Feeding of the copepod Acanthocyclops vernalis on the cladoceran Ceriodaphnia reticulata under laboratory conditions

Abstract

Direct observation of raptorial feeding of the copepod Acanthocyclops vernalis on the cladoceran Ceriodaphnia reticulata is described. The actual eating of the prey takes only a few minutes, but the time between captures is much longer (hours to days) and variable even in a relatively high density of prey. The feeding rate during the 1st day of an experiment, differs from that on the following days, if predators are directly transferred to the experimental conditions. The diet immediately before the experiments also affects the feeding rate. The predators prefer small to large prey specimens.