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THE EFFECT OF OXYGEN TENSION ON THE VERTICAL MIGRATION OF CHAOBORUS LARVAE 1
Author(s) -
LaRow Edward J.
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1970.15.3.0357
Subject(s) - stratum , oxygen , larva , plankton , sunset , oxygen tension , factorial experiment , replicate , biology , environmental science , zoology , chemistry , ecology , mathematics , physics , paleontology , statistics , organic chemistry , astronomy
A factorial experiment was designed to elucidate the environmental factors controlling vertical migration of Chaoborus punctipennis Say larvae. Variables were oxygen concentration, temperature, and presence or absence of food (plankton). Replicate experiments were conducted and hourly counts were made. Under low oxygen conditions ( x̄ = 0.57 ppm), 35.5% of the planktonic larvae were found in the stratum immediately above the sediments and 30.0% in the surface stratum 2 hr after sunset. At high oxygen concentrations ( x̄ = 6.81 ppm), an average of 88.2% of the larvae remained in the bottom stratum and only 1.1% migrated to the surface stratum 2 hr after sunset. Temperature change and presence or absence of food modified behavior; however, varying these factors under high oxygen concentrations failed to induce vertical migratory behavior. It was concluded that low oxygen tension was a major regulatory factor for the vertical migration in these Chaoborus larvae.