Lake Mendota is a lake with high levels of nutrient input from agriculture that has the potential to fuel blooms of phytoplankton. In 2009 the invasive spiny water flea Bythotrephes (native to Europe and Asia) was first detected in the lake. In the figure, the food web for Lake Mendota prior to the invasion is on the left, and after the invasion on the right. Bythotrephes is a more effective predator of the herbivorous zooplankton Daphnia than the native planktivorous perch (represented by the large red arrows between Bythotrephes and Daphnia), and perch consume Bythotrephes at much lower rates than they do Daphnia (represented by the small red arrows between perch and Bythotrephes). See attached image Imagine that the lake was also contaminated with heavy metals. In which taxa would the concentration of heavy metals by highest? a) phytoplankton b) daphnia c) perch d) pike and why?
Lake Mendota is a lake with high levels of nutrient input from agriculture that has the potential to fuel blooms of phytoplankton. In 2009 the invasive spiny water flea Bythotrephes (native to Europe and Asia) was first detected in the lake. In the figure, the food web for Lake Mendota prior to the invasion is on the left, and after the invasion on the right. Bythotrephes is a more effective predator of the herbivorous zooplankton Daphnia than the native planktivorous perch (represented by the large red arrows between Bythotrephes and Daphnia), and perch consume Bythotrephes at much lower rates than they do Daphnia (represented by the small red arrows between perch and Bythotrephes). See attached image
Imagine that the lake was also contaminated with heavy metals. In which taxa would the concentration of heavy metals by highest?
a) phytoplankton
b) daphnia
c) perch
d) pike
and why?


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