Cladocera: Predators and prey

Abstract

Among the freshwater zooplankton community, Cladocera represent one of the most common elements of pelagic populations. Being almost exclusively filter feeders and algae users and, at the same time, the favourite prey of invertebrate and vertebrate predators, Cladocera represent the most important group in the plankton community of lakes as regards energy transfer along the food chain. Because of their short generation times and their high reproductive efficiency, predation by invertebrates, usually, has only a limited role in controlling their density. However, at high densities, invertebrate predators can provide an effective control of Cladocera populations. The intensive research on selective predation by vertebrates has demonstrated that this activity can be responsible, together with competitive interactions, for the dominance of different groups in the planktonic community: large Cladocera dominate when predation is low, Rotifera and small Crustacea dominate at high predation levels and high nannoplanktonic densities. These evidences on the role of vertebrate predation in structuring aquatic environments has greatly contributed to our better understanding of aquatic ecosystem functioning. In particular, it seems that the removal of large filter-feeding herbivorous Cladocera by zooplanktivorous fish can lead to worsening environmental conditions in eutrophicating lakes. In this respect, Cladocera appear to be the key group among zooplanktonic organisms, and their interactions the key factors in aquatic food chain management.