Magnitude and regulation of zooplankton community production across boreal lakes

Abstract

A major outstanding question in plankton ecology is whether the regulation of zooplankton production at the community level follows the same patterns that have been observed for individual populations. We used a novel biochemical approach to estimate in situ rates of crustacean zooplankton community production in 83 boreal lakes, with the objective of identifying the main drivers of zooplankton production at the community level across the boreal landscape. Our results show that the relationship of zooplankton community production to average community body size, total biomass, and temperature is comparable to what has been observed for individual populations. At the community level, however, there are additional drivers, including lake morphometry, and catchment properties, which further influence zooplankton production and which cannot be inferred from population level patterns.