• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.125-129
• /
• 2008

To predict Daphnia secondary productivity along a trophic gradient indexed as total phosphorus (TP) concentration, we estimated energy transfer efficiencies from food quality for Daphnia such as eicosa-pentaenoic acid (EPA) or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content. Eleven flow-through Daphnia magna growth experiments were conducted with seston from 9 lakes, ponds and river waters. Primary productivities were estimated from food supply rates in the flow-through experiments, producing energy transfer efficiencies from seston to D. magna. We found DHA content was the best predictor of energy transfer efficiencies among the essential fatty acids. An asymptotic saturation model explained 79.6% of the variability In energy transfer efficiencies. Based on empirical data in this study and empirical models from literature, we predict that Daphnia productivity would peak in mesotrophic systems by decreasing food quality and Increasing food quantity along trophic gradient.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.433-438
• /
• 2006

To elucidate the mechanisms by which algal food quality affect Daphnia growths, we measured carbon incorporation rates and respiration rates of Daphnia magna with Cryptomonad Rhodomonas minuta, green algae Scenedesmus acutus and cyanobacteria Synechococcus sp. with varying physiological states as food. Carbon assimilation rates were high with R. minuta and S. acutus and low with Synechococcus sp. showing a similar pattern to the growth rate pattern. There was no clear difference among respiration rates of three algal species. Carbon assimilation rates and respiration rates of D. magna appeared to be independent on Molar C:P ratios in algal foods. Carbon growth efficiencies (incorporated carbon per assimilated carbon amount) were lower when D. magna fed with Synechococcus sp. than fed with R. minuta or S. acutus. Analysis of variance results show that carbon assimilation rates which were sum of incorporation and respiration rates and carbon growth efficiencies were only dependant on species affiliation. Overall, our results showed that algal species with varying ${\omega}3$ polyunsaturated fatty acid content led different carbon incorporation rates and overall carbon assimilation rates of D. magna.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.340-347
• /
• 2001

Seasonal variation of the elemental and biochemical composition of the suspended particulate matter (SPM) was investigated in terms of quantity and quality of diets for suspension feeders from July 1999 to August 2000 in two coastal bay systems of Gosung and Kangjin Bays in Korea. No clear patterns in the seasonal variations of SPM concentration were found in these two bay systems. The results indicated that the seasonal variation of SPM could not be considered the variation of food available to suspension-feeders. The simultaneous peaks in chlorophyll a and biochemical components in summer indicated that the quantity of the particulate organic matter primarily depended on phytoplankton productivity. However, no correlation between chlorophyll a and biochemical components [particulate protein (PPr), carbohydrate (PCHO) and lipid] were found, indicating that other processes might also contribute to the particulate organic matter in the period when the phytoplankton biomass was low. High C: Chl a and C:N, and carbohydrate peaks during the autumn to spring period suggested that resuspension of surface sediments was a probable process to supply the particulate organic matter. The food material, represented by summing up the total quantity of three biochemical components, was highest in spring with minor peaks during the period from autumn to the next spring, The food index, calculated as the ratio of food material to total SPM, did not generally exceed $6\%$ with short peaks during the year. Therefore, nutritional quality of SPM in the bays are relatively poor than in other more productive coastal waters in the world. Our results confirm that the measurement of a single chemical variable cannot describe fully the nutritive value of the seston available to suspension-feeders as previously proposed, and the biochemical composition of SPM can provide effective information on its origin and nutritive Quality.