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A method for determining food selection by zooplankton 1, 2
Author(s) -
Lampert Winfried
Publication year - 1974
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.1974.19.6.0995
Subject(s) - daphnia pulex , algae , biology , daphnia , bacteria , nitzschia , food science , diatom , botany , ecology , phytoplankton , zooplankton , nutrient , genetics
A method of testing the preference of filter feeders for food organisms in a mixture is described. Daphnia pulex (De Geer) was offered a mixture 3 H‐labeled bacteria and 11 C‐labeled algae and the radioactivity of double‐labeled samples was measured in a liquid scintillation counter. Only the smallest Daphnia (< 1.5 mm) filtered bacteria preferentially from a mixture of Micrococcus (1.5 µ m) and the pennate diatom Nitzschia actinastroides (length 28 µ m). The larger animals ingest bacteria and algae without differentiation.