An investigation of allelopathic effects of Daphnia

Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre

MDFRC item.

1. The hypothesis is tested that large daphnids are able to suppress their own and other species' feeding and reproduction by means of excreting an inhibitory chemical (or chemicals).2. In laboratory experiments with an Australian species, Daphnia carinata, water preconditioned with 3–67 daphnids 1-−1 for 30 h had the effect of reducing feeding rates of D. carinata and D. lumholtzi provided with Selenastrum capricornutum.3. For the two Daphnia species, there were highly significant negative correlations between feeding rate and the preconditioning density of D. carinata.4. Water preconditioned with 20–30 daphnids 1-−1 for 1–2 weeks reduced the grazing rates of Daphnia, Moina, and Diaphanosoma 2–3-fold.5. Moina kept in such water for 2 days stopped feeding. Conditioned water kept for 3 days without animals still inhibited grazing by Moina. Hearing to 100°C removed the inhibitory effect.6. Given excess food, and in non-renewed water, a gradient of D. carinata densities developed a strong negative correlation between clutch size and daphnid density after a 6-day time lag. This result may help explain the direct density-dependent regulation of cladoceran reproduction observed earlier in a subtropical lake.