Advances in Ecological Studies on Zooplankton

Abstract

Advances in ecological stuides on zooplankton were reviewed based on the published papers and authors' studies. Contents include long-term ecology, dynamics changes of zooplankton, predation ecology and effects of environmental factors such as temperature, food resources on zooplankton. Long-term studies on zooplankton are very important to understand changes of ecosystem, especially those driven by slow processes, rare or episodic events and highly variable, stable or complex processes. The major objectives of long-term investigations are to provide reliable estimates of base-line variation, to detect long-term trends in the mean level of base-line, to detect rare events and to provide information for meaningful, testable hypotheses. A lot of research results demonstrated that changes in zooplankton community structure were determined largely by fish in the water bodies, with high stocking rate of planktivorous fish, and also by predation of invertebrate animals such as some copepods. Water temperature, food resources etc. may cause a stable zooplankton community. Among the freshwater zooplankton community, Daphnia and Cyclops vicinus may be the key groups. Because Daphnia plays a key role in the top-down control of phytoplankton, and C. vicinus are key factors in aquatic food chain during the period of their maximum abundance. In addition, several research topics such as molecule biology of zooplankton, zooplankton ecology of the surface microlayer, influence of engineering water conservancy project on ecosystem and zooplankton, and batch culture of zooplankton were discusses.