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Population dynamics of daphnia pulex and utilization by the rainbow trout (salmo gairdneri)

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Abstract

The effect of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) predation on the population dynamics of the water flea,Daphnia pulex, was examined during 1976 and 1977 in Becker Lake, a small, shallow, productive reservoir in northeastern Arizona.

Rainbow trout were size-biased feeders, utilizing daphnids which were 1.3 mm in size or larger. Trout predation uponDaphnia pulex occurred mainly during winter and early spring when their numbers were relatively low but their clutch size high, suggesting that trout selectedDaphnia on the basis of brood pigmentation. By far the greatest proportion ofDaphnia mortality was due to nonpredatory sources, since generally less than 6% could be attributed to trout predation.

TheD. pulex population exhibited a bimodal seasonal abundance curve which was attributed to ephippial egg production and trout predation during the winter and poor food quality/quantity during the summer.

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Author notes

  1. William W. Taylor

    Present address: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 48824, East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Arizona State University, 85281, Tempe, Arizona

    William W. Taylor & Shelby D. Gerking

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  1. William W. Taylor
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  2. Shelby D. Gerking
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Additional information

This work was supported in part by the Arizona Department of Game and Fish. The authors wish to thank Jim Novy and Joe Stone of that department for their invaluable assistance in the field collecting segment of this study.

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Taylor, W.W., Gerking, S.D. Population dynamics of daphnia pulex and utilization by the rainbow trout (salmo gairdneri). Hydrobiologia 71, 277–287 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00686135

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