Microcystis aeruginosa, a cosmopolitan form, is a colonial cyanobacterium, which is also common in many freshwater bodies in Mexico. In eutrophic water bodies cyanobacteria are often the main phytoplankton that co-exist with cladocerans. We evaluated the effect of mixed diets, comprising 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% on dry weight basis of M. aeruginosa, and the rest of one of two green algal species (Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus acutus), on the population growth of the cladocerans Ceriodaphnia dubia and Moina macrocopa. Regardless of the share of M. aeruginosa in the mixed diet, C. dubia fed Chlorella had a longer initial lag phase. However, in mixed diet with S. acutus, the lag phase of C. dubia increased with increasing proportion of M. aeruginosa. When raised on 100% M. aeruginosa, the population growth of C. dubia was lowered compared with 100% S. acutus or 100% C. vulgaris. Increased proportion of M. aeruginosa in the mixed diet also resulted in decreased abundance of M. macrocopa. Irrespective of diet type, M. macrocopa had a shorter lag phase than C. dubia. Depending on the diet type, the rate of population increase (r) of C. dubia varied from 0.07 to 0.26 d À1 while that of M. macrocopa was higher (0.14-0.61 d À1 ). For both cladoceran species, the lower r values were obtained when fed Microcystis. Our study showed that the strain of M. aeruginosa was not highly toxic to cause total elimination of either C. dubia or M. macrocopa. Addition of a green algal component to the diet improved the population growth rates of both cladoceran species.
a b s t r a c tBrachionus havanaensis is a common planktonic rotifer sometimes found together with Brachionus calyciflorus in Microcystis-infected waterbodies in M exico. Here, we evaluate the impact of mixed diets (dry weight basis, 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% Microcystis or Chlorella) on the growth of and competition between B. calyciflorus and B. havanaensis. In general, a higher proportion of Microcystis aeruginosa in the diet resulted in decreased population growth rate of both rotifer species. Whether grown separately or together, B. havanaensis was always numerically more abundant than B. calyciflorus, regardless of the proportion of Microcystis in the diet. However, when both species were grown together, the impact of M. aeruginosa in the diet had a more adverse effect on B. calyciflorus than on B. havanaensis. When grown alone, both rotifer species showed better population growth on a diet of 75% Chlorella and 25% Microcystis than either 100% Chlorella or Microcystis.
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