Daphnia food limitation in three hypereutrophic Dutch lakes: Evidence for exclusion of large-bodied species by interfering filaments of cyanobacteria

The Loosdrecht Lakes comprise three shallow, hypereutrophic lakes in The Netherlands. Research conducted over the past two decades suggests that absence of large-bodied Daphnia from these lakes can be explained by size-specific effects of both poor food quality and predatory mortality. The phytoplankton is dominated by filamentous cyanobacteria which interfere with the feeding of large-bodied Daphnia. Moreover, dense populations of planktivorous fish are expected to feed selectively on larger prey. More recent research, however, suggests that the growth of the small native Daphnia species, Dap... Mehr ...