Classification of Daphniaĭaphnia is a planktonic crustacean. This provides another huge opportunity for the study of host-parasite relationships and toxicological studies. These behave like a parasite or an epibiont that either live inside or on to the daphnia body. Other than the large predators of daphnia such as fish, some bacterial, fungi, and algae species are also natural enemies of daphnia. The scientists who are keen to learn about the evolution of sexual and asexual reproduction see this as a fascinating feature. This is again a response to adverse environmental change. They move vertically to swim at different water depths based on the change in temperature or daylight.ĭaphnia are capable of reproductive switching between asexual and sexual reproduction. 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00330.Īnother phenotypic plasticity example is their capability of changing the swimming behavior which is also known as “vertical migration”.

Sensory Ecology of Predator-Induced Phenotypic Plasticity. It is also metabolically advantageous because it saves them a lot on associated energy costs when the defense is unnecessary, in the absence of a predator population. The create the helmet by elongating and hardening their head with the help of special hormones. This change reduces the success of predators towards daphnia as a food. For them it is a kind of defense system against predators.ĭuring the summer season, when daphnia are more prone to predator attacks, they generate enlarged spines and a “helmet” to protect themselves. This feature is extremely beneficial when they are exposed to adverse environments. Scientists study them for phenotypic plasticity which is the ability to achieve more than one phenotype from a single genotype. Daphina are of great interest to researchers, especially to ecologists and geneticists. Video can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Daphnia under a microscope #shorts ()ĭaphnia is an interesting organism not only for being the primary key consumer of the food chain but also as a model organism for scientific studies.

Starfish labeled microscope