Freshwater mesocosm experiment 2012 in Vancouver, Canada on effects of increased temperature and food chain length on oxygen fluxes and plankton community structure

Yet for local communities, temperature dependent trophic interactions may dominate effects of warming. We tested the hypothesis that food chain length modifies the temperature-dependence of ecosystem fluxes and community structure.

In a multi-generation aquatic food web experiment, increasing temperature strengthened a trophic cascade, altering the effect of temperature on estimated mass-corrected ecosystem fluxes. Compared to consumer-free and 3-level food chains, grazer-algae (2-level) food chains responded most strongly to the temperature gradient. Temperature altered community structure, shifting species composition and reducing zooplankton density and body size.