Postembryonal morphological variation of Daphnia galeata in water bodies of different types

• Published in: Contemporary problems of ecology Vol. 3; no. 1; pp. 28 - 40
• Main Authors: Zuykova, E. I., Bochkarev, N. A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht SP MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica 01.02.2010; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal populations; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Crustaceans; Daphnia; Daphnia galeata; Developmental biology; Ecological studies; Ecology; Freshwater; Freshwater crustaceans; Genotype & phenotype; Lakes; Life Sciences; Protective equipment; River basins; Rivers; Spine; Russia, Siberia, Yenisei R; Russia, Siberia, Lake Chany Basin; ontogeny; morphological variation; body shape
• ISSN: 1995-4255; 1995-4263
• DOI: 10.1134/S1995425510010066

Despite many ecological studies the population morphological variability within the freshwater crustacean genus Daphnia is poorly investigated, especially during postembryonic development. Unusual phenotypic plasticity of some Daphnia species results in tremendous difficulties in morphological species delineation. The ontogenetic morphological variation of this species was studied, revealing the general trends in body shape variation in different populations. The morphotypes of size and age groups of D. galeata turned out to be more variable at the mouth of the Kargat River (Lake Chany basin) than in Lake Todzha (Bol’ shoi Yenisei River basin); however, the growth of characters such as the helmet and tail spine was described by an allometric function and their absolute sizes decreased with age in Daphnia from both water basins. It is shown that the first mature size-and-age group of D. galeata is most suitable for investigating population morphological variation.