The Trophic Cascade in Lakes

Description

Fluctuations in fish populations in lakes can cascade through food webs to alter nutrient cycling, algal biomass and primary production. Trophic cascades may interact with nutrients and physical factors to explain most of the variance in lake ecosystem process rates. In this book, a multidisciplinary research team tests this idea by manipulating whole lakes experimentally, and coordinating this with palaeolimnological studies, simulation modelling, and small-scale enclosure experiments. Consequences of predator-prey interactions, behavioural responses of fishes, diel vertical migration of zooplankton, plankton community change, primary production, nutrient cycling and microbial processes are described. Palaeolimnological techniques enable the reconstruction of trophic interactions from past decades. Prospects for analysing the interaction of food web structure and nutrient input in lakes are explored.

"I found the book to be clearly written, and appropriate for its target audience, researchers in ecology and resource management...The breadth of approaches brought to bear in the study is extremely impressive...I recommend this book as a fine case history of a pluralistic approach to an important ecological issue." Tim Wootton, Ecology "State-of-the-art theory and methods in a variety of ecological and aquatic disciplines are brought together and integrated. Many ecologists will be intrigued by the statistical approaches applied throughout the book...resource managers will find important and useful lessons about ecosystem management in practice." Brett Johnson, Fisheries Review "This book is of interest to workers in ecology, aquatic ecology, resource management, and limnology." Environment International