Summer zooplankton dynamics in the limnetic and littoral zones of a humic acid lake

The limnetic and littoral zooplankton were studied during summer 1989 in Triangle Lake, a humic acid (pH 4.9) bog lake in Ohio, USA. The limnetic zooplankton showed low species richness and biomass, and dominance by the rotifers Kellicottia bostoniensis and Polyarthra vulgaris. In the littoral, species richness and biomass were markedly higher, and the crustaceans Alona guttata, Ceriodaphnia quadrangula, Chydorus sphaericus, Simocephalus serrulatus and Tropocyclops prasinus, and the rotifer Ascomorpha ecaudis were the dominants. The extreme rotifer dominance and lack of cladocerans in the limnetic zone were likely the result of Chaoborus predation. A pronounced mid-summer decline in cladoceran biomass in the littoral was likely due to predation by T. prasinus and Utricularia (bladderwort).