Journal article
Body Size, Energy Reserves, and Competitive Ability in Three Species of Cladocera
Ecology (Durham), v 63(6), pp 1780-1789
Dec 1982
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify mechanisms of competitive ability among planktonic Clodocera. We used three species (Daphnia magna, Daphnia galeata, and Bosmina longirostris) in life—table and birth—schudle experiments to analyze the effect of low food levels on each population, and in competition experiments. Demographic traits of all species were affected by low food levels, but the smaller species suffered higher death rates. D. magna matured and reproduced well in the lowest food level studied; growth rate of the population was 0.143 d—1. Survivorship for D. galeata cohorts was poor at the lowest food level but many animals did mature and reproduce; population growth rate was 0.082 d—1. Few Bosmina individuals matured and reproduced and all were dead by the third adult instar; the population growth rate was —0.136 d—1. In the competition experiments, D. magna was the numerical dominant in high—food cultures with D. galeata, and D. galeata was the numerical dominant in cultures with Bosmina. However, Bosmina coexisted with D. galeata, and in medium—food competition experiments became the numerical dominant after the first oscillation cycle of the daphnid population. We suggest that Bosmina coexists with Daphnia because Bosmina adults can survive the oscillation cycles of the Daphnia populations, and when food is abundant, after the decline of the Daphnia, the increase in resources enables Bosmina to increase its population size temporarily. Bosmina can become the numerical dominant if its population can effectively exploit available resources while the Daphnia population consists largely of juveniles.
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Details
- Title
- Body Size, Energy Reserves, and Competitive Ability in Three Species of Cladocera
- Creators
- Clyde E. GouldenLinda L. HenryAlan J. Tessier
- Publication Details
- Ecology (Durham), v 63(6), pp 1780-1789
- Publisher
- Ecological Society of America
- Number of pages
- 10
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:A1982PS51900020
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-0020428432
- Other Identifier
- 991019350582504721
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- Web of Science research areas
- Ecology