Idea Transcript
FRESHWATER
ZOOPLANKTON
Dr. Carl Prophet
THE KANSAS SCHOOL NATURALIST
Emporia Kansas St at e Colle g e
Emporia, Kansas
Vol. 23 No. 4
April 1977
The Kansas
School Naturalist Published by
Emporia Kansas State College Prepared and Issued by The Division of Biological Sciences
Editor: RobertJ. Boles Editorial Committee: James S. Wilson, Gilbert A. Leisman,
Tom Eddy, Robert F. Clarke
" ,.e Kansas School Naturalist is sent upon request, free of charge, to Kansas teachers, school board members and administrators, librarians, conserva ionists, youth leaders, and other adults interested in nature, education. Back [lumbers are sent free as long as supply lasts, except Vol. 5, No.3, Poisonous S nakes of Kansas. Copies of this issue may be obtained for 25 cents each postpaid. Send orders to The Kansas School Naturalist, Department of Biology, Emporia Kansas State College, Emporia, Kansas, 66801.
The Kansas School Naturalist is published in October, December, Febrtlary, and April of each year by Emporia Kansas State College, 1200 Commercial Street, Emporia, Kansas, 66801. Second-class postage paid at Emporia, Kansas.
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FRESHWATER ZOOPLANKTON
Dr. Carl Prophet If one were asked to name examples of common aq uatic organisms, it is most probably that the answer would include such animals as fishes and turtles, and plant names like cattail and m oss would most certainly head the list. H owever, in such instances the term "moss" is probably being applied to anyone of several types of plants, ranging from filamentous algae (stringlike colonies of single-celled plants) to rooted flowering plants like the common pondweed, Potarnageton, rather than to a true moss. Regard less of the correctness of the names used, most of the orgianisms named will probably be large and easily observed. Everyone learns at an early age to recognize a fish or a bird; and anyone who has gone fishing will recall the "darned" moss that fouled the fishing line and the emergent plants, like cattails, which may have served as nesting sites for red-winged black birds but made fishing from the shore of some lakes difficult , if not impossible. Few people are aware of the teeming microscopi c life which abounds and plays such a vital role in our ponds, lakes, and streams. This is not sur prising because few people have had the opportunity to view a sample of Dr. Ca rl Proph et is a Professor of Biol ogy in the Division of Biol ogy at EKSC. He is a specialist in the field of aquatic bi ology. auth or of numer ous scie ntific publications. and auth or of several previous issues of the Kansas School Na lLlralis l .
lake water under a microscope, but those that have are frequently amazed at the variety of microscopic organ isms found; and the beuaty and interest ing shapes of such organisms as desmids, diatoms, and rotifers are exciting to behold. (Fig. I).
TYPES OF AQUA TIC LIFE The aquatic ecologist uses several special terms to characterize different kinds of aquatic organisms, based primarily upon either relative size or place within the lake or stream where they can be found. Nekton are large freely-swimming animals such as fishes and some species of aquatic insects. Me mbers of the nekton are strong enough to na vigate against water cur rents. Neuston consist of organi s ms which float or swim on the surface or just below the surface film. The tiny duckweeds, water striders, and whili gig beetles are examples of neuston. Benthos live on or in the bottom sediments; clams and animals which burrow through the sediment represent these kinds of organisms. M icroscopic plants and animals which are attached to submerged objects make up the periphyton o r aufwuchs. Some diatoms, the well-known fresh-water hydra, and sessile protozoans such as Vor ticella are ex a mples. Forms of micro scopic life which are su spended or floating in the wa ter column are termed plankton . Although many plankters are capable of locomotion,
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A. Pediastrum, a desmid.
B. Staurastrum, a desmid.
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