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Zooplankton Feeding on the Nuisance Flagellate Gonyostomum semen

Johansson, Karin S. L. ; Vrede, Tobias ; Lebret, Karen LU and Johnson, Richard K. (2013) In PLoS ONE 8(5).
Abstract
The large bloom-forming flagellate Gonyostomum semen has been hypothesized to be inedible to naturally occurring zooplankton due to its large cell size and ejection of long slimy threads (trichocysts) induced by physical stimulation. In a grazing experiment using radiolabelled algae and zooplankton collected from lakes with recurring blooms of G. semen and lakes that rarely experience blooms, we found that Eudiaptomus gracilis and Holopedium gibberum fed on G. semen at high rates, whereas Daphnia cristata and Ceriodaphnia spp. did not. Grazing rates of E. gracilis were similar between bloom-lakes and lakes with low biomass of G. semen, indicating that the ability to feed on G. semen was not a result of local adaptation. The high grazing... (More)
The large bloom-forming flagellate Gonyostomum semen has been hypothesized to be inedible to naturally occurring zooplankton due to its large cell size and ejection of long slimy threads (trichocysts) induced by physical stimulation. In a grazing experiment using radiolabelled algae and zooplankton collected from lakes with recurring blooms of G. semen and lakes that rarely experience blooms, we found that Eudiaptomus gracilis and Holopedium gibberum fed on G. semen at high rates, whereas Daphnia cristata and Ceriodaphnia spp. did not. Grazing rates of E. gracilis were similar between bloom-lakes and lakes with low biomass of G. semen, indicating that the ability to feed on G. semen was not a result of local adaptation. The high grazing rates of two of the taxa in our experiment imply that some of the nutrients and energy taken up by G. semen can be transferred directly to higher trophic levels, although the predominance of small cladocerans during blooms may limit the importance of G. semen as a food resource. Based on grazing rates and previous observations on abundances of E. gracilis and H. gibberum, we conclude that there is a potential for grazer control of G. semen and discuss why blooms of G. semen still occur. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
PLoS ONE
volume
8
issue
5
article number
e62557
publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
external identifiers
  • wos:000319654700047
  • scopus:84877138812
  • pmid:23667489
ISSN
1932-6203
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0062557
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ca5bf67d-fc76-4f8e-8c9f-89bcc80bf09f (old id 3927376)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:47:41
date last changed
2022-02-27 04:30:06
@article{ca5bf67d-fc76-4f8e-8c9f-89bcc80bf09f,
  abstract     = {{The large bloom-forming flagellate Gonyostomum semen has been hypothesized to be inedible to naturally occurring zooplankton due to its large cell size and ejection of long slimy threads (trichocysts) induced by physical stimulation. In a grazing experiment using radiolabelled algae and zooplankton collected from lakes with recurring blooms of G. semen and lakes that rarely experience blooms, we found that Eudiaptomus gracilis and Holopedium gibberum fed on G. semen at high rates, whereas Daphnia cristata and Ceriodaphnia spp. did not. Grazing rates of E. gracilis were similar between bloom-lakes and lakes with low biomass of G. semen, indicating that the ability to feed on G. semen was not a result of local adaptation. The high grazing rates of two of the taxa in our experiment imply that some of the nutrients and energy taken up by G. semen can be transferred directly to higher trophic levels, although the predominance of small cladocerans during blooms may limit the importance of G. semen as a food resource. Based on grazing rates and previous observations on abundances of E. gracilis and H. gibberum, we conclude that there is a potential for grazer control of G. semen and discuss why blooms of G. semen still occur.}},
  author       = {{Johansson, Karin S. L. and Vrede, Tobias and Lebret, Karen and Johnson, Richard K.}},
  issn         = {{1932-6203}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  publisher    = {{Public Library of Science (PLoS)}},
  series       = {{PLoS ONE}},
  title        = {{Zooplankton Feeding on the Nuisance Flagellate Gonyostomum semen}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0062557}},
  doi          = {{10.1371/journal.pone.0062557}},
  volume       = {{8}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}