Ref ID : 770
Kalevi Salonen and Raimo Latja; Variation in the carbon content of two Asplanchna species. Hydrobiologia 162:79-87, 1988
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The rotifers of the genus Asplanchna were sampled four times during the summer from eight lakes of different types. The mean individual carbon content in the population varied between 0.15-0.66 ugC ind.-1 (n=21) for A. priodonta and 1.0-1.6 ugC ind.-1 (n=3) for A. herricki. The carbon content and the size of A. priodonta varied considerably between the populations of both different lakes and dates. The carbon level of both Asplanchna species (sample mean 0.2-1% of wet weight) was considerably lower than is generally found for rotifers. Much of the variation of carbon level could be explained by an inverse relationship with wet weight. The high variation in the carbon content of individuals suggests that Asplanchna populations may adapt their mean body size to fit prevailing environmental conditions.