Planktonic Community Ecology: A Test of Hypotheses in a Large Temperate River

9307225调节大河中生物群落的索普因子知之甚少，这既是因为对大河的总体研究很少(占河流研究的4%)，也是因为缺乏研究这些生态系统的实验技术。PI的假设认为，俄亥俄河中的河流浮游生物或浮游藻类在河流流量和浑浊度高的时期(第一阶段)受到物理控制，在一年中的其他时间相对受到生物控制(第二阶段)。这项研究将在第一阶段和第二阶段通过翡翠闪光和轮虫与桡足类动物的相互作用来实验检验脊椎动物浮游的重要性。为了做到这一点，PI将在俄亥俄河的四个漂流实验中使用独特的“Potamocorals”(就地漂浮的Nitex围栏)。在这些研究期间，将收集数据以测试这些围栏相对于环境条件的有效性。钾肥对基础研究和应用研究都是有用的，例如能源副产品对河流浮游生物的影响。此外，这项研究还将增加关于不同干扰剂对大河流系统生物多样性影响的迫切需要的数据。***

9307225 Thorp Factors regulating biotic communities in large rivers are poorly known both because of the dearth of research on large rivers in general (4% of stream studies) and because of the lack of experimental techniques to study these ecosystems. The PI's hypothesize that riverine plankton, or potamoplankton, in the Ohio River are physically controlled during period of high river discharge and turbidity (Phase I) and relatively biologically controlled at other times of the year (Phase II). This research will examine experimentally the importance of vertebrate planktivory by emerald shiners and rotifer-copepod interactions in Phases I and II. To do so, the PI's will employ unique "potamocorrals" (in situ floating nitex enclosures) in four drift experiments in the Ohio River. During these studies, data will be collected to test the efficacy of these enclosures relative to ambient conditions. %%% Potamocorrals should prove useful for both basic and applied research, such as the effects of energy byproducts on riverine plankton. Also, this research will add much needed data on the effects of different disturbance agents on the biodiversity of large river systems. ***