factors influencing community structure, little is known about how abiotic factors (such as solar radiation) and temperature may interact to modify community and ecosystem structure. This study will examine the effects of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) on trophic interactions in zooplankton communities. Experiments are planned to investigate how exposure to different wavelengths of ultraviolet radiation influence tropic interactions in zooplankton communities in the surface waters of oligotrophic lakes where predation, food limitations and high UVR are likely to be strong selective forces. A series of laboratory and field experiments will be used to manipulate the wavelengths of UVR to which organisms are exposed. Understanding how trophic interactions are modified in high UVR environments is essential to knowing how differences in the dynamics of pelagic communities in lakes that differ in their tropic status or UV transparency, as well as in their sensitivity to disturbance or changes in climate and atmospheric ozone levels. With impending changes in global climate and solar radiation regimes, these are central questions that need to be addressed.