Jd. Stockwell et Oe. Johannsson, TEMPERATURE-DEPENDENT ALLOMETRIC MODELS TO ESTIMATE ZOOPLANKTON PRODUCTION IN TEMPERATE FRESH-WATER LAKES, Canadian journal of fisheries and aquatic sciences, 54(10), 1997, pp. 2350-2360
Empirical relationships between body size and temperature, and daily P
IE of temperate freshwater zooplankton species were derived from the l
iterature. Body size explained 81% of the variation in daily PIE of zo
oplankton at temperatures less than or equal to 10 degrees C and 48% a
t temperatures >10 degrees C. The two relationships did not differ in
slope but significantly differed in elevation. The regression models w
ere then applied to zooplankton samples collected from a midlake stati
on in Lake Ontario to predict zooplankton seasonal production. Product
ion estimates from the regression models, when compared with estimates
from the egg ratio method for the same data set, were similar for cla
doceran species, four and 10 times higher for two copepod species, and
two times higher for total zooplankton production. In general, these
differences are within the range expected based on previous studies th
at compared different production models. The regression models can pro
vide quick, independent estimates of zooplankton production to complem
ent estimates based on traditional, species-specific methods. Furtherm
ore, the models can be used in conjunction with automated synoptic ins
truments, such as optical plankton counters and temperature probes, to
provide production estimates that better represent large, complex sys
tems such as the Great Lakes.