Although over 40 years of theory have addressed how evolutionary processes can affect the ecology of predator–prey interactions, few empirical data have addressed the same issue. Shertzer et al. and Yoshida et al. have recently combined manipulative experiments with mathematical models to demonstrate that evolutionary change in an algal prey strongly affects community dynamics with their rotife...

This study was aimed to gain knowledge on the ontogeny of digestive enzymes in common carp larvae at the governmental Warm water Fish Aquaculture Center of Shahid Rajaee in Sari, Mazandaran, Iran. The ontogenetic development of pancreatic (trypsin, chymotrypsin, lipase and α-amylase) and intestinal (alkaline phosphatase and aminopeptidase-N) enzymes were assessed in common carp larvae from firs...

two iranian strains of brachionus rotifers were cultured under different food and salinity regimes. the rotiferswere fed with five algal types (freshwater and marine chlorella vulgaris, nannochloropsis occulata, isochrysisgalbana and scenedesmus obliquus) at three different salinities (5, 15 and 25 g/l) and their reproductive and growth parameters were assessed. the maximum number of ovigerous ...

Metacommunity theory poses that the occurrence and abundance of species is a product of local factors, including disturbance, and regional factors, like dispersal among patches. While metacommunity ideas have been broadly tested there is relatively little work on metacommunities subject to disturbance. We focused on how localized disturbance and dispersal interact to determine species compositi...

The species composition and abundance of the zooplankton community of seven reservoirs of the Paranapanema River, located between 22 degrees 37'-23 degrees 11'S and 48 degrees 55'-50 degrees 32'W, were analysed over four periods, in the year of 1979. The zooplankton community was composed of 76 species of Rotifera, 26 species of Cladocera and 7 species of Copepoda. For a large part of the perio...

Considerable da ta have been accumulated on the fine s t ructure of cilia, sperm tails, and flagella (4, 5) bu t the contract i le mechanism in these structures has yet to be elucidated. T he split t ing of phospha te from A T P (8) and the recognit ion of ATPase activity in myosin (2) have been associated wi th muscular contractili ty. A na tura l sequel to these observations was an a t t empt...

Despite their high morphological similarity, cryptic species often coexist in aquatic habitats presenting a challenge in the framework of niche differentiation theory and coexistence mechanisms. Here we use a rotifer species complex inhabiting highly unpredictable and fluctuating salt lakes to gain insights into the mechanisms involved in stable coexistence in cryptic species. We combined molec...

The occurrence of Microcystis blooms is a worldwide concern due to the numerous adverse effects on zooplankton. We therefore hypothesized that the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa is harmful to rotifer growth. Population and individual experiments were conducted with the same proportional volumes of Chlorella and Microcystis for given food densities. Life-table parameters, life-history tra...

1. The analysis of functional groups with a resolution to the individual species level is a basic requirement to better understand complex interactions in aquatic food webs. Species-specific stable isotope analyses are currently applied to analyse the trophic role of large zooplankton or fish species, but technical constraints complicate their application to smaller-sized plankton. 2. We invest...

Neurodegenerative diseases are linked to a systemic enzyme resistance of toxic aggregated molecules and their pathological consequences. This paper presents a unique phenomenon that Philodina acuticornis, a bdelloid rotifer, is able to catabolize different types of neurotoxic peptide and protein aggregates (such as beta-amyloids /Aβ/, alpha-synuclein, and prion) without suffering any damage. P....