Effect of carbon addition on trophic interactions

I have tested how a three week continuous addition of dissolved organic carbon (sugar cane) at low concentration (0.5 mg/L) may affect the food web and nutrient (N, P) cycling in a small first order stream in the Scottish highlands. I have been able to trace the added carbon to demonstrate the reciprocal carbon exchange between bacteria and photosynthesisers and estimate the role of allochthony in macroinvertebrate diet using a before and after control impact experimental design - see Demars et al 2020 Ecological Monographs; Demars et al 2021 Ecosystems.

Trophic transfer efficiency

I have tested the effect of temperature on the trophic transfer efficiency of energy and carbon from light availability to gross primary production, invertebrate secondary production and trout top predator production, using the model ecosystem of Hengill, Iceland. The analysis was based on hard won data by collaborators and is now published as part of a study investigating trout production along the natural thermal gradient encountered in Hengill (4-25°C) - see O'Gorman et al 2016 Global Change Biology.