Paleolimnological Evidence of Food Web Dynamics in Lake Mendota

Paleolimnological techniques have been extensively used in reconstructing vegetation dynamics, biogeochemical processes, and lake productivity (Frey 1986). More recently, this approach has been employed in reconstructing limnetic food webs (Kerfoot 1974; Kerfoot and Sih 1987; Leavitt et al. 1989). Its merits include an integrated view of trophic interactions derived from the relative abundance, size, and species composition of the pelagic zooplantkon. In addition, the deposition rate of zooplantkon fossils provides quantitive estimates of secondary production as an indicator of system productivity.