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Impact of copepod predation on distribution patterns of Daphnia pulex clones
Author(s) -
Wilson Chris C.,
Hebert Paul D. N.
Publication year - 1993
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.1993.38.6.1304
Subject(s) - daphnia pulex , copepod , biology , predation , branchiopoda , instar , pulex , ecology , daphnia , cladocera , crustacean , zooplankton , predator , zoology , larva
Asexual populations of Daphnia pulex in 112 rock bluff ponds near Churchill, Manitoba, were dominated by two clones that exhibited checkerboard distributions unrelated to pond physicochemistry. One clone dominated ponds containing the predatory copepod Hesperodiaptomus arcticus; the other dominated ponds lacking the predator. Laboratory trials showed clonal differences in the sensitivity of juveniles to H. arcticus predation. Body measurements showed that the predation‐resistant clone had a smaller body size in the second and third instars, but a consistently longer tail spine in each juvenile instar. Both distributional and experimental data provide clear evidence of differential vulnerability to predation among conspecific genotypes.