Seasonal dynamics and composition of cladoceran and copepod assemblages in ponds of a Hungarian cutaway peatland

Seasonal dynamics of cladoceran and copepod zooplankton were studied over a one‐year period in five permanent ponds of a cutaway peatland, situated in the Danube−Tisza Interfluve, Central Hungary. 17 cladoceran, 11 cyclopoid copepod and 6 harpacticoid copepod species were identified and most of them were typical of small lowland ponds. Nevertheless, some taxa like Cyclops insignis, Ceriodaphnia setosa and Macrocyclops distinctus are considered to be rare in Hungary. The microcrustacean assemblages exhibited apparent seasonal succession with typical seasonal species. There appears to be at least two main successional patterns in the five ponds. After general cyclopoid copepod dominance in winter (Cyclops strenuus and Cyclops insignis), at sites with higher proportion of open water and submerged vegetation, spring was characterized by the dominance of the large cladoceran Daphnia curvirostris, which declined during summer, when microcrustacean assemblages composed mainly of smaller, littoral cladocerans. At these sites, species richness and diversity reached their maximum in autumn. In the case of duckweed covered ponds, succession led to less diverse autumn assemblages with fewer species, dominated by Simocephalus exspinosus. Our results draw the attention to the importance of long‐term investigations and the often neglected winter sampling in the accurate evaluation of species richness (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

DNA content in nuclei of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cyclops kolensis</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cyclops insignis</Emphasis> (Crustacea,Copepoda)

Chromatin diminution (CD) in two Cyclopoida species, Cyclops kolensis and Cyclops insignis, was studied by static digital Feulgen cytophotometry. DNA content (pg/cell) was evaluated with standard dependences constructed by amounts of DNA in the blood cells of five organisms with known DNA contents of 1.25–14.7 pg. It was found that the C. kolensis diploid genome had about 40 pg DNA before CD and 1.8–2.0 pg DNA after CD. These values are similar both for Moscow and Baikal population of C. kolensis and exceed previous estimates by six to ten times (Grishanin, 2008). Our data confirm that CD reaches 94–96% of DNA content in C. kolensis. In mitotic cells of C. insignis DNA content was about 7.5 pg in both early and late embryos; CD was not revealed for this species. The data obtained show that the DNA content in the C. kolensis genome before CD is highest among the examined Cyclopoides.     

The diminution of heterochromatic chromosomal segments in Cyclops (Crustacea,Copepoda)

The chromosomes of Cyclops divulsus, C. furcifer, and C. strenuus, like those of several other Copepods, undergo a striking diminution of chromatin early in embryogenesis. The process is restricted to the presumptive soma cells and occurs at the 5th cleavage in C. divulsus, at the 6th and 7th in C. furcifer, and at the 4th in C. strenuus. The eliminated chromatin derives from the excision of heterochromatic chromosome segments (H-segments). Their chromosomal location is different in the three investigated species: Whereas in C. divulsus and C. furcifer the H-segments form large blocks — exclusively terminal in the former and terminal as well as kinetochoric in the latter — the germ line heterochromatin in C. strenuus is scattered all along the chromosomes. Extensive polymorphism exists with respect to the length of the terminal H-segments in C. furcifer, and with respect to the overall content of heterochromatin in the chromosomes of C. strenuus. In a local race of C. strenuus an extreme form of dimorphism has been found which is sex limited: females as a rule are heterozygous for an entire set of large (heterochromatin-rich), and a second set of small chromosomes in their germ line. Males are homozygous for the large set. In the first three cleavage divisions the H-polymorphism is solely expressed through differences of chromosome length. Following diminution the differences between homologous have disappeared. Feulgen cytophotometry demonstrates that in the three species the 1C DNA value for the germ line, as measured in sperm, is about twice that measured in somatic mitoses (germ line/soma C-values in picograms of DNA: C. strenuus 2.2/0.9, C. furcifer 2.9/1.44, C. divulsus 3.1/1.8). — The data imply that chromatin diminution is based on a mechanism which allows specific DNA segments, regardless of their location and size, to be cut out from the chromosomes without affecting the structural continuity of the remaining DNA. This mechanism may be analogous to that of prokaryotic DNA excision.     

The effect of temperature on the development,reproduction, and longevity of two common cyclopoid copepods — Eucyclops serrulatus (Fischer) and Cyclops strenuus (Fischer)

The embryonic and postembryonic development times, time interval between clutches, and longevity of two common cyclopoid copepods — Eucyclops serrulatus and Cyclops strenuus — were studied at constant temperatures (5°, 10°, 15°, 20° and 25 °C), using algae and protozoans as food. Both, E. serrulatus and C. strenuus showed a considerable temperature tolerance and adaptability. Embryonic development times were similar in both species but postembryonic development times were shorter in E. serrulatus. Time intervals between successive clutches were relatively variable at all temperatures in both species. Longevity was shorter in E. serrulatus than in C. strenuus. The embryonic and postembryonic development of E. serrulatus was short relative to that of littoral copepods; the development of C. strenuus was similar or shorter than that of other species of the genus Cyclops.     

Comparative sensitivity of the several zooplankton species (Cladocera,Copepoda) to sumicidine-alpha insecticide

The sensitivity of seven zooplankton species (Daphnia magna, D. longispina, D. pulex, Simocephalus vetulus, Scapholeberis mucronata, Eudiaptomus graciloides, and Cyclops strenuus) to an insecticide, sumicidine alpha was studied. LD₅₀ values upon a 24-hour exposure were determined. Daphnia pulex and D. longispina turned out to be highly susceptible to the insecticide, while the individuals representing the natural population of D. magna happened to be the most resistant. The data on sensitivity distribution among different zooplankton species are provided, as well as the concentrations potentially hazardous for 5% and 50% of the population are calculated.     

A simple method for maintaining a laboratory supply of limnetic cyclopoid copepods

The following method is used for maintaining a laboratory supply of freshwater cyclopoid copepods with intervening diapause phase. Animals are collected with a core sampler from the upper sediment surface just after initiation of diapause, i.e. during early summer for summer resting species and mid autumn for winter resting species. The method makes it possible at all times of the year to keep a variety of cyclopoid copepod species ready for experimental work. The following widespread species have been used: Mesocyclops leuckarti, Thermocyclops oithonoides, Diacyclops bicuspidatus, Cyclops vicinus, C. strenuus and C. abyssorum. Probably all cyclopoid copepods with a diapause phase could be stored according to the present method.     

Cyclops Magnus from Amchitka,Alaska

Summary About two dozen specimens of Cyclops magnus were taken from a tundra seepage pool on the island of Amchitka, Alaska. Measurements from these specimens are presented. These measurements contribute further evidence of the reliability of certain spine and setal ratios as a means for differentiating some members of the viridis-vernalis group.

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Riassunto Circa due dozzine di esemplari di Cyclops magnus furono raccolte da uno stagno (tundra seepage pool) sulla isola di Amchitka, Alaska. Misure di questi esemplari sono presentati. Queste misure contribuiscono evidenza addizionale che certe proporzioni spinose e setoli sono degne di fiducia per differenziare qualche membro del gruppo viridis-vernalis.

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The collection of specimens studied here was made possible through funds provided by the Office of Naval Research.     

Investigations into the Food Selectivity of the Planktic Crustaceans Daphnia hyalina,Eudiaptomus gracilis and Cyclops vicinus

The food selectivity of Daphnia hyalina, Eudiaptomus gracilis and Cyclops vicinus was investigated in laboratory experiments using algae of different sizes and at different concentrations as food sources. Vanderploeg and Scavia's (1979a, b) coefficient, which is most suitable for characterising selectivity, was selected from the literature and used to analyze the results. None of the three species was found to feed selectivity, however. The results show, on the other hand, that the leaky-sieve model can be used to describe the feeding patterns of these species. There were clear differences between the particle size ranges consumed by our experimental species, and these showed that, during the experiments, Daphnia hyalina acted as a microfilter-feeder, whereas Eudiaptomus gracilis and Cyclops vicinus acted as macrofilter-feeders.     

The effect of fish predation on Cyclops life cycle

Two populations of Cyclops abyssorum tatricus studied in neighbouring alpine lakes in Tatra Mountains (southern Poland) differed in their life cycles. In the lake with planktivorous fishes, Cyclops was typically monocyclic, with highly synchronized reproduction during two winter months, while in the fishless lake its reproduction was asynchronous and continued for six months. Direct and indirect effects of fish predation on Cyclops life cycles are discussed.     

Chromosomal Radiosensitivity as Associated with Chromatin Diminution in Cyclops (Crustacea, Copepoda)

Chromosomal radiosensitivity inferred from the yield of chromosome aberrations (CAs) was for the first time studied in Cyclops (Crustacea, Copepoda) before and after chromatin diminution (CD). A comparison was made for C. kolensis, in which CD denudes somatic embryo cells of the greatest (94%) DNA amount known for multicellular organisms, and C. insignis, which lacks CD. The two species have similar genome sizes, 4.6 and 4.3 pg, respectively. Radiosensitivity of C. kolensis chromosomes proved to be extremely high during prediminution cleavage divisions. This was attributed to membrane damage in granules that contain enzymes (topoisomerases) normally involved in cleavage and ligation of chromosomal DNA during CD.     

Thermal resistance,preferred and avoidance temperatures of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cyclops strenuus</Emphasis> Fischer, 1851, and their relation to optimal,pessimal, and tolerant temperatures

Ranges of preferred and avoidance temperatures in Cyclops strenuus Fischer, 1851 were determined based on the results of its experimental testing in the thermal gradient device. It is established that the process of temperature selection occurs with an overshoot. It is noted that copepods started to select the final preferred temperatures on the 8th day (temperatures above 26°C were avoided; the avoidance of low temperatures was not recorded). The average value of the critical thermal maximum for the season was determined. It is found that optimal, pessimal, and tolerant temperatures can be calculated on the scale of the species tolerance according to values of preferred and avoidance temperatures as well as according to values of the temperature range of regulation of the critical thermal maximum.     

Coexistence with similar life cycles in two species of freshwater copepods (Crustacea)

Two species of freshwater cyclopoid copepods, Cyclops scutifer Sars and Mesocyclops leuckarti (Claus), with different ecological requirements, coexist in three humic ponds near the timberline in boreal forests in south-central Norway. The life cycle in both species is basically regulated by complete depletion of oxygen during the long winter. There is a short period of reproduction in spring followed by a rapid development during summer and autumn to advanced instars, capable of diapause when oxygen depletion starts in early winter. Both species have an exclusive 1-yr cycle.The long winter under anoxic conditions is passed in diapause as large copepodids (late developmental instars) with usually no individuals left in the plankton.Even if co-occurring in the same habitats with similar life cycles, there is a temporal and spatial segregation.     

The effect of temperature on the development times of eggs,naupliar and copepodite stages of five species of cyclopoid copepods

The duration times of eggs, combined naupliar instars and of the different copepodite stages of five species of cyclopoid copepods — Acanthocyclops robustus, Cyclops vicinus, Diacyclops bicuspidatus, Mesocyclops leuckarti, and Thermocyclops crassus — were investigated at five different temperatures. The five species can be divided in two groups: two species, C. vicinus and D. bicuspidatus, adapted to cold water conditions and three species, A. robustus, M. leuckarti and T. crassus adapted to warm water conditions. The cold water species showed a faster egg development than M. leuckarti and T. crassus at 5–15 °C. The eggs and instars of the warm water species M. leuckarti tend to develop faster than those of the former two species at higher temperatures. A. robustus showed the shortest egg and instar development at 10–25 °C. The warm water species T. crassus produced no eggs at 10 °C and temperatures below. At higher temperatures (20, 25 °C) the egg and instar duration times were similar or longer than those of the other species. When cultured in total darkness a great part of the C_IV respectively C_V copepodites of the summer forms entered arrest and the percentage of copepodites that showed an arrest of development was highest at lowest temperatures. The present results are compared with data from literature and differences are discussed.     

深圳市径心水库区苏铁蕨群落结构特征及演替分析

苏铁蕨(Brainea insignis)最早出现于古生代泥盆纪,是重要孑遗种和珍稀濒危植物,对研究古植物区系及蕨类植物的起源和演化具有重要意义。该研究采用相邻格子法对深圳市径心水库区的苏铁蕨群落进行群落学研究,分析径心水库区苏铁蕨群落结构和演替特点,为苏铁蕨的保护提供理论和实践依据。结果表明:(1)深圳径心水库区的苏铁蕨群落属于南亚热带常绿阔叶林,在1 600m2的样地中共有维管束植物72种,隶属于45科66属,其中种类组成以热带成分占绝对优势,占非世界属的88.33%。(2)该苏铁蕨群落垂直结构明显,可划分为乔木2亚层、灌木层和草本层,层间植物较丰富;各种群的重要值分析表明,鸭脚木(Schefflera octophylla)、苏铁蕨(Brainea insignis)、九节(Psychotria rubra)、鼠刺(Itea chinensis)、银柴(Aporusa dioica)是该群落的主要优势种,其重要值分别为:53%、38%、28%、23%和22%。(3)年龄结构分析表明,主要优势种群如银柴、鼠刺和豺皮樟(Litsea rotundifolia)等均属于增长型种群,而苏铁蕨种群却呈现出一定的衰退趋势,说明该群落正处在旺盛发展阶段并且会不断演化替换掉苏铁蕨种群。(4)该研究区群落种群的频度规律为A级B级C级D级E级,与Raunkiaer的L形频度定律曲线相一致;与其他邻近地区进行比较,深圳径心水库区的苏铁蕨群落显示出较低的物种丰富度,可能是受海风和人类活动的影响比较大,应对该苏铁蕨群落进行适当的干预和保育,清理上层枯枝枯藤,加强林内透视度,增加光照。     

Disturbance calls of five migratory Characiformes species and advertisement choruses in Amazon spawning sites

Species-specific disturbance calls of five commercially-important characiform species are described, the Curimatidae commonly called branquinhas: Potamorhina latior, Potamorhina altamazonica and Psectrogaster amazonica; Prochilodontidae: jaraquí Semaprochilodus insignis and curimatã Prochilodus nigricans. All species have a two-chambered swimbladder and the sonic mechanism, present exclusively in males, utilises hypertrophied red muscles between ribs that adhere to the anterior chamber. The number of muscles is unusually plastic across species and varies from 1 to 4 pairs suggesting considerable evolution in an otherwise conservative system. Advertisement calls are produced in river confluences in the Madeira Basin during the high-water mating season (January–February). Disturbance calls and sampling allowed recognition of underwater advertisement choruses from P. latior, S. insignis and P. nigricans. The advertisement calls of the first two species have largely similar characteristics and they mate in partially overlapping areas in the Guaporé River. However, P. latior sounds have a lower dominant frequency and it prefers to call from river confluences whereas S. insignis shoals occur mostly in the main river channel adjacent to the confluence. These results help identify and differentiate underwater sounds and evaluate breeding areas during the courtship of commercially important characids likely to be affected by two hydroelectric dams.     

Survivorship of Cyclops abyssorum tatricus (Cyclopoida, Copepoda) and Boeckella gracilipes (Calanoida, Copepoda) under ambient levels of solar UVB radiation in two high-mountain lakes

We performed in situ experiments during the summer of 1995 and 1996 to assess the potential effect of solar ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation (290-320 nm) on the survival of Cyclops abyssorum tatricus Kozminski and Boeckella gracilipes Daday. These species are numerically dominant within the crustacean zooplankton living in two high-mountain lakes, one located in the Austrian Alps [Gossenkollesee (GKS), 2417 m above sea level, maximum depth 9.9 m] and another in the Chilean Andes (Laguna Negra, 2700 m above sea level, maximum depth 320 m). The copepods were incubated in quartz tubes (1 1) or in quartz tubes wrapped with Mylar D® to exclude most of the UVB radiation. The organisms were exposed at 0.5 m depth for 10-72 h on cloudless days. Both lakes were very transparent to UVB and 10% of the surface radiation at the nominal wavelength of 305 nm was still present at 9.6 m in GKS and at 12.8 in Laguna Negra. These species migrate vertically and have a maximum daytime distribution close to the bottom (C.abyssorum tatricus) or below 15 m depth (B.gracilipes). Both species were red, but the carotenoid concentration was higher in C.abyssorum tatricus than in B.gracilipes (6.5 and 2.3 g mg^-1 dry weight, respectively). UV-absorbing compounds with a maximum absorption at 334 nm were also detected. Cyclops abyssorum tatricus was highly resistant to UVB radiation and no significant lethal effect was observed. Boeckella gracilipes had a mortality 5 times higher in the treatment receiving full sunlight than in the Mylar treatment (3.2%) only when exposed for 70 h. The resistance of B.gracilipes was higher than that reported in the literature for the same species, suggesting the existence of intraspecific differences in UV sensitivity.      

Habitat partitioning among neotropical pioneers: a consequence of differential susceptibility to browsing herbivores?

Four species of fast-growing pioneer tree species in the genus Cecropia exist in the forests in central Panama. Cecropia insignis is dominant in old-growth forests but absent from nearby secondary forests; C. obtusifolia, and C. peltata are abundant in secondary forests but rare in old-growth forest, and C. longipes is uncommon in both. To determine whether Cecropia habitat associations are a consequence of local dispersal or differences in recruitment success, we grew seedlings of these species in common gardens in large treefall gaps in secondary and old-growth forest. In contrast to the observed adult distribution, only C. insignis grew significantly over 16 months in secondary forests; remaining species were heavily browsed by herbivores. C. insignis also grew and survived best in old-growth forest. Differences in susceptibility to herbivory did not result from an ant defence mutualism; none of the plants were colonised by ants during the experiment. To test whether C. insignis, the species least susceptible to herbivory, trades off investment in growth in favour of defence, we also grew the four Cecropia species in a screened growing house under light conditions comparable to large forest gaps. Contrary to expectation, species growth rates were similar; only C. peltata grew significantly faster than C. insignis. These results suggest that (1) conditions in ~40-year-old secondary forests no longer support the recruitment of Cecropia species, which are canopy dominants there; and (2) among congeners, differences in plant traits with little apparent cost to growth can have large impacts on recruitment by affecting palatability to herbivores.     

Towards a phylogeny of Cyclops (Copepoda): (in)congruences among morphology,molecules and zoogeography

The phylogeny of Cyclops (~30 spp.), a predominantly Palearctic cold‐adapted genus, was reconstructed based on morphological and molecular characters. The morphological analysis used extensive taxon sampling from the entire Holarctic range of the genus and included 53 morphological characters. Polymorphic traits were coded by the “unordered,” “unscaled” and “scaled” methods; maximum parsimony criterion was applied in tree building. Molecular phylogenetic reconstructions utilized partial nuclear 18S and 28S ribosomal genes, mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I and complete internal transcribed spacer regions I and II, albeit with limited taxon sampling. Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood were used in these tree reconstructions. The molecular characters were used both in combination with morphology and as an independent test of the basal relationships inferred from morphology. Monophyly of the genus received strong support in both the morphological and molecular phylogenies; the basal relationships remain unresolved. The morphology‐based phylogenies, along with the geographic distribution patterns and ecological traits, supported monophyly of the ankyrae?ladakanus clade, scutifer‐clade (C. scutifer, C. jashnovi, C. columbianus), kolensis‐clade (C. kolensis, C. kikuchii, C. vicinus, C. furcifer, C. insignis, C. alaskaensis), abyssorum‐clade (C. abyssorum s. str., C. abyssorum larianus, C. ricae, C. sevani) and divergens‐clade (South Carpathian “Cyclops sp. Y,” C. mauritaniae, C. divergens, C. bohater, C. lacustris). Relationships among European and North American populations of C. scutifer and C. columbianus based on partial sequences of the 12S mitochondrial gene show C. scutifer to be paraphyletic, suggesting two independent invasions into North America via the Bering Land Bridge from Siberia to Alaska.     

Cyclops predation on ciliates: species.specific differences and functional responses

Experiments were conducted to measure to what extent cyclopoidcopepods ingest ciliated protists. Five freshwater ciliate species,ranging in size from 22 to 120 µm diameter, were testedwith two species of cyclopoids: Cyclops abyssorum and Cyclopskolensis. Ingestion rates were measured by radiolabeling ciliateswith ¹⁴C, and from these, functional response curves (the changein ingestion rate with changing cell densities) were constructed.Cyclopoids ingest ciliates with very high estimated maximalrates of >200 cells cyclopoid^–1 h^–1 However,there are large differences in ingestion rates that are notpredictable by the size of predator or prey. One ciliate speciesof intermediate size, Coleps hirtus, is nearly immune from cyclopoidpredation at all measured ciliate densities. Three other smallciliate species that move in rapid jumps elicit Honing type3 functional responses, with very little change in ingestionrates at low ciliate densities. Thus, while cyclopoids are capableof having a very considerable impact on ciliate populations,some ciliate species appear to have behavioral, morphologicalor chemical defenses to reduce their vulnerability. This callsinto question the practice of considering ciliates a homogeneousgroup when constructing food web models.     

Diapausing fertilized adults

Summary A lake population of the cyclopoid copepod Cyclops strenuus Fischer had a 1-year life cycle including a diapause from June to January. Dormant stages consisted of fertilized females, not previously described as a diapause stage, and a small fraction of cop V. The longevity of the sperm in a diapausing female was at least 6–7 months. Pre-fertilization is assumed to be an adaptive mechanism to assure fertilization when male abundance is low. This life cycle pattern also gives a shorter time-lag between diapause break and offspring development, and also the low total adult population exerts a lower predation pressure on their offspring. The flexibility of life cycle patterns of copepods is emphasized.