title: Dynamics of natural populations of the dertitivorous mudsnail Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Gray) (Hydrobiidae) in two interconnected Lakes differing in trophic state.
abstract: Here we investigate the allocation of resources between growth and reproduction by surveying the dynamics of natural populations of the aquatic detritivorous mudsnail Potamopyrgus antipodarum from two interconnected lakes that differ in trophic state. The size distributions and reproductive output of the snail populations was analyzed monthly by field surveys spanning 3 years, and in a controlled microcosm experiment to evaluate the reproductive potential under laboratory conditions. Snails in the meso-oligotrophic lake showed reduced growth and a smaller size compared to snails in the eutrophic lake. However, the numbers of eggs and nearly-neonates per adult snail did not differ significantly between the two populations. It is speculated that P. antipodarum populations living under meso-oligotrophic conditions may consistently invest more internal energy in reproduction at the expense of growth and that food quantity may be an important driver for macro-invertebrate resource allocation in detrital food webs.
authors: Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Aquatic Ecology and Ecotoxicology, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94248, NL-1090 GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors: Jaap
authors: J
authors: Dorgelo
authors: Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Aquatic Ecology and Ecotoxicology, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94248, NL-1090 GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors: Harm G
authors: HG
authors: van der Geest
authors: Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Aquatic Ecology and Ecotoxicology, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94248, NL-1090 GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands ; Department of Conservation Biology, Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, Einsteinweg 2, NL-2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors: Ellard R
authors: ER
authors: Hunting
keywords: Detritus; Growth; Potamopyrgus antipodarum; Reproduction; Resource allocation; Trophic states of lakes