THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2006

JASPER, AB,

the tzhugh 23

Species Theses: Hard boiled sea monkeys dont taste very good
lakes start to warm up, we might see Daphnia shift their reproductive cycles to be more numerous earlier on in the season. Daphnia is the main consumer in this ecosystem, says Weidman. If their seasonal abundance pattern changes at a different rate from their main food source (algae), then that link in the food web is broken. This could lead to cascading effects if there isnt enough algae earlier in the season when the Daphnia population explodes, the Daphnia will starve, and the fish and invertebrates that feed on them will go hungry too. In turn, this could affect bird and mammal populations. Weidman is also collaborating with Will Hobbs, a fellow Ph.D. student at the University of Alberta, but from the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Hobbs is taking sediment cores from the lake bottoms. They hold bits of dead algae from past years, much like digging down in the earth exposes fossils from millennia gone by. Hell then be examining the cores to see how algae populations have changed with climatic fluctuations in the past. By combining this information with historical data from lakes in Banff National Park, Weidman and Hobbs hope to get a picture of how algae have previously responded to warming and cooling trends, giving an indication of what might occur if current climate trends continue. This will hopefully add another piece to the puzzle of how climate change may affect all levels of food production and consumption. The final phase of the project, beginning in 2007, involves throwing a bunch of plastic bags in pristine alpine lakes. But dont worry! Hes got a research permit. Weidman and his team will be filling large bags with representative invertebrate populations, placing them in a lake in Banff National Park, and manipulating nearby glacial streams to cool down the areas where the bags are floating. Were trying to find a way to work with nature, says Weidman. Of course, this cooling is the opposite effect from what we would expect with climate change. Weidman admits that its not ideal, but notes that it would be very difficult to generate heat in an alpine environment. This is similar to experiments that were done to look at the impact of the shrinking ozone layer, he says. It was tough to create ultraviolet light in a field setting, but by removing it researchers were able to see what happened in its absence. Related experiments using similar techniques have cooled down plankton in shallow European lakes, but Weidmans is the first study to look at a full community in an alpine aquatic environment. While all of these experiments are interesting, they may seem somewhat esoteric to Uncle Jim-Bob. We always hear on the national news about some of the large issues, like less ice in the Arctic Ocean or the potential for more frequent severe hurricanes. Weidman believes that its also important to study some of the finer-scale effects of climate change. Because of the cascading effects, even something as seemingly minor as a change in plankton abundance in the high alpine could seriously affect the ecosystem and everything in it. Including your uncle.

Lucas Habib, SCIENCE GUY

Climate change is a hot topic these days. A few years ago, it was the domain of scientists and environmentalists. Today though, even your Uncle Jim-Bob from Olds is familiar with the term and the issues associated with it.well, some of them at least. So now that theyve broken through and reached the public consciousness, scientists are turning to studying the potential effects of climate change on a wide variety of organisms, and what the future might have in store for them. Paul Weidman, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta, is currently working on a broad study on how climate change may affect alpine lakes and the tiny plankton organisms within. For the last two summers (and at least one more to come), he has been hiking and flying to high alpine lakes in Albertas national parks including Geraldine Lakes and Summit Lakes here in Jasper National Park. Alpine lakes are especially sensitive to climate change, says Weidman, because there is a very small ice-free time window for species living in them to complete their life cycles. The first question Weidman is examining is how plankton life cycles differ in alpine versus prairie lakes. Weidman has found that in high alpine lakes, many species such as the lovable Daphnia (perhaps better known as sea monkeys) reach their peak abundance in late fall. Compare this to prairie lakes, where these animals are most numerous in the spring. If alpine

A little cold for a boat ride: Paul Weidman samples invertebrates in the uppermost Geraldine Lake. LUCAS HABIB PHOTO Monkey sea, monkey do: Species of the genus Daphnia are familiar to anyone who has taken an introductory university biology class. SUBMITTED PHOTO

Moonlight Madness 24
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