Calcium content of littoral Cladocera in three softwater lakes of the Canadian Shield |
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Authors: | Melanie Shapiera Adam Jeziorski Norman D. Yan John P. Smol |
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Affiliation: | (1) Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Lab, Department of Biology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada;(2) Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada;(3) P.O. Box 369, Minden, ON, K0M 2K0, Canada |
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Abstract: | Aqueous calcium (Ca) concentrations are declining in softwater lakes of the Canadian Shield largely because of decades of acid deposition and afforestation following timber harvesting. Populations of pelagic cladoceran taxa with high Ca requirements, especially Daphnia spp., are declining in response to reduced aqueous Ca availability. However, the Ca content, and thus the requirements of littoral cladoceran taxa are unknown; therefore, the potential vulnerability of this major component of lake ecosystems to ongoing regional Ca decline remains uncertain. Here, we identify the body Ca concentration of nine littoral cladoceran taxa collected from three lakes in the Muskoka-Haliburton region of Ontario, Canada. Ca content differed among taxonomic groups, ranging from 3.6 mg g−1 for Acroperus harpae to 23.2 mg g−1 for Disparalona spp. Perhaps surprisingly, some littoral microcrustacean taxa have Ca burdens comparable to the Ca-rich daphniids. Therefore, there may be differential responses to ongoing lake water Ca declines among taxa within littoral communities as has been observed among open-water taxa, with potential ecological repercussions for near-shore food webs. |
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