Stoichiometric effects of Light and nutrient balance on aquatic communities: field tests with large manipulation experiments in North America

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15H02642
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 海外学術
• Research Field: Ecology/Environment
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: Jotaro Urabe 東北大学, 生命科学研究科, 教授 (50250163)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 吉田 丈人 東京大学, 大学院総合文化研究科, 准教授 (40447321) ; 山道 真人 京都大学, 白眉センター, 特定助教 (70734804) ; 土居 秀幸 兵庫県立大学, シミュレーション学研究科, 准教授 (80608505) ; 片野 泉 奈良女子大学, 自然科学系, 准教授 (90414995)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 生物群集 / 湖沼生態系 / 操作実験 / 食物連鎖 / 地球環境変化 / 化学量論 / プランクトン / 水草

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Although biological communities are sustained by supplies of light and nutrients, it is not necessarily clear how changes in these supply rates affect biological processes and community structures. To uncover these uncertainties in lake and pond ecosystems, filed experiments were performed using outdoor experimental facilities that were able to manipulate light and nutrient supplies to whole pond ecosystems. These field experiments clarified several novel results as follows: reduced light rather increases algal abundance through the competition with submerged aquatic plants, mass transfer efficiency from producers to herbivores are regulated by not only production and predation rates but also size and stoichiometry of producers, and allochthonous input of leaf litters promotes grazing food chains rather than detritus food chains in lakes.

Free Research Field

生態学