Different competitive outcomes among four species of cladocerans under different alga combinations of colonial Microcystis spp. and green alga Scenedesmus obliquus
Chen, F.; Xie, P.; Qin, B.
Hydrobiologia 581: 209-215
2007
ISSN/ISBN: 0018-8158 DOI: 10.1007/s10750-006-0493-5
Accession: 013238380
Cyanobacteria blooms (especially Microcystis spp.) are thought to alter dominance of large-sized daphnids into small-sized metazoan zooplankton. However, several field investigations show different phenomena. Laboratory experiments were conducted based on the hypothesis that different Microcystis spp. concentrations would influence competitive outcomes using two algal combinations of different concentrations and four species of cladocerans. In the algal combination of 50 mg 1-1 colonial Microcystis spp. + 1 mg 1-1 Scenedesmus obliquus (fresh weight), Daphnia carinata was absent during the experiment in competition with other cladocerans. Decreasing colonial Microcystis spp. concentration (10 mg 1-1) resulted in a shift from dominance by small-sized cladocerans to dominance by D. carinata. No significant effects of different concentrations of colonial Microcystis spp. on competitive outcomes were shown among three small-sized cladocerans. These results support the idea that cyanobacteria concentration affects the dominance status of large-bodied daphnid