Event Title
Food Webs and Rivers: Importance of Contiguous Habitat Interactions
Presentation Type
Oral and/or Visual Presentation
Presenter Major(s)
Biology
Mentor Information
Eric Snyder
Department
Biology
Location
Kirkhof Center 2201
Start Date
11-4-2012 10:00 AM
Keywords
Environment
Abstract
The focus of this project was to more fully understand and document the dynamic interactions and flow of energy between stream and riparian zones in wetland, cedar (Cedrus spp.), and alder (Alnus spp.) dominated reaches. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen measured food web structure and estimated energy transfer rates. Habitat comparison and characterization show that many of the chemical characteristics of each reach are fairly uniform throughout each reach. Amongst all sites, strong relationships as indicated by stable isotope analysis showed trophic interactions between organic matter to terrestrial macroinvertebrates and then to fish populations. Results did not support our initial hypotheses concerning the differences between study reaches, evidence of strong interactions between aquatic and terrestrial riparian zone was found. Thus the link between aquatic and terrestrial energy sources was shown to be quite strong in all three reaches, including the wetland-dominated reach.
Food Webs and Rivers: Importance of Contiguous Habitat Interactions
Kirkhof Center 2201
The focus of this project was to more fully understand and document the dynamic interactions and flow of energy between stream and riparian zones in wetland, cedar (Cedrus spp.), and alder (Alnus spp.) dominated reaches. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen measured food web structure and estimated energy transfer rates. Habitat comparison and characterization show that many of the chemical characteristics of each reach are fairly uniform throughout each reach. Amongst all sites, strong relationships as indicated by stable isotope analysis showed trophic interactions between organic matter to terrestrial macroinvertebrates and then to fish populations. Results did not support our initial hypotheses concerning the differences between study reaches, evidence of strong interactions between aquatic and terrestrial riparian zone was found. Thus the link between aquatic and terrestrial energy sources was shown to be quite strong in all three reaches, including the wetland-dominated reach.