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Daphnia Species (daphnia + species)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Life Sciences	100%

Selected Abstracts

Temperature Effects on Survival and DNA Repair in Four Freshwater Cladoceran Daphnia Species Exposed to UV Radiation

PHOTOCHEMISTRY & PHOTOBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2009
Sandra J. Connelly
The biological responses of four freshwater daphniid species, Daphnia middendorffiana, D. pulicaria, D. pulex and D. parvula, to a single acute dose of ultraviolet B radiation (UVB) were compared. In addition to survival, we compared the induction of DNA damage (i.e. cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers) between species as well as the ability to repair this damage in the presence or absence of photoreactivating light. All four species showed high levels of shielding against DNA damage when compared to damage induced in purified DNA dosimeters at the same time and dose. Significant variation in survival was observed between species depending on temperature and light conditions. Contrary to our expectations, all species showed significantly higher survival and light-dependent DNA damage removal rates at 10°C compared to 20°C, suggesting that the enhanced rate of photoenzymatic repair (PER) at the lower temperature contributed significantly to the recovery of these organisms from UVB. PER was highly effective in promoting survival of three of the four species at 10°C, but at 20°C it was only partially effective in two species, and ineffective in two others. None of the species showed significant dark repair at 20°C and only D. pulicaria showed a significant capacity at 10°C. Two species, D. middendorffiana and D. pulex, showed some short-term survival at 10°C in absence of PER despite their inability to repair any appreciable amount of DNA damage in the dark. All species died rapidly at 20°C in absence of PER, as predicted from complete or near-absence of nucleotide excision repair (NER). Overall, the protective effects of tissue structure and pigmentation were similar in all Daphnia species tested and greatly mitigated the absorption of UVB by DNA and its damaging effects. Surprisingly, the visibly melanotic D. middendorffiana was not better shielded from DNA damage than the three non-melanotic species, and in fact suffered the highest damage rates. Melanin content in this species was not temperature dependent under the experimental growth conditions, and so did not contribute to temperature-dependent responses. It is evident that different species within the same genus have developed diverse biological responses to UVB. Our data strongly suggest that DNA damage is lethal to Daphnia and that photoenzymatic repair is the primary mechanism for removing these lesions. In the absence of light, few species are capable of removing any DNA damage. Surprisingly, the single species in which significant excision repair was detected did so only at reduced temperature. This temperature-dependence of excision repair is striking and may reflect adaptations of certain organisms to stress in a complex and changing environment. [source]

Predator-released compounds, ambient temperature and competitive exclusion among differently sized Daphnia species

FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2006
JACOBUS VIJVERBERG
Summary 1. We studied the effects of fish water and temperature on mechanisms of competitive exclusion among two Daphnia species in flow-through microcosms. The large-bodied D. pulicaria outcompeted the medium sized D. galeata × hyalina in fish water, but not in the control treatment. Daphnia galeata × hyalina was competitively displaced 36 days earlier at 18 °C than at 12 °C. 2. It is likely that the high phosphorus content of fish water increased the nutritional value of detrital seston particles by stimulating bacterial growth. Daphnia pulicaria was presumably better able to use these as food and hence showed a more rapid somatic growth than its competitor. This led to very high density of D. pulicaria in fish water, but not in the controls. The elevated D. pulicaria density coincided with high mortality and reduced fecundity in D. galeata × hyalina, resulting in competitive displacement of the hybrid. 3. It is clear that the daphnids competed for a limiting resource, as grazing caused a strong decrease in their seston food concentration. However, interference may also have played a role, as earlier studies have shown larger Daphnia species to be dominant in this respect. The high density of large-bodied D. pulicaria in fish water may have had an allelopathic effect on the hybrid. Our data are inconclusive with respect to whether the reached seston concentration was below the threshold resource level (R*) of the hybrid, where population growth rate and mortality exactly balance, as it would be set in the absence of interference, or whether interference actually raised the hybrid's R* to a value above this equilibrium particle concentration. 4. Our results do clearly show that fish-released compounds mediated competitive exclusion among zooplankton species and that such displacement occurred at a greatly enhanced rate at an elevated temperature. Fish may thus not only structure zooplankton communities directly through size-selective predation, but also indirectly through the compounds they release. [source]

Two hundred years of a diverse Daphnia community in Lake Naivasha (Kenya): effects of natural and human-induced environmental changes

FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 8 2004
Joachim Mergeay
Summary 1. We used fossil diapausing eggs extracted from 210Pb-dated sediment cores to reconstruct historical changes in the Daphnia community of Lake Naivasha, a climate-sensitive lake in Kenya which over the past 200 years has experienced a series of well-documented natural and anthropogenic environmental changes. 2. Contiguous sampling and analysis of four cores yielded ephippial capsules of eight Daphnia species. Only two of these had been recorded previously in live collections from Lake Naivasha, and one species is new to science. The four more common species (Daphnia barbata, D. laevis, D. magna, and D. pulex) show striking differences in abundance patterns and population dynamics through time. Four other species (D. lumholtzi, D. curvirostris, D. longispina s.l., and Daphnia sp. nov. type Limuru.) appear to have been present only occasionally. Nevertheless, between 1895 and 1915 seven species of Daphnia inhabited Lake Naivasha simultaneously. 3. Despite considerable natural environmental change associated with climate-driven lake-level fluctuations, the Daphnia community of Lake Naivasha has been severely affected by human activities over the past century, especially the introduction of exotic fishes and water-quality changes because of agricultural soil erosion. The recent reappearance of large-bodied Daphnia species (D. magna, D. barbata, D. lumholtzi, Daphnia sp. nov. type Limuru) after 20,110 years of absence can be explained by their release from fish predation, following a dramatic increase in turbidity caused by excess clastic sediment input from eroded catchment soils. The small-bodied species D. laevis has fared less well recently, presumably because the benefit of lowered predation pressure is counteracted by more pronounced negative effects of increased turbidity on this species and loss of submerged macrophyte beds which formerly served as predation refuge. 4. Our results suggest that, despite considerable environmental instability and the absence of specialised zooplanktivores, top-down control of fish on large zooplankton is important in Lake Naivasha. Predation pressure from fish has led to clear-cut shifts in local Daphnia species composition, but failed to drive the larger taxa to extinction. [source]

Particulate fatty acids in two small Siberian reservoirs dominated by different groups of phytoplankton

FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2003
Nadezhda N. Sushchik
SUMMARY 1. We studied the composition of fatty acids (FAs) in the seston from two small freshwater reservoirs (Bugach and Lesnoi) with distinct periodicity of domination by cyanobacteria and eukaryotic algae during the growth season. 2. The diatoms in the both reservoirs were characterised by a high content of 14:0 and C16 unsaturated acids, whereas that of the essential FA 20:5,3 [eicosapentanoic acid (EPA)] was low. The correlation between this polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) and diatom biomass was not significant in either reservoir. The percentage of 20:5,3 in seston significantly correlated with the biomass of euglenophyta in Bugach and dinophyta in Lesnoi. Hence the diatoms, usually referred as a valuable food for zooplankton, were not an important source of the essential PUFA in these systems. 3. The dominant cyanobacteria in Bugach, and the green algae in Lesnoi, both contained the same marker acids: 18:3,3 and 18:2,6. Hence, a discrimination between these two phytoplanktonic groups on the basis of FA biomarkers may be difficult in some cases. 4. We found no significant correlation between the content of 20:5,3 in seston and the biomass of the dominant daphniids in either reservoir. This is contrary to expectations, based on the literature, that EPA is generally important. Rather, the biomass of the two dominant Daphnia species in Bugach correlated strongly with the content of 18:3,3 in the seston. The cyanobacteria were a probable source of this ,3 FA for Daphnia. We conclude that EPA is not always important for Daphnia populations although, in such cases, some other PUFA (e.g. 18:3,3) might be related to their growth. [source]

On the different nature of top-down and bottom-up effects in pelagic food webs

FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 12 2002
Z. Maciej Gliwicz
SUMMARY 1.,Each individual planktonic plant or animal is exposed to the hazards of starvation and risk of predation, and each planktonic population is under the control of resource limitation from the bottom up (growth and reproduction) and by predation from the top down (mortality). While the bottom-up and top-down impacts are traditionally conceived as compatible with each other, field population-density data on two coexisting Daphnia species suggest that the nature of the two impacts is different. Rates of change, such as the rate of individual body growth, rate of reproduction, and each species' population growth rate, are controlled from the bottom up. State variables, such as biomass, individual body size and population density, are controlled from the top down and are fixed at a specific level regardless of the rate at which they are produced. 2.,According to the theory of functional responses, carnivorous and herbivorous predators react to prey density rather than to the rate at which prey are produced or reproduced. The predator's feeding rate (and thus the magnitude of its effect on prey density) should hence be regarded as a functional response to increasing resource concentration. 3.,The disparity between the bottom-up and top-down effects is also apparent in individual decision making, where a choice must be made between accepting the hazards of hunger and the risks of predation (lost calories versus loss of life). 4.,As long as top-down forces are effective, the disparity with bottom-up effects seems evident. In the absence of predation, however, all efforts of an individual become subordinate to the competition for resources. Biomass becomes limited from the bottom up as soon as the density of a superior competitor has increased to the carrying capacity of a given habitat. Such a shift in the importance of bottom-up control can be seen in zooplankton in habitats from which fish have been excluded. [source]

Stocking piscivores to improve fishing and water clarity: a synthesis of the Lake Mendota biomanipulation project

FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 12 2002
R. C. Lathrop
SUMMARYY 1.,A total of 2.7 × 106 walleye fingerlings and 1.7 × 105 northern pike fingerlings were stocked during 1987,99 in eutrophic Lake Mendota. The objectives of the biomanipulation were to improve sport fishing and to increase piscivory to levels that would reduce planktivore biomass, increase Daphnia grazing and ultimately reduce algal densities in the lake. The combined biomass of the two piscivore species in the lake increased rapidly from < 1 kg ha,1 and stabilised at 4,6 kg ha,1 throughout the evaluation period. 2.,Restrictive harvest regulations (i.e. increase in minimum size limit and reduction in bag limit) were implemented in 1988 to protect the stocked piscivores. Further restrictions were added in 1991 and 1996 for walleye and northern pike, respectively. These restrictions were essential because fishing pressure on both species (especially walleye) increased dramatically during biomanipulation. 3.,Commencing in 1987 with a massive natural die-off of cisco and declining yellow perch populations, total planktivore biomass dropped from about 300,600 kg ha,1 prior to the die-off and the fish stocking, to about 20,40 kg ha,1 in subsequent years. These low planktivore biomasses lasted until a resurgence in the perch population in 1999. 4.,During the period prior to biomanipulation when cisco were very abundant, the dominant Daphnia species was the smaller-bodied D. galeata mendotae, which usually reached a biomass maximum in June and then crashed shortly thereafter. Beginning in 1988, the larger-bodied D. pulicaria dominated, with relatively high biomasses occurring earlier in the spring and lasting well past mid-summer of many years. 5.,In many years dominated by D. pulicaria, Secchi disc readings were greater during the spring and summer months when compared with years dominated by D. galeata mendotae. During the biomanipulation evaluation period, phosphorus (P) levels also changed dramatically thus complicating our analysis. Earlier research on Lake Mendota had shown that Daphnia grazing increased summer Secchi disc readings, but P concentrations linked to agricultural and urban runoff and to climate-controlled internal mixing processes were also important factors affecting summer readings. 6.,The Lake Mendota biomanipulation project has been a success given that high densities of the large-bodied D. pulicaria have continued to dominate for over a decade, and the diversity of fishing opportunities have improved for walleye, northern pike and, more recently, yellow perch. 7.,Massive stocking coupled with very restrictive fishing regulations produced moderate increases in piscivore densities. Larger increases could be realised by more drastic restrictions on sport fishing, but these regulations would be very controversial to anglers. 8.,If the lake's food web remains in a favourable biomanipulation state (i.e. high herbivory), further improvements in water clarity are possible with future reductions in P loadings from a recently initiated non-point pollution abatement programme in the lake's drainage basin. [source]

Climate change affects colonization dynamics in a metacommunity of three Daphnia species

GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2008
FLORIAN ALTERMATT
Abstract Climate change is expected to alter the range and abundance of many species by influencing habitat qualities. For species living in fragmented populations, not only the quality of the present patches but also access to new habitat patches may be affected. Here, we show that colonization in a metacommunity can be directly influenced by weather changes, and that these observed weather changes are consistent with global climate change models. Using a long-term dataset from a rock pool metacommunity of the three species Daphnia magna, Daphnia longispina and Daphnia pulex with 507 monitored habitat patches, we correlated a four-fold increase in colonization rate with warmer, drier weather for the period from 1982 to 2006. The higher colonization rate after warm and dry summers led to an increase in metacommunity dynamics over time. A mechanistic explanation for the increased colonization rate is that the resting stages have a higher exposure to animal and wind dispersal in desiccated rock pools. Although colonization rates reacted in the same direction in all three species, there were significant species-specific effects that resulted in an overall change in the metacommunity composition. Increased local instability and colonization dynamics may even lead to higher global stability of the metacommunity. Thus, whereas climate change has been reported to cause a unidirectional change in species range for many other species, it changes the dynamics and composition of an entire community in this metacommunity, with winners and losers difficult to predict. [source]

Allochronic differentiation among Daphnia species, hybrids and backcrosses: the importance of sexual reproduction for population dynamics and genetic architecture

JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2004
T. Jankowski
Abstract Seasonal dynamics of the abundance, sexual reproduction and genetic architecture in a Daphnia hyalina-galeata hybrid complex were studied in the large and deep Lake Constance. We found evidence for the occurrence of first and second order hybridization. Our study revealed strong differences between the parental species not only regarding their seasonal dynamics, genetic architecture and diversity, but also their sexual reproductive behaviour. The overwintering D. hyalina showed low genetic diversity, no genetic differentiation during the season, and reproduced sexually in autumn, whereas D. galeata reached higher levels of genetic diversity, reproduced sexually in early summer, and exhibited changes in genetic structure during the season, but was only present from spring to autumn. However, in both species sexual reproduction was a rare event, and daphnids, including hybrids, reproduced predominantly asexually. This allows long-term persistence of hybrids as well without continuing hybridization events. Within all variables studied, F1 and F2 hybrids showed an intermediate pattern, whereas proposed backcross hybrids were more similar to their respective parentals. These differences in phenotype as well as significant differences in pairwise Fst values between parentals suggest that gene flow seems to be relatively low in the Lake Constance hybrid system. We found evidence for unidirectional introgression by backcrossing from D. galeata to D. hyalina and found a decrease in at least one of the proposed introgressed alleles in the hyalina -backcross while the season progressed. Our findings suggest allochronic differentiation within this hybrid population and different microevolutionary trajectories of the parental species, which will be discussed in the light of the ongoing reoligotrophication process of Lake Constance. [source]