Complex Interactions in Lake Communities

ISBN-13: 9781461283720 / Angielski / Miękka / 2011 / 283 str.

Stephen R. Carpenter

Opis

In its statutory authority (National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended), the NSF is directed to both initiate and support basic scientific research. In its Ecology Program, one mode of initiating research is to en courage the development of new ideas through advisory workshops. The NSF is specifically directed to strengthen our nation's research potential. In addition, stimulating new approaches to research will continue to be prominent in the coming years as federal attention is given to increasing the innovativeness and competitiveness of the U. S. in science and engineering. A decision to initiate a workshop does not arise de novo in the Ecology Program. Rather, it emerges from panel discussions, conversations with in vestigators at meetings or on the phone, and from discussions between pro gram officers in the Division of Biotic Systems and Resources. This workshop was developed to provide advice to the NSF and the lim nological community. Some NSF perceptions on future funding for ecolog ical research on lake communities are presented here. Researchers often mentioned a paucity of innovative lake ecology at the community level. This perception was accompanied by a certain frustration since lakes probably have the best empirical data base of any natural environment and should continue to lead in the development of ecological concepts. Members of NSF advisory panels sometimes expressed similar concerns during consid eration of proposals for lake research."

Spis treści

1 Introduction.- Patterns and Surprises in Lake Food Webs.- 2 Trophic Dynamics and Development of Freshwater Pelagic Food Webs.- 3 Complex Interactions in Oligotrophic Lake Food Webs: Responses to Nutrient Enrichment.- 4 Predator Regulation and Primary Production Along the Productivity Gradient of Temperate Lake Ecosystems.- Microbial Links to the Classical Food Web.- 5 Microbial Food Webs in Freshwater Planktonic Ecosystems.- 6 From Picoplankton to Fish: Complex Interactions in the Great Lakes.- Multiple Causality and Temporal Pattern in Lake Ecosystems.- 7 Temporal Variation in Regulation of Production in a Pelagic Food Web Model.- 8 Transmission of Variance Through Lake Food Webs.- Reports from Group Discussions.- 9 Goals of the Discussion Groups.- 10 Food Web Interactions in Lakes.- 11 Size-Structured Interactions in Lake Communities.- 12 Spatial Heterogeneity and Habitat Interactions in Lake Communities.- 13 Microbial Interactions in Lake Food Webs.- 14 Scale in the Design and Interpretation of Aquatic Community Research.- Synthesis.- 15 Goals of the Synthesis Groups.- 16 Epistemology, Experiments, and Pragmatism.