Special Starter Grant for Tenure-Track Position

Suny College Of Environmental Science And Forestry, Syracuse NY

Investigators

Abstract

Schulz 00-00617 This project will examine the potential of plant elemental nutrient content, specifically the ratios of Carbon to Nitrogen to Phosphorus (C:N:P) to cause ecological bottlenecks for susceptible life stages of herbivores. This study is designed to examine a predicted life history constraint posed by the C:N:P content of phytoplankton on aquatic herbivores. Specifically, the study will address the questions: (1) Do the differing nutritional contents of various copepod life stages result in different C:N:P requirements during the life spans of these organisms, and are stages requiring high phosphorus content food a potential bottleneck in the development of copepod populations?; and (2) Can selective feeding by copepods, superior to that of other planktonic taxa, allow these organisms to consume high quality food particles and mitigate nutrient imbalances? Results will be broadly applicable in a biogeographic sense (copepods are very cosmopolitan, inhabiting arctic, temperate, and tropical lakes, as well as oceans) and in a life history comparison with other organisms, such as insects, for which food quality has been incorporated into optimal foraging models.