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Phytoplankton phosphorus limitation and food quality for Bosmina
Author(s) -
Schulz Kimberly L.,
Sterner Robert W.
Publication year - 1999
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.1999.44.6.1549
Subject(s) - bosmina , daphnia , branchiopoda , zooplankton , cladocera , seston , biology , phosphorus , ecology , phytoplankton , food chain , interspecific competition , zoology , environmental chemistry , chemistry , nutrient , organic chemistry
Recent studies have demonstrated that Daphnia , a cladoceran (anomopod) zooplankton species with a high phosphorus content, can become P limited when fed algae deficient in phosphorus. Bosmina is another common anomopod zooplankter, but its body has a lower percentage of P than does that of Daphnia , and Bosmina might therefore be less susceptible to P mineral limitation. To test for this hypothesized interspecific difference in nutrition, Bosmina and Daphnia were raised on two food types: P‐deficient or P‐sufficient Scenedesmus acutus in two concentrations (0.2 or 1.0 mg C L −1 ). As predicted by its lower P content, Bosmina growth and fecundity were not affected by the P content of algal food, even though P‐deficient food caused significant declines in these life history parameters for Daphnia . Results suggest that Bosmina has a lower P requirement than does Daphnia and that Bosmina may process phosphorus more efficiently or be better able to survive losses in body P content. The outcome of competition between Bosmina and Daphnia therefore might shift in favor of low‐P‐content zooplankton such as Bosmina under conditions of seston P mineral limitation.