Zooplankton community structure and ecology of the tropical-highland Lake Hayq, Ethiopia

Lake Hayq, a highland lake in Ethiopia, was stocked with Tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus) in late 1970s, offering an opportunity to study the effect of fish predation in a natural lake. Since 1930s, some limnological surveys have been done sporadically documenting a change in zooplankton composition including the disappearance of cladocerans, hypothesizing the stocked planktivorous fish could be a cause. Nevertheless, no detailed research was conducted to identify potential effects of fish stocking predominantly due to its remote location. The article presents data about zooplankton composition, abundance and biomass done between October 2007 and January 2009 on short-time intervals including the underlying limnological variables. The zooplankton community was depauperate comprising two copepods, three cladocerans, and six rotifers taxa, as typical for tropical lakes. Total mean standing biomass of all crustacean zooplankton was 237 mg dry mass m⁻³, which gave Lake Hayq an intermediate position when compared with other tropical lakes. Of copepods, Thermocyclops ethiopiensis was almost an exclusive species, and its temporal variation was influenced by food supply and water temperature. We refute the hypothesis that Tilapia was the cause for the seasonal disappearance of cladocerans, and attribute it to the adverse effect of episodic mixing. Nevertheless, the planktivorous fish probably plays a key role in structuring the cladocerans in particular the large-sized Daphnia magna. In January 2008, we observed a massive planktivorous fish mortality that triggered high algal biomass, which was later grazed by large-sized D. magna demonstrating the trophic cascade hypothesis in a natural ecosystem.     

Ecological engineering in a eutrophic lake: A case study of large aquatic macrophyte enclosures in Baima Lake,China

Ecological restoration of eutrophic lakes using aquatic macrophytes is an important and practical technology. Here, we investigated the response of phytoplankton and zooplankton to a large-scale 2015-built aquatic macrophyte enclosure (AME, 200,000 m²) screened of by a PVC net in Baima Lake, a eutrophic lake, from spring to autumn of 2019. AME significantly improved water quality by increasing water transparency, and reducing total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a content during the growing season. AME significantly decreased phytoplankton abundance and biomass and marginally increased zooplankton abundance and biomass. Phytoplankton and zooplankton communities were closely related to environmental factors, such as water temperature, conductivity, total phosphorus, chemical oxygen demand, and chlorophyll-a inside and outside the AME. The zooplankton:phytoplankton biomass ratio inside was slightly higher than outside the AME. Zooplankton and phytoplankton biomass were significantly positively correlated inside and outside the AME, as were chlorophyll-a and total phosphorus. We found phosphorus to be a key factor limiting primary productivity in Baima Lake, and that bottom-up effects were the main driver to control phytoplankton in the AME. Using aquatic macrophytes to reduce nutrient loads is an effective way to manage eutrophication in Baima Lake.     

北京翠湖湿地浮游动物调查及水质评价

2012年4月至10月,在翠湖湿地选6个具有代表性的采样点,分别对湿地水体内浮游动物的种类及数量进行的调查显示,在翠湖湿地共有浮游动物4大类45种,其中以轮虫和原生动物种类最多,占浮游动物总数的82.2%。翠湖湿地浮游动物数量以6月最多,4月次之,8月和10月的种类数量相差不大。E/O指数等多种评价方法结果均显示翠湖湿地水体呈富营养化状态,6月翠湖湿地水体为超富营养类型。翠湖湿地外围取水渠的水质最差,其次为荷花塘和雁鸭湖,边境湖和天鹅湖的水质相对较好。     

Interactions between the rotifer Euchlanis dilatata and the cladocerans Alona glabra and Macrothrix triserialis in relation to diet type

We studied, separately, the effect of the cladocerans Alona glabra and Macrothrix triserialis on the population growth of the rotifer Euchlanis dilatata using three different food types (Chlorella and Scenedesmus, live or dead, offered on a comparable dry weight basis, 3.16 μg C ml⁻¹). Regardless of the presence or absence of competition, E. dilatata cultured using Chlorella (live or dead) showed a higher population growth as compared to Scenedesmus. Compared to heat-killed C. vulgaris, E. dilatata cultured alone and fed on live algae reached higher abundances. Both cladoceran species had an adverse effect on the population growth of Euchlanis, but did not eliminate the rotifers. Of the two cladocerans, M. triserialis had a far more adverse effect on the population densities of E. dilatata as compared to A. glabra. E. dilatata also influenced the population growth of A. glabra and M. triserialis, the former being more adversely affected than the latter. When the egg ratios of E. dilatata were plotted as a function of population density, a significantly inverse relation was obtained only in treatments containing Chlorella but not for other treatments. Statistically the rate of population increase (r) per day of E. dilatata was adversely affected by the diet type and the presence of competing species. The interaction of diet type X competition was also significant. For A. glabra, the presence of E. dilatata and the diet type, but not their interaction, significantly influenced the r. On the other hand for M. triserialis, only the diet type was significant. Our results suggest that the competitive outcome between rotifers and cladocerans was dependent on diet type.     

Calcium levels in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Daphnia</Emphasis> ephippia cannot provide a useful paleolimnological indicator of historical lakewater Ca concentrations

Despite reductions in atmospheric sulphur emissions and the resulting decline in acidic deposition, many lakes on the Canadian Shield that have experienced acidification are either recovering at a rate slower than expected or not recovering at all. This lack of recovery is believed to be partly the consequence of the depletion of exchangeable base cations (principally calcium, Ca) from watershed soils. Although the implications of reduced Ca availability for biological communities remain poorly understood, the effects on crustacean zooplankton populations may be severe, as Ca is the primary structural component of the crustacean zooplankton exoskeleton. Because the daphniid resting egg is protected by a modified portion of the exoskeleton (ephippia) and because these ephippia are well preserved in lake sediments, we investigated whether inter-specific differences in Ca content are recoverable from Daphnia ephippia. However, using two methods, we did not find a recoverable Ca signal in the ephippia, indicating that future efforts should be focused upon sedimentary taxonomic assemblage differences, not differences in ephippial Ca levels.     

Further records of Craspedacusta sowerbyi lankester in north island lakes (note)

Collections of mature medusae from Lake Rotoiti proved all to be male and provide further evidence that the origin of the species in New Zealand was from a very limited introduction.     

Correlations between fatty acid composition of seston and zooplankton and effects of environmental parameters in a eutrophic Siberian reservoir

During two sampling seasons we analyzed on weekly basis fatty acid (FA) composition of seston fraction <130 μm and zooplankton fraction >130 μm, and compared them using a multivariate canonical correlation analysis (CCA). Besides, we evaluated a possible impact of water temperature and inorganic nutrients on FA composition of the seston and the zooplankton.In spite of significant differences in percentages of several individual FAs, we found very strong canonical correlation (cross-correlation, 1-week lag) between FA composition of the seston and the zooplankton. The most important factor, providing the overall canonical cross-correlation between FA profiles of the seston and the zooplankton fractions was eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5ω3, EPA). FA composition of the zooplankton fraction had comparatively poor correlations with taxonomic composition of the zooplankton. Thus, seasonal variations of FA composition of the zooplankton were determined primarily by seasonal changes in FA composition of the seston, rather than by taxonomic differences of FA profiles between rotifers, cyclopoids and cladocerans. FA composition of the seston was strongly affected by its taxonomic composition, namely by that of phytoplankton. According to CCA, the highest factor loadings pertained to diatoms interacting with their marker acids, including EPA, and cyanobacteria and greens, interacting with their marker acids. Ciliates and small rotifers composed considerable and sometimes major part of the seston biomass, but according to CCA their contributions to seasonal variations of the total FA profile of the seston were insignificant. This finding indirectly support the conclusion of the other authors, that the main source of FAs presented in ciliates and rotifers must be sought in algae and that they do not modify FA composition of food consumed, apart from repackaging it.Water temperature was the principal environmental parameter which drove the overall variations of FA composition. Factor loadings for the inorganic nutrients were comparatively negligible. The main contribution in the seasonal variation of FA composition of the seston was given by negative interaction between water temperature and percentage of EPA in the seston.     

Feeding of European cisco (Coregonus albula and C. lucinensis) on the glacial relict crustacean Mysis relicta in Lake Breiter Luzin (Germany)

Lake Breiter Luzin, located in north-eastern Germany, is known for the rare occurrence of sympatric populations of European cisco, Coregonus albula and C. lucinensis. Moreover, the lake is inhabited by the glacial relict crustacean Mysis relicta, currently found in only three other lakes in Germany. In the present study, the role of M. relicta in the diet of ciscoes was investigated. Between 2001 and 2002 ciscoes, mysids and zooplankton were caught in Lake Breiter Luzin and stomach contents of ciscoes were analysed. There were seasonal changes in the food items in the stomachs, largely reflecting changes in prey availability. The main food items were copepods (45–81%) and mysids (5–26%). Cladocerans had high amounts in the diet only in summer. Seasonal changes in selectivity were also noted for most prey groups. There were also some consistent patterns of prey preference, with an overall preference for mysids. In general, the prey composition in cisco stomachs did not show significant diet changes, but there were some significant differences between day and night feeding in single prey groups, such as cladocerans. Diet composition of ciscoes varied with the different depth strata in which the fish were caught. With increasing depth, the proportion of mysids in the diet significantly increased, whereas that of copepods significantly decreased. Between C. albula and C. lucinensis, no distinct differences in feeding were evident. Mysids provided an additional and important food resource to ciscoes, and were mainly consumed when the availability of other prey organisms decreased, as in autumn and in the deeper strata of the water column. However, mysids preyed on the same food organisms as ciscoes, indicating a strong competition for food between fish and mysids.     

Zooplankton and Karenia brevis in the Gulf of Mexico

Blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate Karenia brevis are common in the Gulf of Mexico, yet no in situ studies of zooplankton and K. brevis have been conducted there. Zooplankton abundance and taxonomic composition at non-bloom and K. brevis bloom stations within the Ecology of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) study area were compared. At non-bloom stations, the most abundant species of zooplankton were Parvocalanus crassirostris, Oithona colcarva, and Paracalanus quasimodo at the 5-m isobath and P. quasimodo, O. colcarva, and Oikopleura dioica at the 25-m isobath. There was considerable overlap in dominance of zooplankton species between the 5 and 25-m isobaths, with nine species contributing to 90% of abundance at both isobaths. At stations within K. brevis blooms however, Acartia tonsa, Centropages velificatus, Temora turbinata, Evadne tergestina, O. colcarva, O. dioica, and P. crassirostris were dominant. Variations in abundance between non-bloom and bloom assemblages were evident, including the reduction in abundance of three key species within K. brevis blooms.     

东北季风初期台湾北部沿岸海域浮游动物的特点

本文报道台湾北部沿岸海域东北季风初期浮游动物的特点。台湾西北沿岸海的浮游动物生物量和密度高于台湾岸海域,但是浮游动物种类在东北沿岸海域却较丰富。台湾西北沿岸海域浮游动物属于暖水近岸种类,来自在台湾海峡从南到北暖流。台湾东北沿岸海域浮游动物群落包含来自东海陆架水的种类例如中华哲水蚤、太平洋磷虾, 含有黑潮水的热带暖水近岸种。