Abstract
We studied, separately, the effect of the cladocerans Alona glabra and Macrothrix triserialis on the population growth of the rotifer Euchlanis dilatata using three different food types ( Chlorella and Scenedesmus , live or dead, offered on a comparable dry weight basis, 3.16 μg C ml −1 ). Regardless of the presence or absence of competition, E. dilatata cultured using Chlorella (live or dead) showed a higher population growth as compared to Scenedesmus . Compared to heat-killed C. vulgaris , E. dilatata cultured alone and fed on live algae reached higher abundances. Both cladoceran species had an adverse effect on the population growth of Euchlanis , but did not eliminate the rotifers. Of the two cladocerans, M. triserialis had a far more adverse effect on the population densities of E. dilatata as compared to A. glabra . E. dilatata also influenced the population growth of A. glabra and M. triserialis , the former being more adversely affected than the latter. When the egg ratios of E. dilatata were plotted as a function of population density, a significantly inverse relation was obtained only in treatments containing Chlorella but not for other treatments. Statistically the rate of population increase ( r ) per day of E. dilatata was adversely affected by the diet type and the presence of competing species. The interaction of diet type X competition was also significant. For A. glabra , the presence of E. dilatata and the diet type, but not their interaction, significantly influenced the r . On the other hand for M. triserialis , only the diet type was significant. Our results suggest that the competitive outcome between rotifers and cladocerans was dependent on diet type.
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