Understanding how animals interact with their environment and influence the flow of energy and nutrients is critical to sustaining a healthy environment. Suspension-feeders are animals that feed on particles (e.g., plankton) drifting in the waters of lakes and streams. Because these particles influence water clarity and chemistry, and support aquatic food webs, suspension-feeders can act as a master switch that controls food webs, and the physical and chemical properties of freshwater ecosystems, including their utility to humans. This project contributes to understanding several important management issues for freshwater ecosystems, including eutrophication and harmful algal blooms, biological invasions, fisheries, and biofouling. Better understanding of suspension-feeders should contribute to better management in all of these areas. This project will also will contribute to better education and outreach about freshwater ecosystems for audiences ranging from amateurs and undergraduates to graduate students and professionals.
This project will propose and test theories about (i) the amount and kinds of suspension-feeders in different kinds of fresh waters; (ii) the factors that control the abundance of major types of freshwater suspension-feeders; (iii) how the activities of different kinds of suspension-feeders differ from one another; and (iv) how substituting one kind of suspension-feeder for another (as is often caused by human activities) affects ecosystem functioning. The investigators will synthesize existing data, write a book, and develop lectures to share this new synthesis with researchers and students. This project will stimulate and direct new research on both suspension-feeders and freshwater ecosystems.
