A method was developed to allow direct measurements of predation exerted by metazooplankton on ciliates. The method relied on the use of ciliates labelled with fluorescent microparticles (FMP). Optimal labelling conditions were determined with ciliates from cultures (Tetrahymena pyriformis) and with natural ciliate assemblages sampled in a river. Labelled T. pyriformis were used as tracer food ...

Several aspects of the response to toxicants using a standardized toxicity test with the freshwater rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus are described. Test animals are obtained by hatching cysts which produce animals of similar age and physiological condition. The acute toxicity of 28 compounds is described with 24-hr LC50's. The LC50's span five orders of magnitude, from silver at 0.008 mg.liter-1...

Chronic lead (Pb) toxicity tests with Brachionus calyciflorus, Chironomus tentans, and Lymnaea stagnalis were performed in artificial freshwaters. The no-observable-effect concentration (NOEC), lowest-observable-effect concentration (LOEC), and calculated 20% effect concentration (EC20) for the rotifer B. calyciflorus were 194, 284, and 125 microg dissolved Pb/L, respectively. The midge C. tent...

Algal biofuels are investigated as a promising alternative to petroleum fuel sources to satisfy transportation demand. Despite the high growth rate of algae, predation by rotifers, ciliates, golden algae, and other predators will cause an algae in open ponds to crash. In this study, Chlorella kessleri was used as a model alga and the freshwater rotifer, Brachionus calyciflorus, as a model preda...

A long-standing question in evolutionary biology is how sexual reproduction has persisted in eukaryotic lineages. As cyclical parthenogens, monogonont rotifers are a powerful model for examining this question, yet the molecular nature of sexual reproduction in this lineage is currently understudied. To examine genes involved in meiosis, we generated partial genome assemblies for 2 distantly rel...

The occurrence of Microcystis blooms is a worldwide concern due to the numerous adverse effects on zooplankton. We therefore hypothesized that the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa is harmful to rotifer growth. Population and individual experiments were conducted with the same proportional volumes of Chlorella and Microcystis for given food densities. Life-table parameters, life-history tra...

1. In this study we address how growth rate in consumers may be regulated by nitrogen (N)and phosphorus (P)limitation of ribonucleic acid (RNA), using the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus as the model organism. 2. Growth rate, RNA and weight-specific concentrations of carbon (C), N and P were analyzed in B. calyciflorus fed algae with different C : N, C : P and N : P ratios. 3. Growth rate corre...

Endocrine disruption compounds (EDC) are known to affect reproduction, development, and growth of exposed organisms. Although in vertebrates, EDCs mainly act through steroid receptors (e.g. androgen estrogen receptors), their absence many invertebrates suggests the involvement another biological pathway endocrine effects. As retinoid signaling is present almost all Metazoa its gastropods (i.e. ...