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Jason Albritton Jason is a biology major from Paducah, KY. The majority of freshwater zooplankton exist as diapausing eggs in sediment for much of the year. This important aspect of their life histories allows them to survive extreme environmental conditions, and then hatch following species-specific environmental cues. For example, many eggs can endure consistent wetting and drying cycles in diapause and then hatch when conditions are favorable. It is an interesting aspect of their life cycle that results in very complex species interactions. The area of study, a reservoir littoral zone, introduces many factors that have not been adequately examined in other studies. The management of water levels within the reservoir results in large water level fluctuations throughout the year, thus creating a seasonal wetting and drying cycle on large areas of land (littoral zone). This littoral zone which is habitat for many zooplankton species during times of inundation has become an egg bank for their diapausing forms. These large fluctuations may influence competition and predation, allowing species to survive through diapause that would not have in a permanent lake ecosystem. Furthermore, permanent lakes and ponds experience water level cycles that occur opposite of reservoirs, which has an unknown effect on diapausing. These phenomenon have prompted a few primary questions that my research will attempt to answer: 1. What environmental cues cause diapausing eggs tohatch? 2. Which species require which environmental cues? 3. Is there a notable difference in hatching success between permanently wet sediment, seasonally wet sediment, and sediment that may be inundated only annually or bi-annually? 4. Does depth of eggs in the sediment affect their hatching success? Through a variety of manipulations to eggs in culture I will attempt to answer these fundamental questions.
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