Supplementary Material for Chapter 13

Exploring Trophic Cascades in Lake Food Webs

with a Spreadsheet Model
This chapter is published as:
Emery KA, Gephart JA, Wilkinson GM, Besterman AF, Pace ML. 2016. Exploring
trophic cascades in lake food webs with a spreadsheet model. In: Byrne L (ed)
Learner-Centered Teaching Activities for Environmental and Sustainability
Studies. Springer, New York. DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-28543-6_13
Kyle A. Emery, Jessica A. Gephart, Grace M. Wilkinson, Alice F. Besterman,
Michael L. Pace
Department of Environmental Science, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
USA
Corresponding Author Email: kae2n@virginia.edu

This file contains the following supplementary material:

A: Instructor Guide
beginning on p. 1
This chapter also has the following supplementary material, available on the
chapters website:
B: Student worksheet
C: Glossary
D: Food web spreadsheet model (Excel file)
E: Introductory presentation slides

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Supplementary Material A: Trophic Cascade Simulation Instructor Guide

Instructor Preparation:

Download and review the slide presentation (Electronic Supplementary Material (ESM)
E) which provides background information, an example scenario for the model, and
student instructions for completing the modeling exercise. The presentation can be edited
or augmented to meet the instructors needs.
The instructor should become familiar with the model by exploring the four different
scenarios (more information on the model is provided below). For each scenario, enter
numbers into the yellow boxes at the low, medium and high end of the possible range
(provided in the file to the right of the yellow box) and observe the effects of these
changes on the output graphs.
Instructors should understand what drives the changes in the output graphs:
o The first two scenarios represent top-down control. These activities in these two
scenarios cause cascading effects down the food chain, changing resource
availability for lower consumers and altering the biomass of each lower consumer.
It is important to note the alternating effect on subsequent trophic level biomass
in the top-down control scenarios.
Scenario 1 is the removal of the top predator due to overfishing.
Scenario 2 is the addition of a top predator to promote recreational fishing.
o The last two scenarios represent bottom-up control. These two activities cause
effects that reverberate up the food chain by altering resource availability for
higher consumers.
Scenario 3 is eutrophication due to farm nutrient runoff in the watershed.
In this scenario, students should observe the threshold upon which top
predator biomass declines (fish kill) as the eutrophication event leads to
reduced oxygen in the water.
Scenario 4 is removal of phytoplankton due to the introduction of an
invasive species such as a zebra mussel.
The model being manipulated in the scenarios described above is based on the biomass
relationships in Figure 1 of Carpenter et al. (1985), which are modeled from a food web
manipulation to induce a trophic cascade in a lake. Note that the equations used to
produce the graphs are hidden in a table behind the graphs in the Excel file.
o The unit of measure for all trophic levels is biomass (e.g. kilograms of piscivores
in the lake).
o As an example, the system of equations for each trophic level in scenario 1 are:

Trophic Level
Piscivore biomass
Planktivore biomass
Zooplankton biomass
Phytoplankton biomass

Equation
(user input value from cell H26/H27)
1 +100) 5
= ( PiscivorePage
biomass
= Piscivore biomass 25
= ( Piscivore biomass +100) 100

o The scaling factors (5 for planktivores, 25 for zooplankton, and 100 for
phytoplankton) create the trophic pyramid shape.
o The negative sign for planktivores and phytoplankton create the alternating
biomass response seen in Figure 1 of Carpenter et al. (1985).

Example of how to manipulate the Excel file to run the model:

1) The scenario 1 graph (outlined in red) and initial piscivore biomass (outlined in blue)
should look like the screenshot copied below.
a. Note that the initial value (outlined in green) is indicated in the scenario to help
the user return to starting conditions if needed.
b. The range of potential input values (outlined in orange) are also provided. These
are the values that should be entered in the piscivore biomass input box (blue
outline around yellow box, cells H26/H27).

2) The scenario as described in the worksheet instructs the user to enter a piscivore biomass
value into cells H26/H27 (blue box in figure above and below) that reflects the removal
of piscivores from the system due to over fishing.
a. In the example below, the user input the value 20 in the piscivore biomass box
(blue outline) and hit the Enter key.
b. The graph changes to reflect the new piscivore biomass (red arrows). The blue
bars on the figure are the initial biomass (when piscivore biomass= 50) and the
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yellow bars have shifted to the new biomass of each trophic level resulting from
the removal of the top predator.

In Class Instruction:

Present the background information (see slides 1-12 and the glossary in ESM-D and E).
The slides can be modified to match the students background and achieve the
instructional goals for the course.
Introduce the activity and present the four simulation scenarios. A demonstration of how
to use the model is also included (slides 13-14).
There are three possible formats for guiding the students through the activity.
o 1. The class completes the activity together.
The instructor should manipulate the values in the Excel spreadsheet and
walk through the scenarios with the students.
In this format, we recommend providing the students with the worksheet
to record their hypotheses and observations.
o 2. Students complete the activity in class individually or in small groups.
After introducing the activity and scenarios in the lecture, the students
should break into small groups to complete the simulation activity.
Have students download the model file ESM-D) and save it to the desktop
or a working directory.
We recommend supplying the worksheet for students to individually
record their hypotheses and observations, possibly to be turned in for
credit. Instructors may delete or ignore the Observations and
Hypotheses boxes in the Excel file or choose to have the students use
them and remove these sections from the worksheet.

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 Consider deleting the Follow Up question from the presentation (slides 16,
18, 20, 22) from the power point presentation and just present the
scenarios (slides 15, 17, 19, 21).
o 3. The students complete the activity outside of class
After introducing the activity and scenarios in the lecture, the students can
be assigned the activity and follow up questions to complete on their own
time or in class.
Have students download the model file (ESM-D) and save it to the
desktop or a working directory.
In this format students can either complete the assignment within the
Excel document by typing hypotheses and observations or be provided
with the worksheet to complete.
Consider deleting the Follow Up question from the presentation (slides 16,
18, 20, 22) from the power point presentation and just present the
scenarios (slides 15, 17, 19, 21).

Synthesis and Follow Up:

The follow up questions listed after each scenario in the worksheet (and on slides 16, 18,
20, 22) should be answered as a part of the activity.
The activity synthesis questions and extension synthesis questions listed on the worksheet
can be assigned as homework or used as exam questions in the course.
Real world examples of the four scenarios (Journal articles given below. News articles
may be found online):
o Removal of top-predator: Wolves removed from Yellowstone National Park
(Ripple and Beschta 2012), Sea otters and kelp forests (Wilmers et al. 2012)
o Addition of top-predator: Wolves reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park
(Ripple and Beschta 2012), Nile perch in Lake Victoria (Goldschmidt et al. 1993)
o Bottom-up: Gulf of Mexico dead zone (Dodds 2006), Eutrophication in Lake
Erie, USA (Kane et al. 2014) and Lake Taihu, China (Xu et al. 2010)
o Invasive Species: Zebra mussels in the Hudson River (Caraco et al. 1997),
Burmese python in the Florida Everglades (Dorcas et al. 2012)

Additional References
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Caraco, N.F. et al. 1997. Zebra mussel invasion in a large, turbid river: phytoplankton response
to increased grazing. Ecology. 78: 588-602.
Dodds, W.K. 2006. Nutrients and the dead zone: the link between nutrient ratios and dissolved
oxygen in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 4:
211-217.
Dorcas, M.E. et al. 2012. Severe mammal declines coincide with proliferation of invasive
Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences of the United States of America. 109: 2418-2422.
Goldschmidt, T. et al. 1993. Cascading effects of the introduced Nile perch on the
detritivorous/phytoplanktivorous species in the sublittoral areas of Lake Victoria.
Conservation Biology. 7: 686-700.
Kane, D.D. et al. 2014. Re-eutrophication of Lake Erie: correlations between tributary nutrient
loads and phytoplankton biomass. Journal of Great Lakes Research. 40: 496-501.
Ripple, W.J. and Beschta, R.L. 2012. Trophic cascades in Yellowstone: the first 15 years after
wolf reintroduction. Biological Conservation 145: 205-213.
Wilmers, C.C. et al. 2012. Do trophic cascades affect the storage and flux of atmospheric
carbon? An analysis of sea otters and kelp forests. Frontiers in Ecology and the
Environment. 10: 409-415.
Xu, H. et al. 2010. Nitrogen and phosphorus inputs control phytoplankton growth in eutrophic
Lake Taihu, China. Limnology and Oceanography. 55: 420-432.

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