Habitat use and ecological specialization within lake Daphnia populations |
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Authors: | Alan J Tessier Mathew A Leibold |
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Institution: | (1) W.K. Kellogg Biological Station and Department of Zoology, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, MI 49060, USA fax: 616 671 2104; e-mail: Tessier@kbs.msu.edu, US;(2) Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, 1101 E. 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, US |
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Abstract: | Many species of planktonic cladocerans display substantial variation in habitat use (mean depth and diel vertical migration),
both among and within populations. We examined whether clonal segregation and specialization contributes to such behavioral
variation within several lake populations of the cladoceran, Daphnia pulicaria. Electrophoretic and quantitative genetic analysis of clonal lines isolated from different depths at night revealed that
clonal habitat specialization was common. Clones that utilized shallow water at night were genetically smaller at maturity
and lower fecundity under standard laboratory conditions than the deep-water clones. The magnitude of this clonal habitat
specialization varied among lakes: populations displaying broad use of depth habitats contained greater genetic variance than
populations with more constrained habitat use. These results are consistent with known differences in selective factors in
different depth habitats and suggest that substantial clonal specialization can occur within single populations. Since previous
work has discovered a heritable basis to habitat selection in several Daphnia species, including D. pulicaria in our study lakes, it is likely that clonal/depth specialization is an important factor affecting the trophic ecology of
Daphnia.
Received: 18 April 1996 / Accepted: 25 September 1996 |
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Keywords: | Habitat selection Clonal specialization Daphnia behavior and body size Population differentiation |
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