Details of Award
NERC Reference : NER/B/S/2003/00824
Ecological influences on larval chironomid communities in shallow lakes: implications for palaeolimnological interpretations.
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor P Langdon, University of Exeter, Geography
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor CD Sayer, University College London, Geography
- Grant held at:
- University of Exeter, Geography
- Science Area:
- Freshwater
- Earth
- Overall Classification:
- Freshwater
- ENRIs:
- Pollution and Waste
- Natural Resource Management
- Global Change
- Biodiversity
- Science Topics:
- Water Quality
- Pollution
- Palaeoenvironments
- Community Ecology
- Abstract:
- Chironomid (non-biting midge) larvae play a key role in food-web interactions within shallow lake ecosystems and have been shown to respond to broad scale environmental change. Monitoring chironomid larval communities can thus represent an important lake management tool with respect to ecosystem health. Remains of chironomid larvae are also well preserved in lake sediments, and thus analyses of subfossil chironomid assemblages can lead to interpretations in past changes in lake ecosystem and stability. However, although broad scale environmental inferences can be determined from studying chironomid communities (both modern and subfossil) there has been no systematic investigations into the complex relationships between larval chironomid communities and ecosystem structure: for example, assessing the specific role of plants, fish and zooplankton on larval chironomid communities. This project aims to assess the relative influence of ecosystem variables, biotic as well as physicochemical, on chironomid larvae in order to improve interpretations relating to past lake ecosystem health. We will examine both modern and subfossil larval chironomid communities in the context of an existing extensive multi-parameter dataset, and identify the ecosystem variables to which chironomid communities most strongly respond within shallow lake ecosystems.
- NERC Reference:
- NER/B/S/2003/00824
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Small Grants Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Small Grants
This grant award has a total value of £30,762
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Staff | Total - T&S | Total - Other Costs | Total - Indirect Costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| £18,930 | £2,715 | £410 | £8,708 |
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