Other researchers have documented changes in two levels of a food web and most food webs support four or five trophic levels. What the changes to each level of the food web will ultimately mean is still unclear, however. One basic question is whether any of the trophic levels will adapt and change along with the changes in the atmosphere and plants. Karowe says the cabbage plant family is typical of a large number of food plants in the way it uses carbon dioxide. He also is examining plants that interact with nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil.
Legumes are typical of that type of plant.
He reports initial studies show a less clear-cut impact of high carbon dioxide levels on legumes and on caterpillars of the suffer butterfly, which feed on legumes. Karowe notes that his research is only related to global warming by the fact that he is studying one of the major components contributing to global warming. Global warming is an indirect result of increased levels of carbon dioxide and other gases such as methane and chlorofluorocarbons. But the carbon dioxide level by itself, I believe, could have a strong impact on the quality and quantity of food. Calif. Gordon Research Conferences are a series of international meetings convened on highly specialized topics to discuss the research frontiers of the biological, chemical and physical sciences.