Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The filtration apparatus of Cladocera: Filter mesh-sizes and their implications on food selectivity

  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

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.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

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

    Google Scholar 

  • Cannon HG, Leak F (1933) On the feeding mechanism of the Branchiopoda. Philos Trans R Soc Lond Ser B 222:267–352

    Google Scholar 

  • Coker JH, Hayes WJ (1940) Biological observations in Mountain Lake, Virginia. Ecology 21:192–198

    Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Google Scholar 

  • Fenchel T (1980) Relation between particle size selection and clearance in suspension-feeding ciliates. Limnol Oceanogr 25:733–738

    Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Google Scholar 

  • Geller W (1980) Stabile Zeitmuster in der Planktonsuccession des Bodensees (Überlinger See). Verh Ges Ökol 8:373–382

    Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Google Scholar 

  • Gliwicz ZM (1977) Food size selection and seasonal succession of filter-feeding zooplankton in an eutrophic lake. Ekol Pol 25:179–225

    Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Google Scholar 

  • Godlewska-Lipowa WA (1976) Bacteria as indicators of the degree of eutrophication and degradation of lakes. Pol Arch Hydrobiol 23:341–356

    Google Scholar 

  • Gophen M (1977) Feeding of Daphnia on Chlamydomonas and Chlorobium. Nature 265:271–273

    Google Scholar 

  • Gophen M, Cavari BZ, Berman T (1974) Zooplankton feeding of differentially labeled algae and bacteria. Nature 247:393–394

    Google Scholar 

  • Graf H (1930) Der Fangapparat von Bosmina. Z Morphol Oecol Tiere 19:381–396

    Google Scholar 

  • Haney JF, Hall DJ (1972) Sugar-coated Daphnia: a preservation technique for Cladocera. Limnol Oceanogr 18:331–332

    Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Google Scholar 

  • Lampert W (1978) A field study on the dependence of the fecundity of Daphnia spec. on food concentration. Oecologia (Berl) 36:363–369

    Google Scholar 

  • McMahon JW, Rigler FM (1965) Feeding rate of Daphnia magna Straus in different foods labeled with radioactive phosphorus. Limnol Oceanogr 10:105–113

    Google Scholar 

  • Nauwerck A (1963) Die Beziehung zwischen Zooplankton und Phytoplankton im See Erken. Symb Bot Uppsal 17:1–163

    Google Scholar 

  • Neill WE (1975) Resource partitioning by competing microcrustaceans in stable laboratory microecosystems. Int Ver Theor Angew Limnol Verh 19:2885–2890

    Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Google Scholar 

  • Paerl HW, Shimp SL (1973) Preparation of filtered plankton and detritus for study with scanning electron microscopy. Limnol Oceanogr 18:802–805

    Google Scholar 

  • Patalas K (1972) Crustacean plankton and the eutrophication of St. Lawrence Great Lakes. J Fish Res Bd Canada 29:1451–1462

    Google Scholar 

  • Peijler B (1965) Regional-ecological studies of Swedish fresh-water zooplankton. Zool Bidr Upps 36:407–515

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson BJ, Hobbie JE, Haney JF (1978) Daphnia grazing on natural bacteria. Limnol Oceanogr 23:1039–1044

    Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubenstein DI, Koehl MA (1977) The mechanisms of filter feeding: some theoretical considerations. Amer Natural 111:981–994

    Google Scholar 

  • Salimovskaya-Rodina AG (1940) Bacteria and yeasts as food for Cladocera (Daphnia magna). Compt Rend Acad Sci URSS 29:248–252

    Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Google Scholar 

  • Sorokin YI, Paveljeva EB (1978) On structure and functioning of ecosystem in a salmon lake. Hydrobiologia 57:25–48

    Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Google Scholar 

  • Storch O (1924) Morphologie und Physiologie des Fangapparates der Daphniden. Ergebn Fortschr Zool 6:125–233

    Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Google Scholar 

  • Winberg GG (1972) Some results of Soviet IBP investigations on lakes. In: Z Kajak and A Hillbricht-Ilkowska (eds), Productivity problems of freshwaters Krakow

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Limnologisches Institut, Universität Konstanz, D-7750, Konstanz, Federal Republic of Germany

    Walter Geller & Helga Müller

Authors
  1. Walter Geller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Helga Müller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints 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

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00347591

Keywords

Search

Navigation