Abstract
The ecosystem of the highly eutrophic
Lake Taihu (China) is seriously affected by recurrent
cyanobacterial blooms, but little is known about the
contribution made by cyanobacteria to the food web.
In this study, we investigated the fate of detritus of the
cyanobacterium Microcystis in the food web of Lake
Taihu through a 19-day mesocosm experiment using
stable-isotopic tracers of carbon (13C) and nitrogen
(15N). 13C- and 15N-labeled Microcystis detritus was
added to the mesocosm tanks and tracked through
different elements of the food web. We found clear
enrichment with both 13C and 15N in some zooplankton
species, including Daphnia, Diaphanosoma, and
Sinocalanus, which suggests that these zooplankters
can utilize cyanobacterial detritus as a food source.
Benthic animals, chironomid larvae and Limnodrilus,
also showed pronounced increases in 13C and 15N, but
the isotope increase was relatively smaller in the
gastropods, Radix sp. and Bellamya sp., implying that
they either exploited this food source differently or
responded slower than the zooplankton, which apparently
grew faster than the snails. Our study suggests
that cyanobacterial detritus, originating almost wholly
from the bloom-forming Microcystis, is an important
food source for both planktonic and benthic food webs
in eutrophic lakes such as Lake Taihu.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 39-46 |
Journal | Hydrobiologia |
Volume | 710 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2013 |
Keywords
- international