Life on the stoichiometric knife-edge: effects of high and low food C:P ratio on growth, feeding, and respiration in three Daphnia species

Recently, data have emerged indicating that not only high food carbon:phosphorus (C:P) ratio but also low food C:P (P-rich food) can have negative effects on the growth of consumers. The shape of this "stoichiometric knife edge," however, is not yet well-documented, and the mechanisms unde...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Inland waters (Print) 2016-01, Vol.6 (2), p.136-146
Main Authors: Elser, James J., Kyle, Marcia, Learned, Jennifer, McCrackin, Michelle L., Peace, Angela, Steger, Laura
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Daphnia
feeding
growth rate
nutrition
phosphorus
respiration
stoichiometry
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Summary:Recently, data have emerged indicating that not only high food carbon:phosphorus (C:P) ratio but also low food C:P (P-rich food) can have negative effects on the growth of consumers. The shape of this "stoichiometric knife edge," however, is not yet well-documented, and the mechanisms underpinning it are not understood. Here we report the results of experiments using 3 species of Daphnia (D. magna, D. pulicaria, D. pulex) consuming the green alga Scenedesmus acutus with widely varying C:P ratios (from 1500 by atoms). The experiments were designed to (1) characterize the potential stoichiometric knife edge for each species, and (2) evaluate potential changes in feeding and respiration rates that may underpin the unimodal response to food C:P. All 3 Daphnia species grew more slowly when food C:P (atomic) exceeded ~250-300 but also when C:P was
ISSN:2044-2041
2044-205X
DOI:10.5268/IW-6.2.908