Environmental Predictors of Zooplankton Biodiversity Across a Series of Polymictic Reservoirs

Zooplankton are an important part of lentic food webs because they connect photoautotrophic plankton to higher trophic levels. Past studies in 2016 and 2017 determined that zooplankton biodiversity is different across a polymictic reservoir series in Salem County NJ. In the study presented here, we confirmed a similar zooplankton biodiversity pattern in 2018 and we determine which physicochemical variables were good predictors of zooplankton biodiversity. Our results indicate that there are many physicochemical variables that are reliable predictors of zooplankton biodiversity across this polymictic reservoir series. Additional predictor variables are being developed to help us understand which environmental variables are most influential on zooplankton biodiversity and the influence of human land-use