Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Exploring The Relationship Between Dreissenids And The Deep Chlorophyll Layer In The Laurentian Great Lakes, Lara E. Hargrave

Great Lakes Center Masters Theses

In the Laurentian Great Lakes, two invasive bivalves Dreissena polymorpha and Dreissena rostriformis bugensis have induced a number of changes, including increased water transparency, alterations in nutrient cycling, decreased chlorophyll concentrations, and changes in phytoplankton community composition and structure. These changes are likely to have implications for the deep chlorophyll layer (DCL), a feature characterized by phototrophic organisms reaching abundance at light levels far below ideal for photosynthesis. Though the impacts of D. polymorpha and D. r. bugensis in the Great Lakes have been studied for at least the last three decades, little is known about how these ecosystem engineers …