[Objectives]:
Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are currently increasing at unprecedented rates. Although this is known to cause the so-called global warming , the direct effects of CO2 on ecosystems are hardly understood. Freshwater lakes are particularly vulnerable to raised CO2, because this additional carbon will reach these lakes both through direct atmospheric exchange, and through runoff from increased terrestrial production in the surrounding watershed. This project aims to identify changes in food web and ecosystem functioning due to increased partial CO2 pressure (pCO2), from a stoichiometric perspective. Ecological stoichiometry studies the complex relationships between biota and biogeochemical cycles, using the balance between carbon and nutrients in organisms. This project aims at assessment of potential ecosystem effects by making accurate assessments of the interactions and feedbacks between mixing regime, pelagic carbon and nutrient cycles.
[Planning 2005]:
1. Implementation and testing of the experimental set-up, selection and cultivation of test organisms.
2. Developing a framework for a stoichiometric model
3. Perform Limnotron studies on gas exchange and phytoplankton competition under elevated pCO2
4. Perform zooplankton competition experiments |
