Match and mismatch between phyto- and zooplankton during spring succession: an experimental analysis with Baltic Sea plankton

应调查浮游植物和浮游动物的春季演替将如何随着预测的气候变化，特别是冬季变暖而变化。来自波罗的海基尔湾的浮游生物将作为中等深度水体的模型系统，那里的植物春季水华可以在热层结开始之前开始。虽然浮游植物春季水华的开始被预测与温度无关，但异养生物的生长过程明显与温度无关。这将导致浮游生物群落不同组成部分的生长和活动模式发生变化，并可能导致消费者与其食物有机体之间的供需关系不匹配。借助室内中游实验(8个单元)和同时开始的现场监测计划(已于2002年开始)，应研究浮游植物和浮游动物的生长和活动模式、物种组成的变化、资源限制模式、营养水平之间的物质和能量转移以及浮游动物繁殖力。

It shall be investigated, how the spring succession of phyto- and zooplankton will change in response to the predicted climate change, in particular to winter warming. Plankton from the Kiel Bight, Baltic Sea, will serve as a model system for moderately deep water bodies, where the phytopankton spring bloom can start before the onset of thermal stratification. While the start of the phytoplankton spring bloom is predicted to be independent of temperature, growth processes of heterotrophs obviously are. This should lead to changed synchronies in the growth and activity patterns of the different components of the plankton community and to a potential mismatch in the demand- supply relationship between consumers and their food organisms. With the help of indoor mesocosm experiments (8 units) and a simultaneous field monitoring program (started already in 2002) the response of phytoplankton and zooplankton growth and activity patterns, shifts in species composition, patterns of resource limitation, matter and energy transfer between trophic levels, and zooplankton fecundity shall be studied.