Reproductive allocation in daphnia exposed to toxic cyanobacteria

We investigated experimentally how resources were allocated to reproduction in Daphnia pulex and Daphnia longispina when varying levels of toxic Microcystis were added to higher quality food. We used multiple regression models to estimate mean offspring size and clutch size in relation to maternal s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of plankton research 1999-08, Vol.21 (8), p.1553-1564
Main Authors: REINIKAINEN, M, HIETALA, J, WALLS, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Clutch
Daphnia longispina
Daphnia pulex
Food
Food quality
Fresh water ecosystems
Freshwater crustaceans
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Offspring
Progeny
Regression analysis
Regressions
Reproduction
Resources
Size
Synecology
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Summary:We investigated experimentally how resources were allocated to reproduction in Daphnia pulex and Daphnia longispina when varying levels of toxic Microcystis were added to higher quality food. We used multiple regression models to estimate mean offspring size and clutch size in relation to maternal size and clutch number, and analysed effects of treatments on residuals from the models. We also measured variation in per offspring investment. At a high cyanobacterial level, D.pulex was virtually unable to reproduce. At a lower level, D.pulex produced small clutches. However, the regression model residuals indicated that the presence of cyanobacteria increased the portion of available resources allocated to reproduction. The observed allocation may be a means to maximize reproduction under diminished longevity. Effects on mean offspring size were marginal in D.pulex but variation in per offspring investment sometimes decreased in cyanobacterial exposures. Daphnia longispina was affected by a higher cyanobacterial level only, where offspring sized was reduced. Deviations from the regression model indicated that effects on maternal size alone do not explain this effect. Clutch size residuals and per offspring investment were unaffected by treatments in D.longispina. The observed responses differ from theoretical models on reproductive allocation under food imitation.
ISSN:0142-7873
1464-3774
1464-3774
DOI:10.1093/plankt/21.8.1553