Journal of Plankton Research Vol.24 no.6 pp.601-616, 2002
© Oxford University Press 2002
Influence of catchment deforestationby logging and natural forest fires on crustacean community size structure in lakes of the Eastern Boreal Canadian forest
Groupe De Recherche Interuniversitaire En Limnologie Et En Environnement Aquatique (gril), Département De Sciences Biologiques, Université De Montréal, C.P. 6128, SucC. Centre-Ville, Montréal, Qc, H3c 3j7 and 1 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Ab, T6g 2e9, Canada
patoinea{at}colba.net
Logging and wildfires are important perturbation factors of the Canadian Boreal forest, but their effects on aquatic communities remain largely unknown. Here, we assess the ecological effects of logging and wildfires on aquatic communities, based on changes in crustacean zooplankton size spectra among logged, burnt and unperturbed lakes of the Canadian Precambrian Boreal Shield. A laboratory version of the Optical Particle Counter (OPC-1L) was used to establish the crustacean size spectra of zooplankton samples collected in 38 lakes characterized by different catchment conditions: logged in 1995 (nine ‘logged' lakes); burnt in 1995 (nine ‘burnt' lakes); left unperturbed over the past 70 years (20 reference lakes). Size spectra are characterized by crustacean biovolume in 22 size classes, from 200–300 µm equivalent spherical diameter (ESD) to 2300–2400 µm ESD. Size spectra in logged and burnt lakes were on average shifted towards larger size classes relative to reference lakes, although the reference and burnt groups of lakes were the only pair statistically different from one another (at 
= 5%). As a result, biovolume of crustacean organisms >1100 µm ESD in burnt lakes was on average higher by 366 and 388%, respectively, 1 and 2 years following catchment perturbations relative to reference lakes. Among a set of 15 water quality variables and 14 fish species density variables, potassium concentration and white sucker density were the most important environmental correlates of crustacean size structure.
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