Daphnia depth selection in gradients of light intensity from different artificial sources: An evolutionary trap?

Abstract

It is well known that artificial light at night alters the natural patterns of light in space and time, which interrupts a variety of physiological processes of individuals, altering their life history and behavioral adjustments. However, much less is known about the effect of artificial light at night on their fitness. We tested the hypothesis that planktonic animals, such as Daphnia spp., are able to correctly assess light intensity‐ and spectrum‐dependent‐mortality risk due to predation by planktivorous fish and select depths offering the highest possible fitness gain in the vertical gradient of different artificial light sources (halogen, metal‐halide, cool white LEDs, and high pressure sodium lamps) commonly used in street lighting. To test this hypothesis, we compared the virtual distributions of three clones of Daphnia longispina from simulations based on an experimentally parameterized, optimizing individual‐based model with distributions observed in laboratory experiments performed with 5‐d‐old individuals in an experimental apparatus comprised of twin vertical columns. Our hypothesis was confirmed only partially, since the distributions obtained in the experiments overlapped the virtual distributions only in the gradient of LEDs and high pressure sodium light, which suggests that that the strength of the maladaptive response could depend on the type of artificial light (i.e., spectral composition) penetrating the water column. Moreover, the results revealed that the response to the presence of artificial light is clone‐specific, which suggest that it could be a selective factor for microevolutionary changes.

Asymmetry in the thermal sensitivity of predator and prey performance may explain T-S and Bergmann’s rules in zooplankton

“…Mechanistic models predicted that interaction strength scaling depends on both the foraging strategy (e.g. active-capture, sit-and-wait, harvesting) and the spatial dimension in which foraging occurs (2D vs. 3D, 41,50 . In our study, we assessed the thermal sensitivity of the planktivorous sh-Daphnia interface, in which the sh is a typical predator-harvester foraging in a three-dimensional environment.…”

“…Experiments were performed with 6 different pairs of juvenile sh of each of the species. Each pair was maintained in separate aquariums for at least two weeks in an experimental system similar to that used previously 27,50 and have not undergone any prior procedures. We used 6 different pairs sh of each species, because this number provided 144 experiments in total, each experiment on a single pair of sh (2 sh species × 3 temperatures × 6 sh pairs × 4 replicates.…”

The short-term effects of planktivorous fish foraging in the presence of artificial light at night on lake zooplankton

“… Becker et al., 2013 ; Nguyen and Winger, 2019 ) and enhance their foraging efficiency ( Bolton et al., 2017 ; Fermin and Seronay, 1997 ). From the zooplankton perspective, it has been revealed that its response to the mortality risk in the presence of ALAN may be maladaptive ( Maszczyk et al., 2021 ; Tałanda et al., 2018 ). Direct evidence concerns only the ALAN-dependent effects of fish predation on depth selection behavior of zooplankton populations and communities ( Fermin and Seronay, 1997 ; Maszczyk et al., 2021 ; Moore et al., 2000 ; Springer and Skrzypczak, 2015 ), but neither on the mean body size nor community composition.…”

“…From the zooplankton perspective, it has been revealed that its response to the mortality risk in the presence of ALAN may be maladaptive ( Maszczyk et al., 2021 ; Tałanda et al., 2018 ). Direct evidence concerns only the ALAN-dependent effects of fish predation on depth selection behavior of zooplankton populations and communities ( Fermin and Seronay, 1997 ; Maszczyk et al., 2021 ; Moore et al., 2000 ; Springer and Skrzypczak, 2015 ), but neither on the mean body size nor community composition. The aim of our study was to fill this gap by assessing the short-term ALAN-dependent effect of a foraging planktivorous fish lake zooplankton body size and community composition in a preliminary enclosure experiment.…”

Daphnia magna trade‐off safety from UV radiation for food

“…Certain concepts such as "ideal-free distribution" which consider resource availability have been very successful in explaining the vertical distribution of zooplankton under predation risk and other abiotic variables (Maszczyk et al, 2018(Maszczyk et al, , 2021. However, UVR has not specifically been investigated in such models, in spite of the confirmation of UVR being an important driver in the spatial positioning of zooplankton through field observations or population-level experiments (Leech & Williamson, 2001;Rose et al, 2012).…”