轮虫和枝角类的种间竞争及其影响因子研究进展

轮虫和枝角类是浮游动物群落的重要组成部分和优势类群,它们之间的竞争互作是调节水生态系统结构和功能的主要动力之一。普遍的观点认为,轮虫和大型枝角类难以共存,往往被竞争排斥,而和小型枝角类可以共存;实际上,轮虫和枝角类的种间竞争结局存在一定的不确定性。介绍了轮虫和枝角类的种间竞争方式及其相对重要性,对影响轮虫和枝角类种间竞争结局的因素,包括温度、食物、相对起始密度、个体大小、食物临点、耐饥饿能力、捕食及竞争者和捕食者释放的化感物质等,进行了系统的梳理和分析,并提出了今后亟待解决的科学问题和研究切入点。     

The infection of Moina macrocopa by a colonial peritrich, Epistylis daphniae, and its effects on the host

• 1 The effects of infection by Epistylis daphniae on its host, Moina macrocopa, were studied in the laboratory at 28°C by comparing the growth, reproduction and survival between infected and uninfected hosts.
• 2 Infestation by epizoites had little or no effect on the survival of the dadoceran hosts when adequate food was present.
• 3 The infected cladocerans had lower growth rates as juveniles, lower net reproduction rates as adults, and smaller body size at death than uninfected hosts.
• 4 The index of infection at different stages in the life cycle was related to the durations of intermoult period. Ranked in order of both index of infection and intermoult duration, the development stages were: old adult > young adult > juvenile.

     

Body size and food thresholds for zero growth in Dreissena polymorpha: a mechanism underlying intraspecific competition

1. Dreissena polymorpha is an extraordinarily successful invasive species that shows high recruitment of small juvenile mussels on established mussel banks. Such juvenile settlement on, and overgrowth of, large adult mussels; however, leads to competition with adults, and often at high densities and low‐food concentrations. 2. The concept of food thresholds for zero growth has been a powerful approach to explaining size‐related exploitative competition in different zooplankton species. We applied it to investigate whether food threshold concentrations for zero growth (C₀) differ between juvenile and adult zebra mussels. 3. By determining body mass growth at various concentrations of a diet mixture (Nannochloropsis limnetica and Isochrysis aff. galbana) we demonstrate that the threshold food concentration for growth of juvenile mussels (C₀ = 0.08 mg C L⁻¹) is substantially lower than that for adults (C₀ = 0.36 mg C L⁻¹). 4. This indicates that, at low food availability, juvenile zebra mussels are competitively superior to their larger conspecifics. Within zebra mussel banks plankton food is substantially depleted and so the observed mechanism might ensure juvenile success and therefore the regeneration of mussel banks in nature.     

Pooled energy budgets: Resituating human energy ‐allocation trade‐offs

Across taxa, many life‐history traits vary as a function of differences in body size. 1 - 5 Among primates, including humans, allometric relationships explain many trends in metabolic, growth, reproductive, and mortality rates. 6 - 8 But humans also deviate from nonhuman primates with respect to other developmental, reproductive, and parenting characteristics. 9 - 13 Broad relationships between life‐history traits and body size assume that energy expended in activity (foraging effort) is proportional to body size, and that energy available for growth and reproduction are equivalent. Because human subsistence and parenting are based on food sharing, and cooperation in labor and childrearing, the ways by which energy is acquired and allocated to alternate expenditures are expanded. We present a modification of the general allocation model to include a mechanism for these energy transfers. Our goal is to develop a framework that incorporates this mechanism and can explain the human life‐history paradox; that is, slow juvenile growth and rapid reproduction. We suggest that the central characteristics of human subsistence and energy transfer need to be accounted for in order to more fully appreciate human life‐history variability.     

Competition between rotifers and cladocerans of different body sizes

Summary We conducted laboratory experiments to test the hypothesis that rotifers could coexist with small (<1.2 mm) but not large (>1.2 mm) cladocerans. Keratella cochlearis was excluded in <8 days by the large cladocerans Daphnia pulex and D. magna, probably through both interference and exploitative competition. On the other hand, K. cochlearis persisted for 8 weeks with two small cladocerans (Bosmina longirostris and Ceriodaphnia dubia) and excluded a third small cladoceran (D. ambigua). Similarly, Synchaeta oblonga coexisted with B. longirostris for >7 weeks, and K. testudo coexisted with D. ambigua for >4 weeks. Coexistence of small cladocerans and rotifers was always accompanied by suppression of one or both populations, probably primarily if not exclusively by exploitative competition for limiting food resources. These results indicate that the competitive dominance of cladocerans over rotifers decreases markedly with cladoceran body size and that factors other than body size may determine the competitive outcome between rotifers and small cladocerans. Our study provides a mechanistic explanation for a commonly observed pattern in natural zooplankton communities: planktonic rotifers often are abundant when only small cladocerans occur but typically are rare when large cladocerans are present.     

Community size structure of zooplanktonic assemblages in three lakes on the upper River Paraná floodplain, PR-MS, Brazil

Abundance and body size of zooplanktonic organisms, testate amoebae, rotifers, cladocerans and copepods from the littoral and pelagic regions of three lakes were analyzed in February and August 2000. The lakes belong to three different river systems (Baía, Ivinhema and Paraná rivers) of the upper River Paraná floodplain. It was expected that average body size was different in space (regions of the lake and limnological characteristics) and time (summer and winter) because the variation of depth, pH, oxygen dissolved, chlorophyll-a and water temperature of each lake. Zooplankton community was represented by 119 species. Sorensen's coefficient showed that the three communities were similar. Larger organisms were found in the lakes' pelagic region, and seasonally larger individuals were registered in the winter and smaller individuals in the summer. The relationship between body size and density was slight, positively significant. The body size frequency distribution was bi-modal. ANOVA results showed a significant influence of the interaction of the littoral and pelagic regions, lakes, and seasons in the body size of zooplankton organisms. Spatial and temporal changes of the community size structure of zooplanktonic assemblages were related to the food resource (microbial-loop or herbivore chain), species habitat preference and life strategies (growth and reproduction).     

The life cycle dynamics and production of zooplankton in Øvre Heimdalsvatn

The zooplankton in Øvre Heimdalsvatn was studied from May 1969 to Aug 1973 in order to obtain knowledge about their functioning and role in the lake ecosystem. The paper concentrates on the main species: Holopedium gibberum, Bosmina longispina, Cyclops scutifer. Heterocope saliens, Conochilus unicornis, Polyarthra vulgaris and Kellicottia longispina but Megacyclops gigus, Daphnia longispina and ciliated cells are also considered. The development of the populations was fairly synchronized and made it possible to determine life cycles, development times, growth, reproduction and production from field data. The total production of the multicellular zooplankton was 2–3 mg dry wt m⁻² yr⁻¹. The cladocerans dominated and their share of the total was 84–92% compared to the copepods 5–8% and the rotifers 3–8%. The ciliate production was not estimated, but their biomass exceeded that of the copepods and rotifers. The spring spate, June temperatures, food availability and invertebrate predation were found to be the most important regulatory factors for life cycle dynamics and production. Allochthonous organic matter was found to be a necessary food resource in addition to algae.     

Effects of food limitation and temperature on cladocerans from a tropical Brazilian lake

Food limitation was tested in the laboratory by individual growth and reproduction of two cladoceran species, Ceriodaphnia richardi and Daphnia gessneri, from the shallow tropical Brazilian Lake Monte Alegre. The cladocerans were fed cultivated green alga Scenedesmus spinosus in concentrations of 0.20, 0.10, 0.05, and 0.025 mg C l⁻¹. Higher biomass and growth rates occurred in the two highest-food concentrations; the two lowest ones negatively affected clutch size and first reproduction. The threshold food concentration is lower than 0.025 mg C l⁻¹ and the incipient limiting level is a value between 0.10 and 0.20 mg C l⁻¹. The largest species, D. gessneri, was more sensitive to low food concentrations. The effects of low and high temperatures (19 and 27°C) were evaluated by life table experiments with three cladocerans from the lake—Daphnia ambigua, D. gessneri, and Moina micrura—with no food limitation (1 mg C l⁻¹ of S. spinosus). Higher population growth rates for the three species were found at 27°C; better performance in most life table parameters was observed for the former two species at the highest temperature, D. gessneri being the most sensitive to the lowest temperature. There are indications that temperature is an important abiotic factor that constrains populations of cladocerans for a short period in winter in the lake, when temperature decreases to 18–19°C. However, its influence cannot be separated from a biotic factor such as food, whose effect is stronger in the cool season, when concentrations are lower and contribution of inedible algae is relatively higher.     

Life histories of some species of Chydoridae (Cladocera: Crustacea)

SUMMARY 1. Life history parameters of two species of Chydoridae ( Leydigia leydigi and Disparalona rostrata ) were studied in the field and in the laboratory.
2. For both species the number of juvenile instars was variable and tentatively related to initial size of neonate. Egg volume increased with increasing parent length and with decreasing temperature; possible advantages gained by the offspring are discussed in relation to invertebrate predation.
3. The life history strategy employed by the littoral Chydoridae is compared to that of large and small planktonic cladocerans. Small planktonic cladocerans and the Chydoridae (except the Eurycercinae and the Saycinae) produce large young relative to their size at maturity and mature early. However, unlike the small planktonic cladocerans, growth in the Chydoridae is curtailed after the onset of reproduction and in this they resemble the large planktonic cladocerans. This strategy may be related to vertebrate predation and the presence of vegetation in the habitat.     

Dietary restriction in two rotifer species: the effect of the length of food deprivation on life span and reproduction

According to resource allocation theory, animals face a trade off between the allocation of resources into reproduction and into individual growth/maintenance. This trade off is reinforced when food conditions decline. It is well established in biological research that many animals increase their life span when food is in suboptimal supply for growth and/or reproduction. Such a situation of reduced food availability is called dietary restriction. An increase in life span under dietary restricted conditions is seen as a strategy to tolerate periods of food shortage so that the animals can start reproduction again when food is in greater supply. In this study, the effect of dietary restriction on life span and reproduction in two rotifer species, Cephalodella sp. and Elosa worallii, was investigated using life table experiments. The food concentration under dietary restricted conditions was below the threshold for population growth. It was (1) tested whether the rotifers start reproduction again after food replenishment, and (2) estimated whether the time scale of dietary restricted conditions is relevant for the persistence of a population in the field. Only E. worallii responded to dietary restriction with an increase in life span at the expense of reproduction. After replenishment of food, E. worallii started to reproduce again within 1 day. With an increase in the duration of dietary restricted conditions of up to 15 days, which is longer than the median life span of E. worallii under food saturation, the life span increased and the life time reproduction decreased. These results suggest that in a temporally (or spatially) variable environment, some rotifer populations can persist even during long periods of severe food deprivation.     

Ontogenetic Shifts in the Ability of the Cladoceran,Moina macrocopa Straus and Ceriodaphnia cornuta Sars to Utilize Ciliated Protists as Food Source

The ontogenetic diet shifts and age specific ability of the two cladoceran species Moina macrocopa and Ceriodaphnia cornuta to derive energy from ciliated protists have been investigated in laboratory. The postembryonic developmental rates and life table demography (longevity, age and size at first reproduction, fecundity and intrinsic rate of natural increase) of the cladocerans have been elucidated on algae (Chlorella vulgaris) and the ciliated protists (Tetrahymena pyriformis, Colpoda (c.f.) steini) as food. For either of the cladoceran, the somatic growth rate and average body size at first reproduction were higher with algal diet. During initial stages of development (0–5 days), either cladoceran realized higher rate of somatic growth on algal diet, subsequently ciliated protists supported significantly higher growth rate than the alga. Algal and ciliate diets did not differ in maximum body size (C. cornuta: 539–554 μm; M. macrocopa: 1274.8–1309 μm) reached by either of the cladocerans. The maximum body sizes were larger than size at first reproduction with either of the ciliated protists, however, with algal diet the maximum body sizes did not differ from the size at first reproduction in each case. In case of C. cornuta the generation time (20.5 ± 0.3 days on ciliate; 15.6 ± 0.17 days on algal diet), reproductive rates (net reproductive rate: 20.05 ± 3.2 on ciliate; 15.5 ± 1.2 on algal diet), and average life expectancy at hatching (27 ± 0.8 days on ciliate; 22.7 ± 0.71 days on alga) were higher, whereas the size at first reproduction (482 μm on ciliate; 521 μm on alga) was smaller with the ciliate than with an algal diet. The algal and the ciliate diets did not differ in survival (life expectancy at hatching: 9.2 ± 0.7 days) and fecundity (NRR: 23.6 ± 2.4) for M. macrocopa. The two ciliates used in the experiment did not differ in their performance as food source for either cladoceran species. Our results suggest that both the cladoceran species are able to utilize smaller ciliate (e.g., T. pyriformis, C. (c.f.) steini) as food; however with differential ability to derive energy from the ciliate diet and this ability is size and age structured in both cases. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Influence of ontogenetic changes in prey selection on the survival and growth of rohu, Labeo rohita and singhi, Heteropneustes fossilis larvae

When offered a mixed diet of different zooplanktonic items covering a body size range of 75–2200 μm, (a) rohu, Labeo rohita and (b) singhi, Heteropneustes fossilis larvae ingested progressively larger prey as they grew, due to age-related increase in gape. However, a nearly constant prey size/mouth size ratio was maintained for a period of 4wk after hatching. The dominance of rotifers in the diet during the first 2-wk was followed by cladocerans, particularly Moina macrocopa. Significant differences observed in the growth rates of the larvae reared on different diet regimes were related to ontogenetic changes in prey selection. An exclusive copepod diet throughout resulted in the lowest weight gain in the larvae of both species. However, copepods had no apparent adverse effects when present with the preferred rotifers and cladocerans. Although constituting a suboptimal prey size for the older larvae, rotifers alone, when present in sufficient densities, produced growth rates comparable to those obtained on a cladoceran diet. However, a mixed diet regime contributed to the maximum growth. The implications of these findings to rearing larvae of the economically important rohu and singhi are discussed.     

Life history strategies of cladocerans: comparisons of tropical and temperate taxa

We review recent works on different life history variables of cladoceran taxa in tropical and temperate freshwater bodies, comparing the strategies that cladocerans have evolved to adapt to contrasting environmental conditions in the two geographical regions. These life-history parameters relate to age and size at maturity, survival, fecundity, life-expectancy at birth, lifespan, gross, and net reproductive rates, generation time, the rate of population increase, peak population density and day of peak abundance. We also discuss the role of photoperiod and temperature on some of these life history parameters. We found a general paucity of experimental work and field data in tropics on cladocerans. There is very limited information on the few Daphnia species found in the tropics. The misconception of low species diversity of cladocerans in the tropics arose due to several reasons including lack of extensive and intensive field collections. Higher water temperatures apparently promote permanent infestation of tropical waters with toxic cyanobacteria, which reduce the zooplankton diversity. In addition to higher temperatures in the tropics, the year-round high predation pressure of planktivorous fish probably causes the tropical species, particularly in pelagic habitats, to reach maturity earlier (< 3 days) than in temperate regions. Species of Daphnia in temperate regions are particularly adapted to living at food concentrations that are much lower and seasonably more variable than those for tropical genera such as Diaphanosoma. This is further corroborated by the more than an order of magnitude higher threshold food concentration (TFC) for tropical Cladocera than for their temperate counterparts. Fecundity patterns differ between tropical and temperate cladoceran taxa: cultured under optimal temperature regimes, tropical taxa have fewer eggs than temperate species of a comparable body size. Predation pressure may act differently depending on the size of the cladoceran neonates and thus on their population size structure. Global warming and climate changes seem to affect the behaviour (migration), distribution, and abundance of cladocerans. Apparently, in direct response to these changes, the possibility of encountering the tropical cladocerans in the northern, temperate hemisphere (bioinvasions) is on the rise.     

温度和铜绿微囊藻毒性对萼花臂尾轮虫生活史参数的影响

文章开展了25℃下两个品系铜绿微囊藻(有毒与无毒)不同浓度对萼花臂尾轮虫生活史的影响研究, 及在5个温度下不同浓度有毒铜绿微囊藻对萼花臂尾轮虫生活史影响的研究。结果表明铜绿微囊藻毒性、浓度及二者交互作用对轮虫生活史参数净生殖率(R₀; F=31.83, P<0.01; F=30.36, P<0.01; F=13.51, P<0.01)、内禀增长率(r_m; F=34.67, P<0.01; F=18.73, P<0.01; F=12.99, P<0.01)均有显著影响; 温度、铜绿微囊藻浓度及二者交互作用对轮虫生活史参数净生殖率、内禀增长率也均有显著影响。无毒铜绿微藻在低浓度(1×104 cells/mL)下对轮虫种群有促进作用, 可作为轮虫食物来源, 但缺乏脂肪酸等营养物质, 食物质量比蛋白核小球藻低; 在高浓度(1×105和5×105 cells/mL)下轮虫摄食无毒铜绿微囊藻机率变大, 整体食物品质下降, 对轮虫有抑制作用。有毒铜绿微囊藻对轮虫种群的抑制作用更加明显, 微囊藻浓度升高, 净生殖率和内禀增长率显著下降。研究结果还表明30℃和35℃高温下轮虫生长繁殖变快, 世代时间缩短。在高温(30℃和35℃)环境下, 铜绿微囊藻浓度升高对轮虫抑制作用更加明显。     

Effects of food restriction across stages of juvenile and early adult development on body weight,survival and adult life history

Organisms have to allocate limited resources among multiple life‐history traits, which can result in physiological trade‐offs, and variation in environmental conditions experienced during ontogeny can influence reproduction later in life. Food restriction may lead to an adaptive reallocation of the limited resources among traits as a phenotypically plastic adjustment, or it can act as an overall constraint with detrimental effects throughout reproductive life. In this study, we investigated experimentally the effects of food restriction during different stages of the juvenile and early adult development on body weight, survival and reproductive success in females and males of the European earwig Forficula auricularia. Individuals either received limited or unlimited access to food across three different stages of development (fully crossed) allowing us to identify sensitive periods during development and to test both additive and interactive effects of food limitation across stages on development and reproduction. Food restriction during the early and late juvenile stage had additive negative effects on juvenile survival and adult body weight. With regard to reproductive success of females which produce up to two clutches in their lifetime, restriction specifically in the late juvenile stage led to smaller first and second clutch size, lower probability of second clutch production and reduced hatching success in the second clutch. Reproductive success of females was not significantly affected when their male mates experienced food restriction during their development. Our findings in general support the ‘silver‐spoon’ hypothesis in that food restriction during juvenile development poses constraints on development and reproduction throughout life.     

Evolution of Rotifer Life Histories

When compared to most other multicellular animals, rotifers are all relatively small, short-lived and fast-reproducing organisms. However among and within different rotifer species there is a large variation in life history patterns. This review accounts for such variation in rotifers, with a strong focus on monogonont rotifers. As the life cycle of monogonont rotifers involves both asexual and sexual reproduction, life history patterns can be examined on the level of the genetic individual, which includes all asexual females, sexual females and males that originated from one resting egg. This concept has been applied successfully in many areas, for example in predicting optimal levels of mictic reproduction or sex allocation theory. The benefits and implications of the view of the genetic individual are discussed in detail. Rotifer life histories can also be viewed on the level of physiological individuals. A large part of this review deals with the life histories of individual amictic females and addresses life history traits like body size, egg size and resource allocation patterns. It asks which trade-offs exist among those traits, how these traits change under the influence of environmental factors like food availability or temperature, and whether these changes can be interpreted as adaptive.     

Effects of suspended clay on Daphnia body growth and fitness

1. Suspended sediments often reduce the abundance, fitness, and feeding rates of planktonic cladocerans. This paper examines the effect of suspended clay particles on the body growth and life-history parameters of Daphnia ambigua. Cohorts were exposed to zero or 50mgl^?1 suspended clay (particle size <2μm). Individuals exposed to clay had significantly lower body lengths at a given age than individuals in the control cohort. Parameters for the von Bertalanffy body growth equation were calculated for each individual; the asymptotic maximum body length (l_max) was reduced, but the growth rate constant (k) was unaffected, by the presence of suspended clay. Body length at reproductive maturity was lower in the presence of suspended clay; this may be an adaptive response and is similar to the response of cladocerans to limiting food concentrations. 2. Age-specific survivorship and fecundity were both reduced, and the ages of maturity and first reproduction were both increased, in the presence of suspended clay. The overall effect of these demographic changes was a 70% decline in the net reproductive rate (R_o), a measure of fitness. 3. Suspended clay affected the relationship between body length and fecundity. Animals of a given length produced fewer eggs in the presence of suspended clay. In addition, there was a significant interaction in the effects of body length and clay on brood size: the slope of the regression line of brood size as a function of body length was lower in the presence of clay. This interaction has also been observed in limiting food concentrations, and may be caused by reductions in body length at maturity in low food or high clay environments. 4. The similarity between the effects of limiting food concentrations and suspended clay on Daphnia body growth, survivorship, fecundity, and brood size makes sense, given previous observations showing that suspended clay reduces the feeding rate of D. ambigua by up to 70% due to mechanical interference with feeding behaviours.     

THE EFFECTS OF PREDATION ON THE AGE AND SIZE OF MATURITY OF PREY

The effects of nonselective predation on the optimal age and size of maturity of their prey are investigated using mathematical models of a simple life history with juvenile and adult stages. Fitness is measured by the product of survival to the adult stage and expected adult reproduction, which is usually an increasing function of size at maturity. Size is determined by both age at maturity and the value of costly traits that increase mean growth rate (growth effort). The analysis includes cases with fixed size but flexible time to maturity, fixed time but flexible size, and adaptively flexible values of both variables. In these analyses, growth effort is flexible. For comparison with previous theory, models with a fixed growth effort are analyzed. In each case, there may be indirect effects of predation on the prey's food supply. The effect of increased predation depends on (1) which variables are flexible; (2) whether increased growth effort requires increased exposure to predators; and (3) how increased predator density affects the abundance of food for juvenile prey. If there is no indirect effect of predators on prey food supply, size at maturity will generally decrease in response to increased predation. However, the indirect effect from increased food has the opposite effect, and the net result of predation is often increased size. Age at maturity may either increase or decrease, depending on functional forms and parameter values; this is true regardless of the presence of indirect effects. The results are compared with those of previous theoretical analyses. Observed shifts in life history in response to predation are reviewed, and the role of size-selective predation is reassessed.     

Freshwater Copepods and Rotifers: Predators and their Prey

Three main groups of planktonic animals inhabit the limnetic zone of inland waters and compete for common food resources: rotifers, cladocerans and copepods. In addition to competition, their mutual relationships are strongly influenced by the variable, herbivorous and carnivorous feeding modes of the copepods. Most copepod species, at least in their later developmental stages, are efficient predators. They exhibit various hunting and feeding techniques, which enable them to prey on a wide range of planktonic animals from protozoans to small cladocerans. The rotifers are often the most preferred prey. The scope of this paper is limited to predation of freshwater copepods on rotifer prey. Both cyclopoid and calanoid copepods (genera Cyclops, Acanthocyclops, Mesocyclops, Diacyclops, Tropocyclops, Diaptomus, Eudiaptomus, Boeckella, Epischura and others) as predators and several rotifer species (genera Synchaeta, Polyarthra, Filinia, Conochilus, Conochiloides, Brachionus, Keratella, Asplanchna and others) as prey are reported in various studies on the feeding relationships in limnetic communities. Generally, soft-bodied species are more vulnerable to predation than species possessing spines or external structures or loricate species. However, not only morphological but also behavioural characteristics, e.g., movements and escape reactions, and temporal and spatial distribution of rotifer species are important in regulating the impact of copepod predation. The reported predation rates are high enough to produce top-down control and often achieve or even exceed the reproductive rates of the rotifer populations. These findings are discussed and related to the differences between the life history strategies of limnetic rotifer species, with their ability to quickly utilize seasonally changing food resources, and adjust to the more complicated life strategies of copepods.     

Somatic and population growth in selected cladoceran and rotifer species offered the cyanobacterium it Microcystis aeruginosa as food

The ability of cladocerans and rotifers to utilise the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa was tested by comparing the somatic and population growth in cultures using Chlorella and Microcystis as food types. Five species of cladocerans (Ceriodaphnia cornuta, Scapholeberis kingi, Moina macrocopa, Daphnia carinata, Simocephalus vetulus) and two species of rotifers (Brachionus calyciflorus, Hexarthra mira) were used in this study. In order to exclude the possibility of poor utilisation of Microcystis due to mechanical interference, single cells of Microcystis, (obtained by sonicating large colonies) were also offered. Experiments were done at 20 °Cs and 30 °C . In all the treatments tested, the population growth rate per day of the cladocerans ranged from -0.715 to 0.612 and that of the rotifers from -1.15 to 0.781. While C. cornuta, S. kingi and S. vetulus could utilise Microcystis, M. macrocopa and D. carinata were extremely susceptible to its toxins. The ability of the cladoceran populations to grow on Microcystis single cells was not related to the body length or gut length alone but to their ratio. The toxic effects of Microcystis were mitigated at the higher temperature. A strain of C. cornuta, collected from a Microcystis-dominated lake, had a higher growth rate on the toxic cyanobacteria suggesting that the tolerance to Microcystis could be a heritable trait. Of the two rotifer species, only H. mira survived and reproduced in some treatments of Microcystis. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.