Patterns of river plankton distribution and community structure are linked to meso- and macro-scale hydrogeomorphic attributes

Andrew F. Casper, J. Thorp, J. Wehr, A. Perrone

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Riverine zooplankton (i.e. crustaceans, rotifers, and veligers) are an important feature of large rivers worldwide. The prevailing view is that physical and hydraulic factors at the local scale largely control the zooplankton dynamics. However this view is biased by a lack of hierarchical studies that include a mesoscale-lateral or macroscale-hydrogeomorphic attributes. In an attempt to address this deficiency, we sampled in three hydrogeomorphic zones in the St. Lawrence River along 150 km of the river during a 1-wk period in August – macroscale braided, constricted, and a natural fluvial lake zones that were each sub-divided into four mesoscale hydraulic habitats (main channel, main channel border, embayments with tributaries, and embayments without tributaries). We collected zooplankton, bacterioplankton, Chlorophyl-a, UVR and nutrient (SRP, NH4, and DOC) concentration over a one-week period in late summer in the three hydrogeomorphic zones. Among are findings we noted that community structure and plankton densities are both affected by a hierarchical set of factors that include both mesoscale-lateral and macroscale-hydrogeomorphic attributes such as type of embayment, presence of tributary, distance from shore, and downstream distance from Lake Ontario.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication2014 Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting (JASM 2014)
StatePublished - 2014

Keywords

  • INHS

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