Selective predation and the species composition of arctic ponds
The zooplankton species composition of 135 ponds in the Churchill, Manitoba, area was determined. The predaceous copepod Heterocope septentrionalis was present in 99 of these habitats. Several species of calanoid copepod, but only a single morph of Daphnia middendorffiana, coexisted with this predat...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Zoology |
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Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Canadian Science Publishing
1980
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z80-056 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z80-056 |
Summary: | The zooplankton species composition of 135 ponds in the Churchill, Manitoba, area was determined. The predaceous copepod Heterocope septentrionalis was present in 99 of these habitats. Several species of calanoid copepod, but only a single morph of Daphnia middendorffiana, coexisted with this predator. Two additional species of Daphnia and a second morph of D. middendorffiana were found in ponds lacking the predator. Experiments showed that these latter species were much more vulnerable to predation than the Daphnia morph that coexisted with Heterocope. |
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