Summary
The filtering apparatus of eleven Cladoceran species was studied. The distances between the setulae, which act as filters, were measured. Among adult individuals, they vary from 0.2 μm in Diaphanosoma brachyurum to 4.7 μm in Sida crystallina. Species can be grouped according to the mesh-sizes, as “fine mesh filter-feeders”: Diaphanosoma brachyurum, Ceriodaphnia quadrangula, Chydorus sphaericus, Daphnia cucullata and Daphnia magna; “medium mesh filter-feeders”: Daphnia galeata, D. hyalina. D. pulicaria, Bosmina coregoni, and “coarse mesh filter-feeders”: Holopedium gibberum and Sida crystallina. In Daphnia hyalina, the distances between setulae increase from 0.3–0.4 μm in small juveniles, to 0.8–2.0 μm in adults. In Daphnia magna, the mesh-size of the filter does not increase significantly with growth. There is good evidence that the relative abundance of the filter-feeding types varies with the trophic state of the lake. In oligotrophic lakes the “coarse mesh filter-feeders” usually dominate throughout the year. The seasonal succession of zooplankton species in eutrophic lakes can be interpreted as a succession of feeding types; during winter “coarse mesh filter-feeders” dominate, while “fine mesh filter-feeders” are most abundant during summer phytoplankton blooms. Our results support the hypothesis that the species composition of filter-feeding zooplankton is strongly influenced by the amount of suspended bacteria which are available as food only for filter-feeding species with fine meshes.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Burns D (1968) The relationship between body size of filter-feeding Cladocera and the maximum size of particle ingested. Limnol Oceanogr 13:675–678
Cannon HG, Leak F (1933) On the feeding mechanism of the Branchiopoda. Philos Trans R Soc Lond Ser B 222:267–352
Coker JH, Hayes WJ (1940) Biological observations in Mountain Lake, Virginia. Ecology 21:192–198
Davis ChC (1966) Plankton studies in the largest great lakes of the world. Great Lakes Res Div, Univ Michigan Pub No 14:1–36
Fenchel T (1980) Suspension feeding in ciliated protozoa: structure and function of feeding organelles. Arch Protistenk 123:239–260
Fenchel T (1980) Relation between particle size selection and clearance in suspension-feeding ciliates. Limnol Oceanogr 25:733–738
Flössner D (1972) Krebstiere, Crustacea: Kiemen- und Blattfüßer, Branchiopoda, Fischläuse, Branchiura. In: M Dahl and F Peus (eds), Die Tierwelt Deutschlands, 60. Teil, Jena
Franke H (1925) Der Fangapparat von Chydorus sphaericus. Z wiss Zool 125:271–298
Geller W (1975) Die Nahrungsaufnahme von Daphnia pulex in Abhängigkeit von der Futterkonzentration, der Temperatur, der Körpergröße und dem Hungerzustand der Tiere. Arch Hydrobiol/Suppl 48:47–107
Geller W (1980) Stabile Zeitmuster in der Planktonsuccession des Bodensees (Überlinger See). Verh Ges Ökol 8:373–382
Gliwicz ZM (1969) The share of algae, bacteria, and trypton in the food of the pelagic zooplankton of lakes with various trophic characteristics. Bull Acad Pol Sci 17:159–165
Gliwicz ZM (1977) Food size selection and seasonal succession of filter-feeding zooplankton in an eutrophic lake. Ekol Pol 25:179–225
Gliwicz ZM (1980) Food and predation as factors limiting clutch size in cladocerans. Int Ver Theor Angew Limnol Verh 21 (in press)
Godlewska-Lipowa WA (1975) Ecosystem of the Mikolajskie lake. The role of heterotrophic bacteria in the pelagial. Pol Arch Hydrobiol 22:79–87
Godlewska-Lipowa WA (1976) Bacteria as indicators of the degree of eutrophication and degradation of lakes. Pol Arch Hydrobiol 23:341–356
Gophen M (1977) Feeding of Daphnia on Chlamydomonas and Chlorobium. Nature 265:271–273
Gophen M, Cavari BZ, Berman T (1974) Zooplankton feeding of differentially labeled algae and bacteria. Nature 247:393–394
Graf H (1930) Der Fangapparat von Bosmina. Z Morphol Oecol Tiere 19:381–396
Haney JF, Hall DJ (1972) Sugar-coated Daphnia: a preservation technique for Cladocera. Limnol Oceanogr 18:331–332
Hutchinson GE (1967) A treatise on limnology, Vol II. New York
Korinek V, Machacek J (1980) Filtering structures of Cladocera and their ecological significance I. Daphnia pulicaria. Vest cs Spolec zool 44:213–218
Korinek V, Krepelova B, Machacek J (1980) Ecological significance of filtering structures in Cladocera. II. Species of the genera Daphnia and Ceriodaphnia. Int Ver Theor Angew Limnol Verh 21 (in press)
Kozhov M (1963) Lake Baikal and its life. Monogr biol 11, The Hague
Krambeck C (1978) Changes in planktonic microbial populations —an analysis by scanning electron microscopy. Int Ver Theor Angew Limnol Verh 20:2255–2259
Lampert W (1978) A field study on the dependence of the fecundity of Daphnia spec. on food concentration. Oecologia (Berl) 36:363–369
McMahon JW, Rigler FM (1965) Feeding rate of Daphnia magna Straus in different foods labeled with radioactive phosphorus. Limnol Oceanogr 10:105–113
Nauwerck A (1963) Die Beziehung zwischen Zooplankton und Phytoplankton im See Erken. Symb Bot Uppsal 17:1–163
Neill WE (1975) Resource partitioning by competing microcrustaceans in stable laboratory microecosystems. Int Ver Theor Angew Limnol Verh 19:2885–2890
Nival P, Nival S (1976) Particle retention efficiencies of an herbivorous copepod, Acartia clausi (adult and copepodite stages): effects on grazing. Limnol Oceanogr 21:24–38
Paerl HW, Shimp SL (1973) Preparation of filtered plankton and detritus for study with scanning electron microscopy. Limnol Oceanogr 18:802–805
Patalas K (1972) Crustacean plankton and the eutrophication of St. Lawrence Great Lakes. J Fish Res Bd Canada 29:1451–1462
Peijler B (1965) Regional-ecological studies of Swedish fresh-water zooplankton. Zool Bidr Upps 36:407–515
Peterson BJ, Hobbie JE, Haney JF (1978) Daphnia grazing on natural bacteria. Limnol Oceanogr 23:1039–1044
Psenner R (1976) Bakterien im Piburger See. Diss Innsbruck
Rigler FH (1961) The relation between concentration of food and feeding rate of Daphnia magna Straus. Can J Zool 39:857–868
Rubenstein DI, Koehl MA (1977) The mechanisms of filter feeding: some theoretical considerations. Amer Natural 111:981–994
Salimovskaya-Rodina AG (1940) Bacteria and yeasts as food for Cladocera (Daphnia magna). Compt Rend Acad Sci URSS 29:248–252
Simon M (1980) Umwandlungen des Sestons während des Sinkprozesses im Herbst im Bodensee-Überlinger See. Diplom Freiburg
Smyly W, Collins VG (1975) The influence of microbial food sources and aeration on the growth of Ceriodaphnia quadrangula under experimental conditions. Freshwater Biol 5:251–256
Sorokin YI, Paveljeva EB (1978) On structure and functioning of ecosystem in a salmon lake. Hydrobiologia 57:25–48
Stankovic S (1960) The Balkan Lake Ohrid and its living world. Monogr biol 9, The Hague
Storch O (1922) Der Fangapparat der Daphniden für Nannoplankton. Verh Dtsch Zool Ges 27:61–63
Storch O (1924) Morphologie und Physiologie des Fangapparates der Daphniden. Ergebn Fortschr Zool 6:125–233
Straskrabova V, Komarkova J (1979) Seasonal changes in bacterioplankton in a reservoir related to algae. I. Number and biomass. Int Rev Hydrobiol 64:285–302
Straskrabova V, Sorokin YI (1972) Determination of cell size of micro-organisms for the calculation of biomass. In: YI Sorokin and H Kadota (eds), Techniques for the assessment of microbial production and decomposition in fresh waters. IBP Handbook 23 Oxford
Tezuka Y (1971) Feeding rate of Daphnia on planktonic bacteria. Jap J Ecol 21:127–134
Winberg GG (1972) Some results of Soviet IBP investigations on lakes. In: Z Kajak and A Hillbricht-Ilkowska (eds), Productivity problems of freshwaters Krakow
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Geller, W., Müller, H. The filtration apparatus of Cladocera: Filter mesh-sizes and their implications on food selectivity. Oecologia 49, 316–321 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00347591
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00347591