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Full-Text Articles in Biodiversity
Water As A Trophic Currency In Dryland Food Webs, Daniel C. Allen, Kevin E. Mccluney, Stephen R. Elser, John L. Sabo
Water As A Trophic Currency In Dryland Food Webs, Daniel C. Allen, Kevin E. Mccluney, Stephen R. Elser, John L. Sabo
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
Water is essential for life on Earth, yet little is known about how water acts as a trophic currency, a unit of value in determining species interactions in terrestrial food webs. We tested the relative importance of groundwater and surface water in riparian food webs by manipulating their availability in dryland floodplains. Primary consumers (crickets) increased in abundance in response to added surface water and groundwater (contained in moist leaves), and predators (spiders and lizards) increased in abundance in response to added surface water, in spite of the presence of a river, an abundant water source. Moreover, the relative magnitude …
Phytoplankton In Virginia Lakes And Reservoirs, Harold G. Marshall
Phytoplankton In Virginia Lakes And Reservoirs, Harold G. Marshall
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
This study involves a phytoplankton summer/autumn survey in 46 Virginia lakes and reservoirs during 2010-2012. A total of 307 taxa were identified which included several filamentous and colonial cyanabacteria in bloom concentrations. With the exception of one natural lake, the other sites sampled represent impoundments created decades ago, with the majority presently classified as meso- or eutrophic. Among the cyanobacteria were 6 known toxin producers (Anabaena circinalis, Anabaena spiroides, Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, Limnothrix redekei, and Microcystis aeruginosa). The study characterizes phytoplankton populations in these aging freshwater habitats taken from a large number …