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The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Ref ID : 1904

Tanja Plassmann, Gerhard Maier, and Hans Bernd Stich; Predation impact of Cyclops vicinus on the rotifer community in Lake Constance in spring. J.Plankton Research 19(8):1069-1079, 1997

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The predation impact of Cyclops vicinus on rotifers was studied under near-natural conditions in small enclosures to evaluate whether copepod predation is responsible for the decline of rotifers in Lake Constance in spring. Cyclops vicinus fed selectively on Synchaeta spp.; Keratella and Polyarthra spp. were not selected for. Predation rates increased with prey density up to a maximum of 37 Synchaeta day-1 at a density of 1.6x10E6 Synchaeta m-2, i.e. at ~1200 Synchaeta l-1. Calculation of cropping rates suggests that Cyclops alone can control the abundance of Synchaeta in spring, i.e. that mainly Cyclops is responsible for the decline of Synchaeta species in Lake Constance in May.