Research (Français)

Climatic conditions characterising the boreal forest generates high exportations of terrestrial matter to aquatic ecosystems. This matter influences physic-chemical parameters and trophic dynamics within lakes. Zooplankton arouses interest for its key position in aquatic food webs as well as is its implication in ecosystem productivity. A modification in terrestrial inputs to aquatics systems can have an incidence on zooplankton populations. Rotifers can be found in all fresh water ecosystems and play a role in the recirculation of matter from the microbial loop. However, knowledge on their distribution as well as their implication in fresh water trophic dynamics and the carbon cycle is still limited. This project has for main objective to characterise rotifer populations in twenty-two boreal lakes and aims to study species distribution patterns and determine which factor best explains this distribution, with an emphasis on carbon related variables.

Communication

Gauthier D.-A., Pinel-Alloul B., Rautio M. (2014) Contribution of rotifers in the transfer of allochthonous carbon to higher trophic levels in boreal lakes. 24^th GRIL symposium, Saint-Hippolyte, Québec, Canada, Feb. 2014. Poster presentation.