Investigation of ecological food webs on windthrow areas of the Bavarian Forest National Park by means of stable isotope analysis
Funding: Nationalpark Bayerischer Wald
From 07/2018 to 12/2018
Principal Investigator: Gerhard Gebauer
In 2017, macrozoobenthos sampling was carried out in streams and hand catches were made on the respective banks on areas of the Bavarian Forest National Park. Organisms were specifically collected on forest areas cleared of dead or diseased trees and left as well as intact spruce-dominated forest areas. The present research project aims to analyze the components of the aquatic and terrestrial food webs and to highlight the differences between the different plots (cleared, left and intact). To examine the aquatic and terrestrial food web components, the captured, preserved organisms will be examined based on their isotopic signature. Using stable isotope analysis (mass spectrometry), carbon and nitrogen isotope contents will be used to construct the corresponding food webs of the different forest patches.