Distribution and life cycles of cladocerans in temporary pools from Central Italy

SUMMARY 1. A study of twenty-nine temporary pools located in a nature reserve in Central Italy was carried out for two successive years (1982–83 and 1983–84) to determine the distribution and life cycles of the cladocerans they contained.
2. The pools followed a typical autumnal cycle, filling up in early autumn and drying up in late spring. They differed in morphology (size, depth, type of soil) and in the length of the wet phase.
3. Nineteen cladoceran species were found. A few of these are early species, appearing at the beginning of the wet phase, whereas others appear much later in spring and these populations persist for a shorter time.
4. Species distributions did not show any clear correlation with the ponds'morphological features, and the life cycles of individual species were similar in all ponds. Thus populations did not adapt life history patterns to match conditions in particular ponds.