Ref ID : 810
Karl Otto Rothhaupt; Changes of the functional responses of the rotifers Brachionus rubens and Brachionus calyciflorus with particle sizes. Limnol.Oceanogr. 35(1):24-32, 1990
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Effects of size and concentration of food particles on clearance and ingestion rates were studied for the rotifer species Brachionus rubens and Brachionus calyciflorus. Food algae of varying sizes were offered in short-term radiotracer experiments. For small particles, below the optimal size, feeding was best described by the rectilinear model with constant maximal clearance rates (ul/ind.hr) below and constant maximal ingestion rates (ngC/ind.hr) above a critical concentration. In this size range, the maximal clearance rate increased and the critical concentration decreased with particle size. For particles larger than the optimal size, feeding could best be described by a curvilinear model. In this size range, clearance rates decreased continuously with food concentration, maximal ingestion rates were lower than those for small particles, and ingestion rates could even decrease in high concentrations of big particles. These finding suggest different mechanisms in feeding on small and large particles and help to reconcile some seemingly contradictory results of previous studies.