Levins, Stephanie (2012)
Diel Migration Patterns of Daphnia in a Small Manmade Lake.
Bachelor of Science, Harvey Mudd College, Biology.
Advisor: Stephen Adolph.
For my senior research, I tested whether the Daphnia in pHake Lake practice either diel vertical or diel horizontal migration. I also analyzed seasonal changes and temperature records to determine if either had an effect on migration. In order to test these hypotheses, I used a plankton net to collect eight paired day and night samples every other week from October to March. The samples were taken throughout the lake, including areas near shore and near the center, as well as shallow and deep sections of water. Finally I compared the abundance of Daphnia between day and night samples to determine if there was a significant shift in abundance, either vertically or horizontally, during a particular season or during the entirety of my sampling period. This data will help provide insight into small lake ecosystems and food webs.