Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Salinization decreases population densities of the freshwater crustacean, Daphnia dentifera

  • Primary Research Paper
  • Published:
Hydrobiologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Salinization of freshwater systems is a global concern. In the northern United States, a large driver of freshwater salinization is the application of road salt which runs into freshwater systems. We tested the effects of salinization on traits and population densities of the freshwater crustacean, Daphnia dentifera, a common species in the Midwestern United States. We first measured the effects of salinity on resource acquisition (feeding rates), birth rates, and death rates of individual D. dentifera. Then we performed an experiment to quantify the population-level effects of salinity. There was little effect of salinity on individual characteristics; birth and death rates were unaffected by salinity treatment and only one D. dentifera genotype showed lower feeding rates with increased salinity. However, D. dentifera population densities were lower with increased salinity. Our results suggest that studies conducted on individuals may underestimate the population-level effects of salinization. Moreover, since Daphnia are often dominant grazers in freshwater systems, reduced population densities from salinization could have dramatic effects on communities and ecosystems.

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

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alcaraz, C., A. Bisazza & E. García-Berthou, 2008. Salinity mediates the competitive interactions between invasive mosquitofish and an endangered fish. Oecologia 155: 205–213.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arnér, M. & S. Koivisto, 1993. Effects of salinity on metabolism and life history characteristics of Daphnia magna. Hydrobiologia 259: 69–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baer, K. N. & C. E. Goulden, 1998. Evaluation of a high-hardness COMBO medium and frozen algae for Daphnia magna. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 39: 201–306.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bertram, C. R., M. Pinkowski, S. R. Hall, M. A. Duffy & C. E. Cáceres, 2013. Trait-mediated indirect effects, predators, and disease: test of a size-based model. Oecologia 173: 1023–1032.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bridgeman, T. B., C. D. Wallace, G. S. Carter, R. Carvajal, L. C. Schiesari, S. Aslam, E. Cloyd, D. Elder, A. Field, K. L. Schulz, P. M. Yurista & G. W. Kling, 2000. A limnological survey of Third Sister Lake, Michigan with historical comparisons. Lake and Reservoir Management 16: 253–267.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, A. & N. Yan, 2015. Food quantity affects the sensitivity of Daphnia to road salt. Environmental Science and Technology 49: 4673–4680.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bunn, S. E. & A. H. Arthington, 2002. Basic principles and ecological consequences of altered flow regimes for aquatic biodiversity. Environmental Management 30: 492–507.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter, S. R., S. G. Fisher, N. B. Grimm & J. F. Kitchell, 1992. Global changes and freshwater ecosystems. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 23: 119–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter, S. R., E. H. Stanley & M. J. Vander Zanden, 2011. State of the world’s freshwater ecosystems: physical, chemical and biological changes. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 36: 75–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, W. & J. C. Chen, 2000. Effects of pH, temperature and salinity on immune parameters of the freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii. Fish and Shellfish Immunology 10: 387–391.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cook, L. J. & S. N. Francoeur, 2013. Effects of simulated short-term road salt exposure on lotic periphyton function. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 28: 211–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corsi, S. R., L. A. De Cicco, M. A. Lutz & R. M. Hirsch, 2015. River chloride trends in snow-affected urban watersheds: increasing concentrations outpace urban growth rate and are common among all seasons. Science of the Total Environment 508: 488–497.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dodson, S. I., S. Ryan, R. Tollrain & W. Lampert, 1997. Individual swimming behavior of Daphnia: effects of food, light and container size in four clones. Journal of Plankton Research 19: 1537–1552.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duffy, M. A. & S. R. Hall, 2008. Selective predation and rapid evolution can jointly dampen effect of virulent parasites on Daphnia populations. The American Naturalist 171: 499–510.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Godwin, K. S., S. D. Hafner & M. F. Buff, 2003. Long-term trends in sodium and chloride in the Mohawk River, New York: the effect of fifty years of road-salt application. Environmental Pollution 124: 273–281.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, C. J. & C. W. Burns, 2002. Mortality and growth responses of Daphnia carinata to increases in temperature and salinity. Freshwater Biology 47: 451–458.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanazato, T., 2001. Pesticide effects on freshwater zooplankton: an ecological perspective. Environmental Pollution 112: 1–10.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hebert P. (1995) The Daphnia of North America: an illustrated fauna. CyberNatural Software: University of Guelph.

  • Judd, K. E., H. E. Adams, N. S. Bosch, J. M. Kostrzewski, C. E. Scott, B. M. Schultz, D. H. Wang & G. W. Kling, 2005. A case history: effects of mixing regime on nutrient dynamics and community structure in Third Sister Lake, Michigan during late winter and early spring 2003. Lake and Reservoir Management 21: 316–329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaushal, S. S., P. M. Groffman, G. E. Likens, K. T. Belt, W. P. Stack, V. R. Kelly, L. E. Band & G. T. Fisher, 2005. Increased salinization of fresh water in the northeastern United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 102: 13517–13520.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, V. R., S. E. G. Findlay, W. H. Schlesinger, K. Menking & A. M. Chatrchyan, 2010. Road Salt: Moving Toward the Solution. The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ligon, F. K., W. E. Dietrich & W. J. Trush, 1995. Downstream ecological effects of dams. BioScience 45: 183–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martínez-Jerónimo, F. & L. Martínez-Jerónimo, 2007. Chronic effect of NaCl salinity on a freshwater strain of Daphnia magna Straus (Crustacea: Cladocera): a demographic study. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 67: 411–416.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McKee, K. L. & I. A. Mendelssohn, 1989. Response of a freshwater marsh plant community to increased salinity and increased water level. Aquatic Botany 34: 301–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, J. D. & G. K. Iwama, 1991. Effects of salinity on growth, metabolism, and ion regulation in juvenile rainbow and steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and fall Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 48: 2083–2094.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, D. L., M. A. Brock, G. N. Rees & D. S. Baldwin, 2003. Effects of increasing salinity on freshwater ecosystems in Australia. Australian Journal of Botany 51: 655–665.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Penczykowski, R. M., B. C. P. Lemanski, R. D. Sieg, S. R. Hall, J. H. Ochs, J. Kubanek & M. A. Duffy, 2014. Poor resource quality lowers transmission potential by changing foraging behaviour. Functional Ecology 28: 1245–1255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peters, N. E. & J. T. Turk, 1981. Increases in sodium and chloride in the Mohawk River, New York, from the 1950s to the 1970s attributed to road salt. Water Resources Bulletin 17: 586–598.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberry, D. O., P. A. Bukaveckas, D. C. Buso, G. E. Likens, A. M. Shapiro & T. C. Winter, 1999. Movement of road salt to a small New Hampshire lake. Water, Air and Soil Pollution 109: 179–206.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sarma, S. S. S., S. Nandini, J. Morales-Ventura, I. Delgado-Martínez & L. González-Valverde, 2006. Effects of NaCl salinity on the population dynamics of freshwater zooplankton (rotifers and cladocerans). Aquatic Ecology 40: 349–360.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Skelly, D. K., 2002. Experimental venue and estimation of interaction strength. Ecology 83: 2097–2101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, V. H., G. D. Tilman & J. C. Nekola, 1999. Eutrophication: impacts of excess nutrient inputs on freshwater, marine, and terrestrial environments. Environmental Pollution 100: 179–196.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tessier, A. J. & P. Woodruff, 2002. Cryptic trophic cascade along a gradient of lake size. Ecology 83: 1263–1270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, W. D., 2001. Anthropogenic salinization of inland waters. Hydrobiologia 466: 329–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank A. Villalba and R. Bilich for their assistance with the experiments. Funding for this project was provided by the University of Michigan and the National Science Foundation (DEB-1305836, including an REU supplement supporting M. Prado).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Catherine L. Searle

  2. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Catherine L. Searle, Clara L. Shaw, Katherine K. Hunsberger, Magen Prado & Meghan A. Duffy

  3. Department of Biology, California State University-Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA, 90747, USA

    Magen Prado

Authors
  1. Catherine L. Searle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Clara L. Shaw
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Katherine K. Hunsberger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Magen Prado
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Meghan A. Duffy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Catherine L. Searle.

Additional information

Handling editor: John Havel

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (PDF 309 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Searle, C.L., Shaw, C.L., Hunsberger, K.K. et al. Salinization decreases population densities of the freshwater crustacean, Daphnia dentifera . Hydrobiologia 770, 165–172 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2579-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2579-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation