Impact of parabroteas sarsi (copepoda: Calanoida) predation on planktonic cladocerans in a pond of the southern andes

Abstract

Parabroteas sarsi (Daday) is a predaceous calanoid copepod commonly found in South Andes lakes. Samples of natural populations and laboratory experiments were combined to quantify the predatory impact of P. sarsi on cladoceran prey. Cladoceran mortality due to predation was significant only when their density was high. Prey biomass was many times smaller than that of the predator. P. sarsi influences the cladoceran populations only when they reach high densities. © 1998, Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.