Competitive Influence of Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) on Daphnia longispina Population Dynamics in the Presence of Cyanobacteria
✍ Scribed by Adrianna Wojtal-Frankiewicz; Anna Sieczko; Katarzyna Izydorczyk; Tomasz Jurczak; Piotr Frankiewicz
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2010
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 536 KB
- Volume
- 95
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1434-2944
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✦ Synopsis
Abstract
The demographic response of Daphnia longispina to the presence of the competitive filter‐feeder zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) was examined in a ten‐day laboratory experiment. The experiment was carried out in five replicates of four treatments corresponding to zooplankton and zebra mussels presence/absence combinations. Our experiment revealed a negative influence of zebra mussels on D. longispina population growth, suggesting low recruitment caused by high mortality at juvenile stages. We observed a smaller loss of phytoplankton biomass in mussel treatments than in the zooplankton treatment. Additionally, the concentration of microcystins was from 3.5 to 4.3 times higher in mussel treatments than in the zooplankton treatment. We also observed that Daphnia excreted significantly more ammonia than zebra mussels but less phosphate. The high amount of phosphate excreted by zebra mussels might have facilitated M. aeruginosa development and resulted in a greater cyanobacteria biomass in the mussel treatments. These results suggest a negative impact of invasive zebra mussels on a keystone filter‐feeding Daphnia spp. and a favourable effect of mussels on M. aeruginosa, by returning them back as pseudoceces, which may be important factors for the management of eutrophic freshwater ecosystems with cyanobacteria blooms. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)