The impact of short-term exposure to UV-B radiation on zooplankton communities in north temperate lakes

We exposed natural zooplankton communities to in situ levelsof sunlight for 3 days at different depths in two north temperatelakes: one oligotrophic and one eutrophic. Natural fluxes ofUV-B radiation (280–320 nm) were manipulated with cutofffilters (Mylar®). There was substantial mortality in someof the zooplankton exposed to UV-B in the oligotrophic lake,but not in the eutrophic lake. Reproduction of Diaptomus wassuppressed by UV-B down to 6 m in the oligotrophic lake. Thesedata suggest that natural levels of UV-B radiation in the oligotrophiclake may prevent some species of zooplankton from continuouslyexploiting the warm surface waters during summer stratification.In the more eutrophic lake, UV-B is a less important constraintin the vertical distribution of zooplankton. These differencesin the responses of zooplankton to natural UV-B radiation inlakes may alter their ecological interactions with food resources,predators and other environmental variables in the water column. ¹Present address: Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Centro RegionalUniversitario Bariloche, CC 1336, (8400) Bariloche, Argentina ²Present address: National Academy of Engineering, 2101 ConstitutionAvenue, NW, Washington, DC 20418, USA