Colony size in Conochilus hippocrepis: Defensive adaptation to predator size

Abstract

Conochilus hippocrepis colonies were analysed in relation to the presence and size of the predaceous calanoid copepod Parabroteas sarsi. Conochilus colonies increase in size throughout the season from May to August and then disappear from the lake. Simultaneously, Parabroteas developed from CI to CV and adults. We observed that when the predaceous copepod begins to prey on Conochilus, colony size increases in relation to maxilliped length of the predator. Our results show that the increasing size of the colony of Conochilus is an effective defense against Parabroteas predation.