Publication Date:
2022-05-30
Description:
The dynamic and production of a natural population of the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis (0.F. MÜLLER) were studied by regular field sampling at routine stations in the shallow Darss Zingst estuary, southern Baltic (3-7‰ S). Investigations of the horizontal distribution revealed significant population growth during the summer months at salinities above 3‰ S and at those stations characterized by high eutrophication. The first individuals hatch from resting eggs in May. Significant reproduction occurs from June to September, when temperatures are above 15° C. Mixis rates were highest during the exponential growth phase. Instantaneous rates of growth, birth, and mortality were estimated. Mean P/B ratios for the growing season were high (around 0.7 d-1) and were in the range of values obtained from mass cultures in the field under subtropical conditions. In Barther Bodden annual biomass production for 1982 was 1.1 g fw · m-3. In its natural habitat, B. plicatilis serves as a food source for fish juveniles and the mysid Neomysis integer, the seasonal dynamics of the rotifer population were not significantly affected by predators.
Type:
Article
,
NonPeerReviewed
Format:
text
