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The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Ref ID : 1961

Stephen T. Threlkeld and Elizabeth M. Choinski; Rotifers, cladocerans and planktivorous fish: What are the major interactions? Hydrobiologia 147:239-243, 1987

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Results of ten outdoor tank experiments on the effects of two kinds of planktivorous fish (Dorosoma cepedianum and Menidia beryllina) on phytoplankton and zooplankton were reviewed for evidence of rotifer-cladoceran interactions. Correlation and multiple regression analyses of the responses of populations of six rotifer species in ten experiments were examined for evidence of interference competition with daphnids, resource exploitation, or invertebrate predation by crustaceans associated with daphnid-dominated communities. A separate enclosure experiment was conducted to assess the potential for short-term effects of dense daphnid populations on four rotifer populations. Indirect resource-mediated effects on rotifer populations associated with manipulations of planktivorous fish were more numerous and consistently expressed than direct negative effects of cladocerans or copepods on rotifer populations.