Experimental
Ecosystems
By observing the responses of zooplankton and algae under controlled experimental conditions the Ecosystem Services team will develop models of food web dynamics that allow us to better manage aquatic ecosystems challenged by rapid environmental change.
Goal
Establish a quantitative link between evolution and ecosystem services to enhance the management of Canada's freshwater resources.
Using the unique facilities at the University of Guelph (The Limnotron and Aqualab) and the University of McGill (LEAP) , the Ecosystem Services team are testing how aquatic communities respond to exposure to high temperature, fertilizer addition, and pesticide exposure at different spatial and temporal scales.
Scroll down to find out more about each project.
Projects
Individual Fitness
Daily tracking of individual growth, survival, and reproduction under controlled conditions.
Current research is looking at:
Variation in Daphnia fitness in relation to climate change and food availability.
How does climate change, food availability, and pesticide exposure affect Daphnia movement?
Matrix projection models to estimate demographic parameters for the population.
Food Web
Dynamics
Testing models of the effect of climate change, nutrient loading, and pesticide exposure on food web dynamics.
Current research is looking at:
Daphnia population dynamics in relation to environmental DNA.
Effects of temperature and nutrient loading on Daphnia and green algae.
The structure of plankton populations over space and time.
Structured models of Daphnia populations in relation to environmental perturbations.
Competition between cyanobacteria and green algae in relation to climate change and nutrient loading.
Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics
Can rapid evolutionary change rescue ecosystems from the effects of climate change, nutrient loading, and pesticides?
Future research will look at:
