Behavioral Response to UVB Differs in Subalpine Populations of Daphnia Melanica

<em>Daphnia </em>are a genus of freshwater zooplankton that inhabit ponds and lakes. They are commonly used as a model organism because they can reproduce clonally and are considered a foundation species in pond ecosystems. <em>Daphnia melanica</em> that inhabit the subalpine ponds of the Olympic National Park are exposed to high levels of ultraviolet radiation (UVR). UVR causes DNA damage that can be detrimental to the organism if not fixed. One way to avoid these harmful rays is to migrate to protected areas. In my study, I looked at two behaviors in <em>D. melanica</em>: diel vertical migration (DVM), which involves movement down the water column, and diel horizontal migration (DHM), which involves horizontal movement to shaded areas. I tested whether Daphnia from six populations varying in transparency differ in their DVM and DHM response to three different light conditions: cool light, low UV, and high UV. As UV increased, the <em>Daphnia</em> showed significantly more pronounced DVM and DHM. There were also significant differences between populations, as well as a significant interaction between population and light treatment, in DVM. I also measured a number of ecological factors for each pond, including characteristics of the surrounding vegetation and water quality. There was no significant association between any measured ecological factor and behavior of <em>D. melanica.</em>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Biology

Year dc:date.available

2015

Author dc:creator

• Tompkins, Amanda

Contributors dc:contributor

• Alison G. Scoville
• Clay Arango
• Lucinda Carnell

• Daphnia
• Behavior
• UV
• Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
• Population Biology

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/265

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.cwu.edu:etd-1281