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  • Grazing by mesozooplankton and microzooplankton on toxic and non-toxic strains of Microcystis in the Transquaking River, a tributary of Chesapeake Bay

    Author(s)
    W. Davis, Timothy
    J. Gobler, Christopher
    Griffith University Author(s)
    Davis, Timothy W.
    Year published
    2011
    Metadata
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    Abstract
    The objective of this study was to assess the ability of laboratory-reared and natural communities of zooplankton to graze on toxic and non-toxic strains of Microcystis during bloom events in the Transquaking River, a tributary of Chesapeake Bay. The dynamics of toxic and non-toxic strains were documented via quantification of the microcystin synthetase gene (mcyD) and ribosomal RNA gene, 16S. During the 2-year field study, Microcystis blooms were comprised of >106 cell equivalents L-1 and the percentage of toxic strains ranged from 1 to 100%. The natural microzooplankton community was able to graze on both strains of ...
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    The objective of this study was to assess the ability of laboratory-reared and natural communities of zooplankton to graze on toxic and non-toxic strains of Microcystis during bloom events in the Transquaking River, a tributary of Chesapeake Bay. The dynamics of toxic and non-toxic strains were documented via quantification of the microcystin synthetase gene (mcyD) and ribosomal RNA gene, 16S. During the 2-year field study, Microcystis blooms were comprised of >106 cell equivalents L-1 and the percentage of toxic strains ranged from 1 to 100%. The natural microzooplankton community was able to graze on both strains of Microcystis in two-thirds of experiments, with a slight preference for the non-toxic strains in most experiments. Cultured mesozooplankters (Daphnia pulex and Hyalella azteca) grazed at least one strain (toxic or non-toxic) of Microcystis in only one-third of experiments conducted. In contrast, the wild mesozooplankton community grazed at least one strain of Microcystis in every experiment with electivity indices showing a preference towards toxic strains in most experiments. This finding demonstrates that natural mesozooplankton were better grazers of both toxic and non-toxic strains of Microcystis than their cultured counterparts. Overall, both microzooplankton and mesozooplankton were capable of grazing toxic and non-toxic strains of Microcystis with similar success and at similar rates. As such, the ability to synthesize microcystin does not seem to offer toxic Microcystis populations a significant defense against grazing by co-occurring zooplankton communities.
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    Journal Title
    Journal of Plankton Research
    Volume
    33
    Issue
    3
    DOI
    https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbq109
    Subject
    Freshwater Ecology
    Ecology
    Zoology
    Fisheries Sciences
    Publication URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10072/40151
    Collection
    • Journal articles

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