Comparative observations on the ecology of four species of ostracods living in a temporary freshwater puddle

McLay, Colin L.

doi:10.1139/z78-094

Cited by 36 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Unlike other studies that reveal a clear succession of dominant invertebrates in temporary ponds (e.g., Lahr et al 1999), including ostracod species (McLay 1978), the only dominant ostracod species found throughout the study period in both X1 and X6 was H. bosniaca. The densities of this dominant species differed between the two studied sites, and the higher density was recorded in the smaller rockpool (X1).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 86%

Population dynamics and tolerance to desiccation in a crustacean ostracod adapted to life in small ephemeral water bodies

Aguilar-Alberola

Mesquita‐Joanes

2011

Limnologica

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a b s t r a c tGiven their small size, isolation and unpredictability, temporary rockpools present high environmental stress and impoverished communities of species that have adapted to such stressful conditions. Special adaptations of the invertebrates living in these habitats include tolerance to desiccation and fast ontogenetic development in order to maintain stable populations and face high risk of extinction. Dozens of small rockpools (mostly with Ø < 1 m) can be found in east Spain on limestone substrate, where the only known Iberian populations of Heterocypris bosniaca Petkovski et al. (2000), an ostracod species with geographic parthenogenesis, have been recently found. In this survey, two of these rockpools have been monitored during the main hydroperiod between the fall of 2005 and summer 2006 to test the ability of H. bosniaca parthenogenetic populations to face unpredictable hydroperiod dynamics. Pools were visited weekly, and limnological data and ostracod samples were obtained from either water or substrate in dry periods. Ostracod individuals were counted and assigned to growth instars to monitor population changes. In the laboratory, experimental cultures allowed the estimation of survival dependence on the substrate desiccation rate. Throughout the hydrological cycle studied, several hatching periods were observed, usually preceded by desiccation, followed by substrate hydration and water dilution by rain. The demographic changes observed indicate that H. bosniaca populations are able to persist in intermittently inundated environments and produce several generations per annual hydrological cycle. In addition, adult individuals were able to survive in the wet mud of dry pools for longer than five weeks. The experimental data suggest a lower average survival time when exposed to desiccation processes, and that the velocity of substrate water loss is a determining factor for the survival rate of ostracods resisting dry events in temporary ponds. As shown by ostracods' life histories in temporary aquatic environments undergoing unpredictable desiccation events, a combined strategy of adult tolerance to short periods of water scarcity and rapid hatching from resting egg banks can be advantageous for the monopolization of small-sized ephemeral habitats.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 86%

Population dynamics and tolerance to desiccation in a crustacean ostracod adapted to life in small ephemeral water bodies

Aguilar-Alberola

Mesquita‐Joanes

2011

Limnologica

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“…Such environmental variability has been invoked to explain high species richness (i .e . higher than expected by competitive exclusion theory) in freshwater crustacean assemblages (Anderson, 1974), tundra pool eubranchiopods (Nikolaeva & Vekhov, 1985), ostracods (McLay, 1978a ;1978b), and lake phytoplankton (Richerson et al ., 1970) . Also, research on conspecific Daphnia clones, which can been viewed as extremely closely related taxa, suggests that temporal heterogeneity resulting in fluctuating selection can allow the longterm co-existence of multiple clone lineages in the same pool (Carvalho & Crisp, 1987 ;Hebert & Crease, 1980 ;Lynch, 1983 ;Weider, 1985 ;Wilson & Hebert, 1992) .…”

Section: Retallack and Clifford 1980mentioning

confidence: 88%

Species richness, endemism and ecology of crustacean assemblages in northern California vernal pools

1996

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Ephemeral pools occur worldwide, provide habitat for organisms with a variety of life history strategies, and may have served as evolutionary refugia for some taxa since Mesozoic times . Yet, our understanding of the ecology and evolutionary history of ephemeral pool communities is hampered by a paucity of such basic data as the species composition of pool assemblages . We surveyed 58 vernal (ephemeral spring-time) pools from 14 sites in northern California for crustaceans, and found diverse assemblages composed largely of endemic and rare species . Sixty-seven species of crustaceans were found, and as many as 30 of these may be new, undescribed species . Differences in species composition among pools correspond with physical and chemical aspects of the habitat (depth, solutes concentration, elevation, biogeographic region), and with existing geologic/floristic-based habitat descriptions . Species richness is positively correlated with both depth and surface area . This relationship can be explained in terms of hydroperiod (accommodation of species with slower developmental rates in long-lived pools, greater time for temporal resource partitioning) and size (spatial habitat heterogeneity) . High species richness and numerous co-occurrences of congeneric species in temporary pools may be due to super-abundant resources, low levels of predation, and annual truncation of the community which prevents ecological interactions from going to completion . The results of this survey underscore the need for conservation of the vernal pool habitat and endemic vernal pool species in California . The best preservation strategy will include many pools at each site, multiple sites of each habitat type, and all identified habitat types .

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“…In their study, 32% of the eggs hatched within 125 days, with half of these hatching within 10 days and half hatching at "indeterminant times in the future". Resting eggs appear to be a common characteristic among freshwater ostracods (Tetart, 1975;McLay 1978;Delorme, 1991) which enables many of these species to endure intermittent freezing and drying in temporary ponds (Tressler, 1959;McLay, 1978;Havel et al, 1990). Further work on the cues which trigger hatching of ostracod resting eggs should allow a better understanding of both the ecology of temporary ponds and the methods necessary to supply a reliable number neonates for bioassay experiments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life history characteristics of the freshwater ostracod Cyprinotus incongruens and their application to toxicity testing

Havel

Talbott

1995

Ecotoxicology

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: The biology of ostracod crustaceans suggests that this group could be a useful model for sediment toxicity testing. We examined life history characteristics of the freshwater ostracod Cyprinotus incongruens in the laboratory (25°C), then used length after 10 days as a response variable in a sediment toxicity test. Life history results indicated that both fecundity (0-64 total eggs per female), and egg development time (1->157 days), were highly variable. In contrast, juvenile development time showed less variation (7-16 days), and thus body length after 10 days was chosen as a sublethal bioassay character. A bioassay experiment using sediments isolated from mine-impacted cobble streams indicated that C. incongruens had a higher sensitivity to variation in sediment quality than the cladoceran Ceriodaphnia dubia. Surprisingly, the results indicated no correspondence between concentration of metals and toxicity in either C. incongruens or C. dubia. Overall our results indicate that ostracods are a good candidate taxon for sublethal toxicity tests of contaminated sediments.

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Comparative observations on the ecology of four species of ostracods living in a temporary freshwater puddle

Cited by 36 publications

References 18 publications

Population dynamics and tolerance to desiccation in a crustacean ostracod adapted to life in small ephemeral water bodies

Population dynamics and tolerance to desiccation in a crustacean ostracod adapted to life in small ephemeral water bodies

Species richness, endemism and ecology of crustacean assemblages in northern California vernal pools

Life history characteristics of the freshwater ostracod Cyprinotus incongruens and their application to toxicity testing

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