Range expansion and potential dispersal mechanisms of the exotic cladoceran Daphnia lumholtzi

. Recently the exotic cladoceran Daphnia lumholtzi has invadedfreshwater systems throughout the southern and midwestern UnitedStates. We conducted regional surveys of eastern Kansas reservoirsto document the range expansion of D.lumholtzi. Daphnia lumholtziwas found in five of 35 reservoirs sampled in 1994, and 11 ofthe 35 reservoirs when re-sampled in 1997. In addition, we sampled40 small ponds inaccessible to recreational boats, within thewatershed of an invaded reservoir. We did not find D.lumholtziin any of these ponds, suggesting that non-human dispersal mechanismsplay an insignificant role in the range expansion of D.lumholtzithroughout the United States. Further experimentation, however,is needed to determine if the absence of D.lumholtzi from thesesmall ponds is due to insufficient dispersal mechanisms or theinability of this invader to successfully colonize followingarrival. Daphnia lumholtzi has broad limnological tolerances.However, invaded reservoirs tend to be larger in area, havehigher Secchi disk depths, and lower total phosphorus, totalnitrogen and chlorophyll a levels relative to non-invaded reservoirs.Analyses of pre-invasion zooplankton communities indicate thatD.lumholtzi may be invading reservoirs in which native Daphniaspecies are rare. While the long-term effects of the invasionof D.lumholtzi are unknown, it has the potential to dominatelate summer zooplankton communities in eastern Kansas reservoirs.Therefore, we need to continue to survey and monitor invadedreservoirs to document the range expansion of D.lumholtzi anddetermine the long-term implications of the introduction ofthis invader.