Question

Based solely on the data provided in the table below, identify two key factors influencing zooplankton species richness in these North American freshwater lakes.

Lake	Surface Area (in hectares)	Zooplankton species
Teal	46	Polyphemus pediculus, Daphnia catawba, Daphnia magna, Holopedium gibberum, Mesocyclops edax, Keratella taurocephala, Kellicotia longispinus, Eucyclops agilis
Placid	7665	Bythotrephes longimanus, Polyphemus pediculus, Daphnia catawba, Daphnia magna, Holopedium gibberum, Mesocyclops albidus, Keratella taurocephala, Kellicotia longispinus, Eucyclops agilis
Elbow	6988	Leptodora kindtii, Polyphemus pediculus, Daphnia catawba, Daphnia magna, Daphnia thorata, Diaphanosoma bergei, Holopedium gibberum, Mesocyclops edax, Keratella taurocephala, Keratella cochlearis, Kellicotia longispinus, Eucyclops agilis, Tropocyclops prasinus
Jackknife	529	Leptodora kindtii, Daphnia catawba, Daphnia thorata, Diaphanosoma bergei, Holopedium gibberum, Mesocyclops edax, Keratella taurocephala, Keratella cochlearis, Kellicotia longispinus, Tropocyclops prasinus
Otter	57	Bythotrephes longimanus, Daphnia catawba, Holopedium gibberum, Mesocyclops edax, Keratella taurocephala
Crystal	669	Bythotrephes longimanus, Daphnia thorata, Diaphanosoma bergei, Holopedium gibberum, Mesocyclops edax, Keratella cochlearis, Tropocyclops prasinus

Answer 1

Lakes abound in North America.The composition and density of zooplankton of the epicontinental aquatic ecosystems are controlled by biotic and abiotic variables.

Among the biotic factors, two prominent ones are the availability of food resources and predation

And among the abiotic factors, the key factors include the size of the lake beds, environmental heterogeneity, temperature, pH.The size of water bodies is a predictor of the number of zooplankton species since; in general, larger lakes may have a greater diversity of habitats, implying that they may be occupied by a larger number of species