Some size‐dependent inhibitions of larger cladoceran filterers in filamentous suspensions

Abstract

Laboratory experiments with Daphnia pulex, Simocephalus vetulus, Daphnia ambigua, Ceriodaphnia quadrangula, and Bosmina longirostris showed that large algal filaments have a differential effect on zooplankton of different size. As filament concentration increased, larger animals filtered at low rates, increased their rejection rates, and decreased their brood sizes. In nature, this greater sensitivity of larger animals could contribute to an increase in the proportion of smaller animals during blooms of filamentous algae.