Zooplankton Seasonal Abundance of South AmericanSaline Shallow Lakes

The central provinces of Argentina are characterized by the presence of a high number of shallow lakes, located in endorheic basins, many of which have elevated salinities as well as eutrophic or hypereutrophic condition. The zooplankton of four saline shallow lakes of the province of La Pampa was studied on a monthly basis during a 2‐year period to determine its temporal and spatial variation. The surface of these shallow lakes (<2.5 m depth) varied between 56.8 and 215.9 ha, and some have from 8.4 to 20.8 g · l^–1. The more saline lakes have “clear” water and the less saline lakes “turbid” water. Fishes, Jenynsia multidentata , were present in only two lakes during the last two months of the studied period. The zooplankton was composed of 17 taxa of Rotifera, 5 taxa of Cladocera and 4 taxa of Copepoda. The low diversity and the faunistic composition are characteristic of saline environments. Although the studied lakes share 38% of the species, the faunistic similarity was higher between the two least saline lakes. The lowest diversity was found in the two most saline lakes. All four shallow lakes were characterized by their very high zooplankton density, especially in the least saline lakes (<80000 ind · l^–1). The abundance is significantly correlated with the water transparency but not with salinity. The zooplankton temporal variation was characterized by the alternation of macro‐ and microzooplankton, probably regulated by competition and intrazooplanktonic predation. In each lake, the spatial abundance distribution of the macro‐ and microzooplankton was homogeneous. It was related to the shallow depht of the lakes and their polymictic condition. The Scheffer model on alternative states in shallow lakes acknowledges that it cannot be applied to saline lakes because Daphnia , the main responsible for the clear water state, is not tolerant to high salinity. Our study shows that the most saline lakes, where the halophylic Daphnia menucoensis is abundant, have also the most clear waters. Another difference that we found with regards to the mentioned model is that, in turbid lakes, it could not have had a top‐down control on macrozooplankton exerted by fishes because in these lakes fishes were practically absent. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Meteorological forcing of plankton dynamics in a large and deep continental European lake

The timing of various plankton successional events in Lake Constance was tightly coupled to a large-scale meteorological phenomenon, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). A causal chain of meteorological, hydrological, and ecological processes connected the NAO as well as winter and early spring meteorological conditions to planktonic events in summer leading to a remarkable memory of climatic effects lasting over almost half a year. The response of Daphnia to meteorological forcing was most probably a direct effect of altered water temperatures on daphnid growth and was not mediated by changes in phytoplankton concentrations. High spring water temperatures during ”high-NAO years” enabled high population growth rates, resulting in a high daphnid biomass as early as May. Hence, a critical Daphnia biomass to suppress phytoplankton was reached earlier in high-NAO years yielding an early and longer-lasting clear-water phase. Finally, an earlier summer decline of Daphnia produced in a negative relationship between Daphnia biomass in July and the NAO. Meteorological forcing of the seasonal plankton dynamics in Lake Constance included simple temporal shifts of processes and successional events, but also complex changes in the relative importance of different mechanisms. Since Daphnia plays an important role in plankton succession, a thorough understanding of the regulation of its population dynamics provides the key for predictions of the response of freshwater planktonic food webs to global climate change. Received: 15 February 1999 / Accepted: 23 August 1999     

Response of a zooplankton community to the addition of unsaturated fatty acids: an enclosure study

1. The effect of the addition of emulsions with different fatty acid composition to a semi-natural zooplankton community was studied in enclosures.
2. The reactions of different taxa in the zooplankton community to the addition of the emulsions were different. The copepods showed almost no reaction, nor did the selective cladocerans ( Bosmina ) or rotifers ( Synchaeta or Polyarthra ). The non-selective filterfeeding cladocerans Daphnia and Ceriodaphnia , and the rotifer Keratella , showed responses to the addition of the emulsions.
3.  Keratella showed the highest density in the enclosures with high amounts of highly unsaturated fatty acids added, whereas both Daphnia and Ceriodaphnia reached the highest numbers in the enclosures where we added emulsions of saturated fatty acids only.
4. Our results suggest that different taxa may be limited by different factors, even though they use similar food sources. Hence, we conclude that it is very difficult to generalize on the limiting factors in aquatic systems.     

Minimal models of top-down control of phytoplankton

1. A set of models describing the dynamics of top-down control of phytoplankton by Daphnia in lakes is reviewed. The basis of these models is a simple and well-known model that has been used, among other things, to demonstrate the paradox of enrichment.
2. We discuss minimal extensions that allow this model to mimic the effects of spatial heterogeneity, planktivory, seasonality and inedible algae.
3. These models generate hypotheses about mechanisms that may cause patterns observed in the field such as:

4. We discuss the way in which such very simple models may contribute to the building of theories about plankton dynamics in the field, and the caveats of interpreting wrongly the message from models.     

温度和种间竞争对大型溞种群动态和两性生殖的影响

在20℃、25℃下,将大型溞和老年低额溞分别按7+3(B组),5+5(C组),3+7(D组)的组合进行混合培养,以及用单种培养(10+0(A组),0+10(E组))作为对照,研究了温度和种间竞争对大型溞种群动态和两性生殖的影响.实验结果表明:在混合培养时,大型溞对老年低额溞产生明显的竞争优势.20℃、25℃下,单种培养的老年低额溞最大种群密度分别为大型溞的2.31和1.97,而在混合培养下老年低额溞的种群密度明显低于大型溞,在实验25d后几乎全部死亡.25℃下两种溞的种群密度之间存在极显著的负相关性(C组:r=-0.508,n=30,P<0.01;D组:r=-0.483,n=30,P<0.01).在20℃、单种培养下,大型溞在首次产幼溞时即出现雄体,且种群密度与雄体密度呈显著的相关性(r=0.678,n=24,P<0.01).大型溞的最大雄体密度(106 ind.(200ml)~(-1))和最大雄体比例(36.8%)均出现在20℃、单种培养下.25℃下,大型溞在混合培养的B组和C组首次产幼溞时即出现雄体,且雄体在混合培养B组的比例达28.2%.大型溞在25℃、单种培养下没有产生卵鞍,在混合培养下总计产生66个卵鞍,其中空卵鞍占51.5%,而在20℃、混合培养下没有卵鞍产生.实验结果暗示:在较高的温度下,种间竞争刺激了大型溞雄体的产生和卵鞍的形成,高密度的雄体有助于大型溞孤雌生殖雌体向两性生殖雌体的转化.     

Effects of experimentally induced cyanobacterial blooms on crustacean zooplankton communities

SUMMARY 1. Large in situ enclosures were used to study the effects of experimentally induced cyanobacterial blooms on zooplankton communities. A combination of N and P was added to shallow (2 m) and deep enclosures (5 m) with the goal of reducing the TN : TP ratio to a low level (∼5 : 1) to promote cyanobacterial growth. After nutrient additions, high biomass of cyanobacteria developed rapidly in shallow enclosures reaching levels only observed during bloom events in eutrophic lakes.
2. In the shallow enclosures, particulate phosphorus (PP) was on average 35% higher in comparison with deep enclosures, suggesting that depth plays a key role in P uptake by algae. Phytoplankton communities in both deep and shallow enclosures were dominated by three cyanobacteria species – Aphanizomenon flos-aquae , Anabaena flos-aquae and Microcystis aeruginosa – which accounted for up to 70% of total phytoplankton biomass. However, the absolute biomass of the three species was much higher in shallow enclosures, especially Aphanizomenon flos-aquae . The three cyanobacteria species responded in contrasting ways to nutrient manipulation because of their different physiology.
3. Standardised concentrations of the hepatotoxic microcystin-LR increased as a result of nutrient manipulations by a factor of four in the treated enclosures. Increased biomass of inedible and toxin producing cyanobacteria was associated with a decline in Daphnia pulicaria biomass caused by a reduction in the number of individuals with a body length of >1 mm. Zooplankton biomass did not decline at moderate cyanobacteria biomass, but when cyanobacteria reached high biomass large cladocerans were reduced.
4. Our results demonstrate that zooplankton communities can be negatively affected by cyanobacterial blooms and therefore the potential to use herbivory to reduce algal blooms in such eutrophic lakes appears limited.     

3种微生态制剂对大型溞存活、生殖和种群增长的影响

研究了3种微生态制剂(复合微生态制剂Ⅰ、复合微生态制剂Ⅱ和芽孢杆菌)对大型溞的急、慢性毒性影响,分析比较了3种微生态制剂的安全使用剂量以及对大型溞生殖和种群增长的影响.试验结果表明,3种微生态制剂对大型溞死亡率影响均显著(P < 0.05),从安全浓度来看,对大型溞的毒性作用依次为:复合微生态制剂Ⅱ>复合微生态制剂Ⅰ>芽孢杆菌;在安全浓度范围内,3种微生态制剂对大型溞亲代(P)的生殖和种群增长均有明显的促进作用,表现在随微生态制剂浓度的升高,P代的净生殖率(R0)和内禀增长率(rm)均显著增加(P < 0.05),其中以复合微生态制剂Ⅰ的效果最好,R0最高值为对照组的7倍,rm最高值为对照组的1.7倍;3种微生态制剂对大型溞子一代(F1)和子二代(F2)的生殖和种群增长均没有促进作用.     

THE CELLULAR IMMUNE RESPONSE OF DAPHNIA MAGNA UNDER HOST–PARASITE GENETIC VARIATION AND VARIATION IN INITIAL DOSE

In invertebrate–parasite systems, the likelihood of infection following parasite exposure is often dependent on the specific combination of host and parasite genotypes (termed genetic specificity). Genetic specificity can maintain diversity in host and parasite populations and is a major component of the Red Queen hypothesis. However, invertebrate immune systems are thought to only distinguish between broad classes of parasite. Using a natural host–parasite system with a well‐established pattern of genetic specificity, the crustacean Daphnia magna and its bacterial parasite Pasteuria ramosa, we found that only hosts from susceptible host–parasite genetic combinations mounted a cellular response following exposure to the parasite. These data are compatible with the hypothesis that genetic specificity is attributable to barrier defenses at the site of infection (the gut), and that the systemic immune response is general, reporting the number of parasite spores entering the hemocoel. Further supporting this, we found that larger cellular responses occurred at higher initial parasite doses. By studying the natural infection route, where parasites must pass barrier defenses before interacting with systemic immune responses, these data shed light on which components of invertebrate defense underlie genetic specificity.     

On the effects of Dikonirt (sodium salt of 2.4-Dichlorophenoxi-acetic acid) on the mortality and reproduction of Daphnia magna

The effects of sodium salt of 2.4-Dichlorophenoxi-acetic acid (2.4-D-Na) on the mortality and reproduction ofDaphnia magna have been tested.The mortality tests were performed in experiments with duration time of 24, 48 and 96 h at the temperatures of 15 and 20 °C. The toxic effect increased by 11–16 regarding 47% with increasing of temperature and exposure time.This herbicide (Dikonirt) affected adversely the reproduction of daphnids at concentration lower than tenth of LC₅₀ value.     

Effectiveness of phytoplankton control by large-bodied and small-bodied zooplankton

Employingin situ enclosures containing inocula of the lake zooplankton (mainlyDaphnia galeata, Daphnia cucullata andBosmina spp.) from a moderately eutrophic Lake Ros (Northern Poland) or large-bodiedDaphina magna, the following observations on succession of phytoplankton were made: 1) whereasD. magna could control the density of all the photoplankton size classes, the lake zooplankton could not suppress the large-sized phytoplankters or net phytoplankton; 2) the lake zooplankton was able to control the density of small algae (< 50μm), but its effect on large algae may be opposite: a promotion of net phytoplankton growth by removing small-sized algae which can out-compete net phytoplankton for limited PO₄-P resources (<5μg P l⁻¹). Since efficiency of phytoplankton density control byD. magna decreased with an increase in net phytoplankton abundance, biomanipulation could not be successful without introducing or maintaining a high population of large-bodied cladoceran species before high densities of large algae would make the control of phytoplankton inefficient.