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Antennule shape and body size of Bosmina: key factors determining its vulnerability to predacious Copepoda

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Abstract

Cyclopoid copepods are common in lakes and ponds, and they have a significant predation impact on the communities of the small zooplankton species. To reduce the predation risk, some cladoceran zooplankters develop protuberant (defensive) morphologies in the presence of the copepods. In the case of the small cladoceran Bosmina, they elongate their appendages (antennule and mucrone) and change the antennule morphotype. However, information about the effectiveness of these defensive devices against copepod predation is still insufficient. In our study, to find the compositive effects of these appendages on the vulnerability of Bosmina, we exposed two bosminid species (B. longirostris and B. fatalis) of different body sizes and with appendages of different lengths and shapes to copepod (Mesocyclops) predation. The experiment revealed that the shape of the antennule is a main factor determining the bosminid’s vulnerability to copepod predation and indicated that the protection of the opened ventral carapace must be a key strategy by which Bosmina avoids copepod predation.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. T. Nagata and Dr. H. Takahashi for their helpful comments on our work. This study was partly supported by grants-in-aid to M. Sakamoto and T. Hanazato (F1910361) from a JSPS Research Fellowship for Young Scientists and grants-in-aid to T. Hanazato (no. 17201012) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

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  1. Institute of Mountain Science, Shinshu University, 5-2-4 Kogandori, Suwa, 392-0027, Japan

    Masaki Sakamoto & Takayuki Hanazato

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  1. Masaki Sakamoto
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  2. Takayuki Hanazato
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Correspondence to Masaki Sakamoto.

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Sakamoto, M., Hanazato, T. Antennule shape and body size of Bosmina: key factors determining its vulnerability to predacious Copepoda. Limnology 9, 27–34 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10201-007-0231-3

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