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The food of adult copepods from Lake Kainji, Nigeria
Author(s) -
CLARKE N. V.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
freshwater biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.297
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2427
pISSN - 0046-5070
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2427.1978.tb01453.x
Subject(s) - copepod , biology , herbivore , ecology , crustacean , starvation , zoology , endocrinology
SUMMARY. Gut contents of adult copepods from Lake Kainji were analysed. The calanoid copepod Tropodiaptomus banforanus was exclusively herbivorous with Melosira and Peridinium forming a large proportion of the diet. Of the cyclopoid copepods, Mesocyclops leuckarti was mainly carnivorous while the smaller Thermocyclops neglectus was mainly herbivorous. Experiments with Diplocystis (Microcystis) showed that it was not ingested by these three copepod species even after starvation and possible explanations for the results are discussed.