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Zooplankton Past Paper 2018

Q#1. Define Rotifer? Describe shape, feeding & reproduction


in rotifer.
Rotifer: a small phylum of minute multicellular aquatic
animals which have a characteristic wheel-like ciliated organ
used in swimming and feeding.

Shape of Rotifer:

The rotifer body is divided into head, a middle trunk and a tail
or foot. A neck may separate head and trunk.
There is a well-developed cuticle, which may be thick and rigid.
1. Head:
 The most distinctive feature of rotifers is the presence
of a ciliated structure, called the corona, on the head.

 It may be narrow or lobed, but it is typically broad.


 ciliated corona (or crown) gives impression of spinning
wheel often with sensory bristles or papillae used both
for feeding draws a vortex of water into mouth for
feeding mouth is inside corona can also be used for
locomotion.
2. Trunk:

3. Tail/Foot:
Feeding Of rotifer:

 most rotifers are omnivores eating anything small


enough to fit in their mouths.

 many are carnivores: feed on protozoa and small


animals

 some are cannibalistic others feed on dead organic


matter most feed by sweeping particles into mouth with
corona.
Reproduction in Rotifer:

 rotifers have internal fertilization


 in some species, females can produce different kinds of
eggs:
 resting (winter) eggs: heavy and thick shelled overwinter on
sediment extremely resistant to drying and extreme
temperatures.
 in some rotifers, the eggs are retained in the female
until they hatch (ovoviviparous).
Q#2. What do you understand by Diurnal vertical migration?
Describe the possible reasons for vertical migration in
zooplankton.
Ans. DIEL VERTICAL MIGRATION
Diel vertical migration (DVM), is a pattern of movement used
by some organisms, such as copepods, living in the ocean and
in lakes.
The migration occurs when organisms move up to
the epipelagic zone at night and return to the mesopelagic zone
of the oceans or to the hypolimnion zone of lakes during the
day.
 Epipelagic: - The surface layer of the ocean is known as
the epipelagic zone. The surface layer of the ocean is
known as the epipelagic zone.

 Mesopelagic: - The mesopelagic zone (also known as the


middle pelagic or twilight zone) is the part of the
pelagic zone that lies between the photic epipelagic and
the aphotic bathypelagic zones.

 Hypolimnion: - the lower layer of water in a stratified lake,


typically cooler than the water above and relatively
stagnant.

The word diel comes from the Latin dies day, and means a 24-
hour period. In terms of biomass, it is the greatest migration in
the world.
Various stimuli are responsible for this phenomenon, the most
prominent being response to changes in light intensity, though
evidence suggests that biological clocks are an underlying
stimulus as well.
This mass migration is generally nocturnal, with the animals
ascending from the depths at nightfall and descending at
sunrise.
Types of vertical migration:
1. Diel:
This is the most common form of vertical migration.
Organisms migrate daily through different depths in the water
column.

2. Seasonal
Organisms are found at different depths depending on what
season it is. Seasonal changes to the environment may
influence changes to migration patterns.

3. Ontogenetic
Organisms spend different stages of their life cycle at
different depths.

Reasons for vertical migration:


There are many hypotheses as to why organisms would
vertically migrate.

 Predator avoidance:
Light-dependent predation by fish is
a common pressure that causes DVM behavior in
zooplankton. In many instances it is advantageous for
zooplankton to migrate to deep waters during the day to
avoid predation and come up to the surface at night to
feed.
 Metabolic advantages:
By feeding in the warm surface
waters at night and residing in the cooler deep waters
during the day they can conserve energy. Alternatively,
organisms feeding on the bottom in cold water during the
day may migrate to surface waters at night in order to
digest their meal at warmer temperatures.

 Dispersal and transport:


Organisms can use deep and
shallow currents to find food patches or to maintain a
geographical location.

 Avoid UV damage:
The sunlight can penetrate the water
column. If an organism, especially something small like
a microbe, is too close to the surface the UV can damage
them. So, they would want to avoid getting too close to
the surface, especially during daylight.

Vertical migration stimuli:


There are two different factors that are known to play a role in
vertical migration, endogenous and exogenous. Endogenous
factors originate from the organism itself; sex, age, biological
rhythms, etc.
Exogenous factors are environmental factors acting on the
organism such as light, gravity, oxygen, temperature, predator-
prey interactions, etc.
 Exogenous factors: -
a. Light:
Light is the most common and critical cue for
vertical migration. Organisms want to find an optimum
light intensity.
Light has 3 layers: Aphotic, Photic & Thermocline.
Aphotic: Where light is absent
Photic: Where light is present.
Thermocline: Middle layer where temperature vary.
b. Temperature:
Organisms will migrate to a water depth
with suitable temperatures that best suit the organisms
needs.
The thing which vary in seasons. Some species are
stenothermal, and some are eurythermal.
Water density occur due to temperature.

Important timings of Animals:


Dawn: 1st light of morning that breaks the night
Dusk: 1st light of night that breaks the day.

Q#3. Define reproduction? Discuss parthenogenetic and


sexual reproduction in Cladocera.
Ans.
Reproduction: the production of offspring by a sexual or
asexual process.
Reproduction in Cladocera:
Cladocera commonly known as water flea.
 Marine Cladocera alternate between gamogenetic (sexual)
and parthenogenetic (asexual) reproduction.

 During unfavorable periods, Cladocera’s switch their


reproductive mode to gamogenesis; males appears, and
females produce resting eggs.

 The transition from asexual to sexual reproduction is


triggered by temperature, food quantity and quality and
photoperiod.

 Asexual reproductive strategies allow Cladocera to


exploit favorable food conditions.

 Environmental stress may induce females to produce


male offspring, thus leading to bisexual reproduction.

 After copulation and internal fertilization, the eggs are


brooded in a pouch within the carapace of the female
until they are ready to hatch as miniature adults.
 Cladocera’s can also reproduce asexually through a
process called parthenogenesis, which results in females
dominating the population before reverting to sexual
reproduction.

 In some cases, paedomorphosis has been observed


where developing embryos in the mother's brood pouch
become sexually mature and can themselves carry eggs.

 Parthenogenesis involves a long period of asexual


reproduction where females hatch from eggs in spring
and produce females throughout summer. Towards the
end of the season, females start producing males
resulting in a short phase of sexual reproduction.
 Nauplii (larvae) produced asexually are brooded by the
female. Most of the larval development occurs in the
brood pouch and when released by the female, they are
relatively well developed.
 Sexually produced eggs are retained in the posterior
carapace region and stay in the old exuvia (remains of the
exoskeleton) when females moult.
 Sexual reproduction typically results in eggs that are
dormant over winter and hatch the following spring.
Cladoceran nauplii are relatively large and development
into reproductive forms is rapid.
Q#4. What is zooplankton composition in lakes? Discuss
seasonal variation in zooplankton.
Ans.
Zooplankton are considered as one of the most
important food sources to the aquatic organisms
particularly to planktivorous fish. Zooplankton
community is the major route for energy flux in the
plankton-based food web causes them to become an
important element in functioning of aquatic ecosystems.
In general, the characteristics of zooplankton community
structure are characterized by the intrinsic factors
including surface area, depth, trophic level, color of
water, and the biological community of the lake. Thus,
these creatures can be a useful tool for the
determination of ecological status of a lake.
Industrialization and human activities are the main
causes of water pollution. Polluted water contained
chemical substances induce algal bloom which indirectly
causes problem to aquatic ecosystem such as
eutrophication.
Zooplankton have close links with the surrounding
environment throughout their life cycles and they
demonstrate rapid changes in their populations when
disturbance occurs such as eutrophication. Therefore,
they are potential indicator species for water pollution.
Some zooplanktons are stenotherm & stenohaline.
Seasonal variation is called the water body is divided based
on food availability.
The trophic state of a lake is determined by the amount of
biologically useful nutrients dissolved in the waters of the lake.
Oligotrophic: An oligotrophic lake or water body is one
which has a relatively low productivity due to the low
nutrient content in the lake. The waters of these lakes are
usually quite clear due to the limited growth of algae in the
lake.
Mesotrophic: Lakes with an intermediate level of productivity
are called mesotrophic lakes. These lakes have medium-level
nutrients and are usually clear water with submerged aquatic
plants.
Eutrophic: Lakes that are eutrophic in nature have high levels
of biological productivity. An abundance of plants is supported
by such lakes due to the rich nutrient constitution, especially
nitrogen and phosphorus.

Hypereutrophic: These lakes suffer from problems arising due


to excessive plant and algal growth due to a high supply of
growth nutrients. These lakes have little transparency due to
the dense overgrowth of algae or aquatic flora.

Distrophic: Vanished lake.

Q#5. Draw a neat and clean labelled diagram of daphnia.


Q#6. Write short notes on any 2 of the following.
Ans.
1. Zoo-Phytoplankton relationship:
Strong relationships
exist between phytoplankton and zooplankton. For
instance, the main systematic groups of zooplankton
include many taxa, which feed on phytoplankton.

Selective grazing by zooplankton is an important factor


affecting the structure of phytoplankton communities.
However, phytoplankton structure also influences the
taxonomic composition and dominance of the
zooplankton.

These animal components are mainly filtrating,


sedimentations or raptorial predators. Among them,
filtrates usually exert the strongest effect on
phytoplankton abundance in lakes.

In a pond ecosystem, unicellular algae and plant are


eaten by zooplankton, insects etc.
The population of planktons is higher in summer as
compare to winter.
Zooplanktons are the bridge between phytoplankton
and consumers.

Plankton comes in many shapes and sizes – from


organisms so small you’d need a microscope to see
them to large jellyfish! there are zooplankton (animal-
like plankton) and phytoplankton (plant-like plankton).
But there are lots of other subgroups of plankton!
There are meroplankton and holoplankton and
diatoms and dinoflagellates.
 Meroplankton are plankton for only part of their lives
(usually the larval stage).
 Holoplankton are plankton for their entire lives. They
can be either phytoplankton or zooplankton.
 Diatoms are a type of phytoplankton that are encased
with unique silica cell wall called a frustule.
 Dinoflagellates are protists that often have
two flagella (whip-like appendage), allowing them
limited movement. They have a sheath-like covering
called a theca.

2.

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