Heatwave-mediated decreases in phytoplankton quality negatively affect zooplankton productivity

Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of extreme temperature events. The effect of heatwaves on phytoplankton is of particular concern because they are a key source of C, N, P, and essential fatty acids to aquatic ecosystems. Laboratory studies have demonstrated that phytoplankton grown at warmer temperatures are a lower-quality food source, but how heatwaves affect phytoplankton quality at the community scale is currently unclear.
Here we address this knowledge gap by growing natural assemblages of freshwater phytoplankton at ‘ambient’, ‘constant warming’, or ‘heatwave’ conditions. We next fed these phytoplankton communities to natural assemblages of zooplankton to test the prediction that zooplankton that consume heatwave-exposed phytoplankton will exhibit reductions in biomass.
Our experiment demonstrated that zooplankton that consumed ‘heatwave’ phytoplankton attained lower community biomass than those fed ‘constant warming’ or ‘ambient’ phytoplankton. Additionally, ..., The study was a laboratory experiment using wild-caught phytoplankton and zooplankton communities. All data were collected and analyzed by the authors except that phytoplankton were identified by Biologica Environmental Services in Victoria British Columbia, Canada. Phytoplankton taxonomy data were analyzed by the authors. , , # Heatwave-mediated decreases in phytoplankton quality negatively affect zooplankton productivity

**Data file: Kim-et-al-func-ecol-heatwave-zoop-algae-data-dryad.csv**

Associated figures from the manuscript: Figures 2-4, 5a, 6-8, S2a,b, S4-S7

Column Name descriptions:

* bucket  - unit of replication
* sampling_event – phytoplankton were sampled three times (1, 2, 3). A subsample of zooplankton was counted and identified at each sampling event but other zooplankton traits were taken on sampling event 3. Phytoplankton phosphorus was sampled once (3).   
* period - same as sampling_event except describes approximately when during the experiment the samples were taken
* treatment – three algal temperature treatments were used: Heatwave, Warm, and Ambient
* total.zoop – total number of zooplankton in the subsample
* zoop.dry.sample.weight.mg – total dry mass of all of the zooplankton in the bucket at the end of the experiment
* phyto.dry.mass.mg.per.mL – dry mass of the p...