Effects of winter conditions on Daphnia dynamics and genetic diversity in a dimictic temperate reservoir

Abstract

Summary1. Winter conditions shape plankton dynamics and community composition in temperate regions, but their effect on dynamics and genetic composition of cyclical parthenogens like Daphnia is largely unclear.2. For 5 years, we studied the dynamics, hatching from resting eggs and genetic structure of a D. galeata × longispina hybrid complex in a dimictic, temperate reservoir. Our main hypothesis was that higher spring densities and an earlier population peak will be observed after warmer winters, with a lower genetic diversity because of a lower contribution of resting eggs to population growth.3. The study period could clearly be categorised into cold‐winter years (n = 3) and warm‐winter years (n = 2). Daphnia densities at the end of spring overturn were ∼10‐fold lower after cold winters than after warm ones, but no pattern emerged concerning the timing and the height of the population peak in early summer.4. Hatching intensity from resting eggs was higher and contributed up to 8.5% to Daphnia abundance in a cold‐winter year compared to a negligible contribution in a warm‐winter year. Consistent with this finding, new multilocus genotypes (MLGs) adding to the overwintering stock after the end of spring overturn and presumably originating from resting eggs increased genetic diversity and attained high frequencies within the population only after a cold winter. New MLGs were recorded also after warm winters, but they never gained dominance and no shift in genetic diversity was observed. However, genetic diversity was not generally reduced after warm winters.5. Our results confirm earlier findings that winter conditions have only a limited effect on the main growth phase and the peak of Daphnia during late spring and early summer. However, winter conditions determine the contribution of resting eggs to the population development, which may profoundly alter the genetic composition of the population compared to the previous season.