Vertical niche separation of two consumers (Rotatoria) in an extreme habitat

Herbivore populations are commonly restricted by resource limitation, by predation or a combination of the two. Food supplement experiments are suitable for investigating the extent of food limitation at any given time. The main part of this study was performed in an extremely acidic lake (pH 2.7) where the food web consists of only a few components and potential food sources for herbivores are restricted to two flagellates. Life table experiments proved that Chlamydomonas was a suitable food source whereas Ochromonas was an unsuitable food source. The two flagellates and the two rotifers exhibit a pronounced vertical distribution pattern. In this study, a series of food supplement experiments were performed in order to: (1) quantify and compare potential resource limitation of two primary consumers (Cephalodella hoodi and Elosa worallii, Rotatoria) over time, (2) compare their response at different temperatures, (3) evaluate the effect of having an unsuitable food source alongside a valuable one, (4) estimate the effect of predation on rotifers by Heliozoa, and (5) compare the results with those from other acidic lakes. Additionally, the spatio-temporal population dynamics of both species were observed. The field data confirmed a vertical separation of the two species with E. worallii dominating in the upper water layers, and C. hoodi in the deeper, cooler water layers. The results from the food supplement experiments in which Chlamydomonas served as the supplemented suitable food source showed that the two rotifers were food limited in the epilimnion throughout the season to different extents, with Cephalodella being more severely food limited than Elosa. The experiments at different temperatures provided evidence that Elosa had a higher optimum temperature for growth than Cephalodella. When the unsuitable food algae Ochromonas was added alongside the suitable food source Chlamydomonas, C. hoodi was unaffected but E. worallii was negatively affected. Predation of Heliozoa on rotifers was observed but the total effect on the rotifer dynamics is probably low. The comparison with other lakes showed that resource limitation also occurred in one other lake, although to a lesser extent. Overall, the vertical separation of the two rotifers could be explained by both their differential extent of resource limitation and differential response to temperature.     

Vertical Distribution of Rotifers on the Upper Paraná River Floodplain: the Role of Thermal Stratification and Chlorophyll-a

The degree of vertical aggregation by rotifers was quantified in different environments of the Upper Paraná river floodplain. The regression coefficient of the relationship between the logarithm of variance and the logarithm of mean density was used as a criterion to evaluate the pattern of vertical distribution of the populations. The lake showed the highest degree of vertical aggregation by the populations. Thermal stratification was the possible causal process. In the river, a high degree of aggregation was observed. Correlation of the mean rotifer density with chlorophyll- a concentration indicated that, in this unstratified environment, the degree of aggregation may be dependent on the food concentration. Therefore, several processes in addition to the frequently studied hydrodynamic ones may promote aggregations of rotifers in floodplain environments.     

Vertical distribution and diel migration of rotifers in a Parana River floodplain lake

The vertical distribution of zooplankton rotifers in the open waters of Laguna El Tigre was investigated. Rotifers showed a relatively uniform distribution throughout the water column. This pattern of distribution was maintained during the year and did not show variations in relation to hydrologic phases of inundation and isolation of the lake. Diel vertical migration of rotifers from the limnetic and the littoral area was investigated too. In littoral area rotifers exhibited a reverse migration, whereas in the limnetic the movements were less conspicuous. Horizontal migration was observed too, and there were interactions between horizontal and vertical distribution. Predation and competition offer a possible explanation.     

Space and time distribution of zooplankton in a Mediterranean lagoon (Etang de Berre)

In the Berre lagoon, a large brackish and swallow area near Marseille, the environmental factors (temperature, salinity, oxygen, suspended particulate matter and chlorophyll) generally display strong space and time variations. The rotifer Brachionus plicatilis and the copepod Acartia tonsa constitute the bulk of the zooplankton population during all the year. Their space and time distributions were studied in 23 stations distributed all over the lagoon, during four seasonal cruises (February, June, October, November), at surface and bottom layers. There is no marked difference in the horizontal and vertical distribution of the two species, (except in November when rotifers were prevailing in surface and copepods at depth) and in their time occurence. When the four series of data are pooled, correlation analysis show that A.tonsa is positively correlated with temperature, salinity and seston and negatively to oxygen and chlorophyll. B. plicatilis is positively correlated with temperature and seston, but also with chlorophyll, while salinity has a negative effect. The specific eggs number of both species is chlorophyll dependent. Considering seasonal cruises separately, some differences appear in the sense or the significance of these different correlations. The respective distribution of the two species is only partly dependent on the variation of the environmental factors: most of the variance remains unexplained, as indicated by the result of a stepwise multiple regression analysis using the most significant factors (temperature, salinity and oxygen explain 33 to 42% of the variance in Acartia, while temperature and salinity explain 27 to 28% of the variance in Brachionus). Thus, internal behavioral factors could also play a role in the distribution of organisms, particularly in some cases of aggregations of organisms observed during this study. As the two species occupied the same space habitat most of the year, they are potentially in competition for food. A way to optimize the food utilization could be the time separation of their feeding activity, nocturnal in Acartia and diurnal in Brachionus. Another way could be selective feeding upon food particles depending on their size (Brachionus being able to use finer particles than Acartia) or their quality (Brachionus being more herbivorous than Acartia) as demonstrated in some grazing experiments carried out in parallel.     

Community structure of rotifers in two environments of the upper River Paraná floodplain (MS) - Brazil

We evaluate the influence of abiotic and biotic factors on the community structure of rotifers across a regional hydrological cycle in lotic and lentic environments of the upper River Paraná. Depth, transparency, temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll a and densities of rotifers were measured at two stations in Lake Guaraná (littoral and open water regions) and at one station in the River Baía (open water region). Highest densities of rotifers were found at the lake littoral. Canonical correlation analysis related environmental variables with the densities of the most abundant rotifers. The strongest relationship was with chlorophyll a, dissolved oxygen, hydrological level and water temperature. Diversity of rotifers at each station was mainly explained by fluctuations in hydrological level. Results of grouping analysis suggested the formation of groups according to phases of the hydrological cycle.     

Seasonal changes in the body size of two rotifer species living in activated sludge follow the Temperature‐Size Rule

Temperature‐Size Rule (TSR) is a phenotypic body size response of ectotherms to changing temperature. It is known from the laboratory studies, but seasonal patterns in the field were not studied so far. We examined the body size changes in time of rotifers inhabiting activated sludge. We hypothesize that temperature is the most influencing parameter in sludge environment, leading sludge rotifers to seasonally change their body size according to TSR, and that oxygen content also induces the size response. The presence of TSR in Lecane inermis rotifer was tested in a laboratory study with two temperature and two food‐type treatments. The effect of interaction between temperature and food was significant; L. inermis followed TSR in one food type only. The seasonal variability in the body sizes of the rotifers L. inermis and Cephalodella gracilis was estimated by monthly sampling and analyzed by multiple regression, in relation to the sludge parameters selected as the most influential by multivariate analysis, and predicted to alter rotifer body size (temperature and oxygen). L. inermis varied significantly in size throughout the year, and this variability is explained by temperature as predicted by the TSR, but not by oxygen availability. C. gracilis also varied in size, though this variability was explained by both temperature and oxygen. We suggest that sludge age acts as a mortality factor in activated sludge. It may have a seasonal effect on the body size of L. inermis and modify a possible effect of oxygen. Activated sludge habitat is driven by both biological processes and human regulation, yet its resident organisms follow general evolutionary rule as they do in other biological systems. The interspecific response patterns differ, revealing the importance of taking species‐specific properties into account. Our findings are applicable to sludge properties enhancement through optimizing the conditions for its biological component.     

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 effects of thin layers on the vertical distribution of the rotifer, Brachionus plicatilis

Microscale patches of resources occur in both the horizontal and vertical dimensions, and in the latter case are referred to as thin layers. These layers may affect ecological processes like behavior, predation, growth and reproduction in phytoplankton and zooplankton. The objective of this study was to determine possible effects of physical and biological thin layers on the vertical distribution and diel vertical migration of the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis. We used four, 2 m tall, experimental tanks fitted with video cameras which panned the vertical extent of each tank and enabled us to sample on the centimeter scale. The experimental tanks consisted of a thin layer (25 cm thick) of Nannochloropsis oculata, whereas control tanks consisted of homogeneously distributed algae. Rotifers aggregated in the thin layers of N. oculata, and dispersed (becoming evenly distributed) after depleting the algae within the thin layer (ca. 6 h). In contrast, rotifer aggregation in the physical thin layer of control tanks was shorter in duration (ca. 2.5 h) and rotifers were homogenously distributed for the remainder of the experiment despite persistent salinity stratification. No signs of diel vertical migration were noted in either experimental or control tanks. A second set of experiments was run to examine the response of rotifers to a choice of food, i.e., thin layers of the diatom, Skeletonema costatum versus the eustigmatophyte, N. oculata. For the choice experiments, two thin layers were created, one with each food option. Our results suggest that B. plicatilis aggregates and feeds preferentially on N. oculata over S. costatum. In both types of experiments rotifers responded, in terms of distribution, to thin layers of algae within the first half-hour of introduction and remained in the thin layers until the food source was depleted. Our results suggest that rotifers may be important grazers on thin layers because of their ability to quickly locate and take advantage of ephemeral food patches.     

Vertical distribution of pelagial zooplankton in a middle-sized dimictic valley reservoir

Our observations indicate the vertical distribution of zooplankton and its seasonal changes in Dubník II reservoir (Slovakia) are determined mainly by the thermal regime of the reservoir, by transparency, and by fish and invertebrate predation. During periods of circulation, zooplankton vertical distribution in the whole water column was more homogeneous, whilst during summer temperature stratification zooplankton concentrated in the epilimnion — rotifers in higher layers than crustaceans. During summer stagnation a steep thermal gradient occurred at the boundary of the epi-and hypolimnion and low temperature and low dissolved oxygen in hypolimnion offered a refuge for Chaoborus flavicans larvae against fish, enabling coexistence of vertebrate and invertebrate predation. This evidence supports our previous findings concerning dominance of rotifers in zooplankton and representation of crustaceans by small-bodied species in the study reservoir. Steep thermal gradient and the presence of Chaoborus larvae caused very low zooplankton abundance in the lower part of the water column and a reduction of cladocerans refuges against fish to layers of thermocline or closely under thermocline where Daphnia cucullata and Daphnia parvula were found. Our previous assumptions about the high density of zooplanktivorous fish in Dubník II reservoir are supported by the fact that these small cladocerans are represented by smaller individuals in the upper layers and bigger individuals in deeper layers.     

轮虫表型可塑性及其生态学效应研究进展

在水域生态系统中, 单巢纲的部分轮虫具有在环境压力下快速形成形态防御的能力。这种能力是其在复杂多变的生活环境中维持生存的一种重要的防御策略。轮虫的形态防御主要表现为被甲棘刺的变化(发生、增强或缩短), 个体大小的适应和被甲增厚等形态反应。文章对目前已知的轮虫形态防御响应进行整理, 综述了诱导轮虫形态防御的主要环境因子包括捕食者和竞争者信息素、环境温度和食物浓度等, 以及影响形态防御响应的内在因素。并探讨了轮虫的形态防御特征、防御的适合度收益及适合度代价。     

Day‐Night Vertical Distribution and Feeding Patterns of Fourth Instar ofChaoborus Larvae in a Neotropical Reservoir (Socuy Reservoir,Venezuela)

The day‐night vertical distribution, diel feeding activity and diet of fourth instar of Chaoborus larvae were analyzed in lacustrine zone of a neotropical reservoir which shows seasonally contrasting hypolimnetic oxygen conditions. Larvae stayed in sediment and water bottom during day and ascended to surface during night. Results indicate that feeding activity is limited mainly to the plankton population. Phytoplankton, rotifers or remains of Chaoborus larvae were not found in crops. With the exception of ostracods, all crustacean prey available in the zooplankton occurred in the guts. Ceriodaphnia cornuta and Moina micrura were the most frequent food items (about 75% of occurrence frequency) and were positively selected. The remainder crustacean zooplankton taxa were negatively selected by larvae. The most intense feeding activity in larvae occurred near midnight and sunrise, in dates when the hypolimnion was anoxic. When oxygen was available on the bottom, a higher and not changing diel feeding activity was detected. Our results indicate that vertical migration may promote a spatial separation between larvae and zooplankton, and feeding activity of larvae occurred only when both overlapped. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Finding the optimal vertical distribution: behavioural responses of Daphnia pulicaria to gradients of environmental factors and the presence of fish

1. The vertical distribution of zooplankton results from active habitat choice aiming to optimise fitness gain in a system of trade‐offs. 2. Using large, controlled indoor mesocosms (Plön Plankton Towers), we monitored the behavioural response of Daphnia pulicaria to vertical gradients of temperature, food, oxygen and light, in the presence and absence of fish predation. 3. In the absence of fish, Daphnia distributed as predicted by an ideal ‘free distribution with costs’. If the food was distributed homogeneously, they stayed in the warm epilimnion, while they balanced their time dwelling in epi‐ and hypolimnion if the food was concentrated in a deep‐water maximum. 4. However, oxygen depletion in the hypolimnion, representing an additional cost, prevented Daphnia from completely exploiting the hypolimnetic food maximum. Consequently, the proportion dwelling in the hypolimnion was larger if oxygen was not limiting. 5. Fish predation had an overwhelming effect, driving Daphnia into the hypolimnion under all experimental conditions. If permitted by oxygen availability, Daphnia used the whole hypolimnion, but oxygen depletion reduced their possible habitat to the upper hypolimnion with oxygen concentrations above c. 0.7 mg L^?1. As fish were less tolerant of low oxygen, the layer below the thermocline formed a predation refuge for Daphnia.     

上海饮用水源地青草沙水库轮虫群落结构的特征及其环境影响因子

青草沙水库是位于长江河口的一座江心水库,是现今上海最大的水源地,作为一个半自然半人工水体,其生态系统具有特殊性,既会受到来水影响,又有自身独特性,轮虫作为最有效的水质监测生物之一,能很好地反应水库的水体现状,为水库管理提供生物学参考依据。于2014~2015年对青草沙水库轮虫群落结构的特征进行了研究,依据水库轮虫水平分布和时间分布特征,分析了该水库轮虫的种类组成、优势种、污染指示种、数量分布。结合多样性指数运用聚类分析方法分析轮虫群落结构特征,采用冗余分析方法研究轮虫和环境因子的关系。两年共发现轮虫32种,2014年为20种,优势种7种;2015年为26种,优势种2种。其中针簇多肢轮虫(Polyarthra trigla)为两年共有优势种。寡污型种类共鉴定出8种。2014年年均生物密度比2015年低,分别为(156.37±119.48)ind/L和(237.12±252.86)ind/L。2014年年均生物量比2015年高,分别为(0.1316±0.1146)mg/L和(0.1229±0.1371)mg/L。聚类分析表明,轮虫的水平分布与水库的形状、地理特征水文情况有着很大关系。冗余分析(RDA)表明,水温、溶氧、总氮、总磷、浮游植物生物密度为主要影响因子。     

珠江三角洲河网浮游轮虫的群落结构

通过2012年4次对珠江三角洲河网浮游动物的生态调查,研究该水域浮游轮虫的群落结构,包括种类组成、优势种、生物量及多样性等的时空分布,探讨了浮游轮虫群落结构与环境因子的相关关系,并阐析了浮游轮虫的聚群结构.结果表明： 共检出53种浮游轮虫.优势种类的季节演替及空间变化明显,针簇多肢轮虫占有较大优势.从季节变化来看,枯水期密度及生物量均大于丰水期,丰水期的生物多样性指数和均匀度要高于枯水期,浮游轮虫生物量和多样性的季节间差异显著;从空间分布来看,平均密度及平均生物量均呈现自西南向东北升高的趋势,最大密度及生物量均出现在市桥,而生物多样性指数和均匀度指数的空间变化趋势则相反,最高值均出现在青岐,浮游轮虫密度在各调查站位间差异显著,生物量及多样性在各调查站位间的差异不显著.浮游轮虫的密度与生物量、生物多样性指数与均匀度指数呈显著正相关,多样性与生物量呈显著负相关,生物多样性指数和均匀度指数随着生物量的增加显著降低.在不同季节,浮游轮虫密度与水温、pH、溶解氧、叶绿素a含量及总磷、总氮等环境因子密切相关.根据浮游轮虫密度对调查站位进行聚群分析得出5种聚群结构,说明相应调查站位的水质状况有显著差异.     

A Short-Term Study of Vertical and Horizontal Distribution of Zooplankton During Thermal Stratification in Lake Kinneret,Israel

This study documents for the first time both vertical and horizontal distribution patterns of the zooplankton community in Lake Kinneret during the period of thermal stratification. The zooplankton distribution patterns were explored in relation to abiotic (temperature, oxygen) and biotic (picocyanobacteria, ciliates, flagellates, phytoplankton, fish) environmental gradients. Sampling was carried out on 6–7 July 1992 at five stations and six depths from nearshore to offshore. Zooplankton abundance and biomass varied from 5 to 267 ind. l^–1(mean: 95 ind. l^–1), and from 0.1 to 65 d.w. mg m^–3(mean: 24 d.w. mg m^–3). Zooplankton taxonomic groups (Rotifera, Cladocera, Cyclopoida, Calanoida) and size classes (micro-, meso- and macrozooplankton) showed peaks of maximal density and biomass in the epilimnetic and metalimnetic strata (5 and 14 m). Depth, accounting for 31–39% of total spatial variation, reflected the vertical distribution of zooplankton in relation to temperature and oxygen declines, and the higher concentration of food resources (protists and phytoplankton) in the epilimnion and metalimnion. Onshore–offshore distance, accounting for 17–22% of the total spatial variance, reflected different distribution patterns shown among zooplankton groups and size classes. The macrozooplankton (Copepoda, Cladocera) was more abundant offshore, whereas microzooplankton (Rotifera and nauplii) predominated nearshore. These horizontal distribution patterns were related to small increases in temperature and phytoplankton biomass, and higher concentrations of fish in the littoral zone. Although limited to a short temporal scale, our study indicated that zooplankton spatial distribution in Lake Kinneret during the period of thermal stratification was related to physicochemical, food and predation factors, manifested differently along the vertical and nearshore–offshore gradients.     

Diurnal vertical distribution of rotifers (Rotifera) in the Chara zone of Budzyńskie Lake,Poland

Diurnal vertical distribution of rotifers was investigated in the Chara bed and the water immediately above it in the shallow region (ca. 1 m depth) of Budzyskie Lake (Wielkopolski National Park, Poland) in early September 1998. Eighty one rotifer species were identified – 71 among Chara and 59 in the open water. Significant differences in rotifer densities were observed in the Chara, with highest numbers during the day (2316 ind. l^–1) and lowest numbers early morning (521 ind. l^–1) and at dusk (610 ind. l^–1). Above the Chara, the numbers of rotifers did not change significantly (615–956 ind. l^–1). Littoral- or limnetic-forms differed in their diel vertical distribution between both zones. One group of littoral species was characterized by increased densities in the Chara in the daytime, while a second group increased in density during the night. The densities of limnetic species, which were much higher in open water, decreased in the morning or daytime in this zone. These differences in the diel behaviour of particular groups of rotifers may be dependent on microhabitat and may also be related to different kinds of predation, the exploitative competition for shared food resources between rotifers and crustaceans, as well as typical adaptation to littoral or limnetic life.     

An in situ experimental column for the study of vertical migration in plankton

SUMMARY. 1. An experimental column that can be installed in situ to manipulate the behaviour of planktonic organisms is described.
2. The column incorporates a profiling system for collecting water samples and measuring water temperature, oxygen and underwater light, and can be fitted with a battery-powered lighting unit for 'photoperiod' experiments.
3. Tests showed that this equipment can be rapidly deployed from a small boat to enclose a relatively undisturbed column of water.
4. Experiments with planktonic rotifers showed that the pattern of vertical migration recorded inside the column was very similar to that recorded outside.     

On the Vertical Distribution of the Metazoan Meiofauna in Shelf Break and Upper Slope Habitats of the NE Atlantic

The metazoan meiofauna of nine stations in shelf break and upper slope areas (70 to 1500 m water depth) of the N.E. Atlantic were investigated in order to assess which environmental factors are important in the control of densities and sediment profiles. Total meiofaunal densities (ranging between 368 and 1523 ind/10 cm²) were correlated with bacterial densities, an important food source for meiofauna. However, considering sediment vertical distribution profiles, the relative importance of both food and oxygen on the meiofauna became obvious. A combination of both bacterial densities and oxygen supply could explain about 95% of the variability in the vertical profiles of the meiofauna densities. Meiofauna numbers increase in proportion to food availability in the surface sediment layers, but this relationship breaks down in deeper sediment layers where the oxygen supply is often limiting, particularly in fine sediments.     

On choice of substrate and habitat in brachionid rotifers

Information on the distribution of 28 rotifers of the family Brachionidae from diverse waters in south and central Sweden was analyzed to reveal their relationships to substrate and habitat. Some brachionids are preferably planktic, others periphytic and/or benthic. Some non-planktic habitats are utilized more than others, but there is no evidence of a chemical attraction from any substrate. Instead, some substrates seem to be avoided, possibly depending on a poorer flora of periphytic algae. Besides substrate type, the following factors are found to be important for creating separate ecological niches in the brachionid family: temperature, oxygen content, trophic degree, chemical environment, food choice and sensitivity to predation. It is possible to delineate separate ecological niches for all brachionid rotifers, implying that Hutchinson's ideas about the plankton paradox are contradicted. Some species are specialists, other are generalists, the latter being characterized by a great morphological variation. The species are adapted in different ways to their preferential habitats, as regards foot, egg-carrying, protrusions and other lorical structures etc. Longer spines, for instance, are generally found in more transparent water, being a supposed protection against visual predators.     

Zooplankton in Lake Atnsjøen 1985–1997

The aim of this paper is to study long-term changes in the zooplankton of a subalpine locality unaffected by direct anthropogenic disturbances. The material has been collected during the period 1985–1997; since 1988 a standardised sampling program has been followed, with five sampling dates during the ice free period (June–October) at three fixed stations. Altogether 17 species of Rotatoria, 9 species of Copepoda and 11 species of Cladocera were recorded. Of these 10 species of Rotatoria, two species of Copepoda and five species of Cladocera occur regularly in the plankton. Polyarthra vulgaris dominate among the rotifers together with Kellicottia longispina and Conochilus unicornis. The crustacean community is dominated by the copepod Cyclops scutifer, and the cladocerans Bosmina longispina, Holopedium gibberum and Daphnia longispina. The cladocerans Bythotrephes longimanus, Polyphemus pediculus,and the copepodsArctodiaptomus laticeps and Heterocope saliens all occur regularly, but at low densities. The zooplankton density is low in May/June and peaks in August and September, but the timing of maximum densities varies from year to year. By numbers, the rotifers strongly dominate with densities 10–15 times higher than the crustaceans. The annual maximum density (rotifers plus crustaceans) ranged from 50 ind. l^?1 (1985, 1988) to 450 ind. l^?1 (1995). Mean density is about 140–150 ind. l^?1. By biomass (dry weight), the cladocerans constitute 60%, while the copepods and rotifers constitute 30% and 10% of the zooplankton, respectively. The annual maximum has varied between 70 and 260 μg dw l^?1, with 170 μg dw l^?1 as the mean level. C. scutifer usually has a one-year lifecycle without diapause, but a small fraction of the population has a two-year lifecycle. The life cycle in 1989 and 1990 differed strongly from the other years. The life cycles of B. longispina, D. longispina and possibly also H. gibberum and A. laticeps, indicate two generations during the summer. H. gibberumandH. saliens pass the winter as resting eggs. The other crustacean species, except C. scutifer, pass the winter mainly as resting eggs, but all have a small winter population in the water mass. C. scutifer is the only species without resting eggs. The vertical distribution normally shows highest density between 5 and 10 m depth. However, during some periods maximum density is observed close to the surface, while at other times it is seen deep in the hypolimnion. The vertical distribution is most pronounced when the thermocline is sharp, and less pronounced during the full circulation in autumn. The vertical migration may also be pronounced, especially in B. longispina, with high density near the surface during the night. The vertical migration is less pronounced among the rotifers and copepods. The degree of vertical migration varies with temperature and food conditions. There is little variation from year to year in species composition, but large variation in species dominance, seasonal development, population density, and vertical and horizontal distribution during the sampling period. Variations in temperature, food condition, predation, and water through-flow are possible causes for the observed differences between the years. Input of allochthonous material is especially important. However, no clear correlation have been found between the development of the plankton community and these environmental factors. Hence, these interactions are complex and multifactorial.