Interactions
As mentioned
earlier when discussing the habitat of D. pulex, this organism plays a
very distinct role in the aquatic ecosystem. First, they
provide food for a large amount of
fish in the ecosystem. In
addition, they also play a very important role in helping to
maintain water quality by feeding on
algae and bacteria. In the
food web, Daphnia would usually be considered primary consumers.
Next, D. pulex are also a host for many parasites. There have been six
determined species of bacterial parasites which invade the
Daphnia population. Four of them affect the organism’s hemolymph,
while the other two have been found to affect the fat cells and
eggs. If that parasite has infected the hemolymph, the Daphnia
might appear to have a tint of milky white, brown, pink, or
yellow.
D. pulex are
also hosts to many
fungal parasites as well; however, there
isn’t much known about them due to their differences in
appearance and varying effects on their host. Also, fungal
parasites among Daphnia are difficult to work with in the lab.
What scientists do know, though, is that fungal parasitic
infections in Daphnia are actually some of the most destructive
among the population and often kill the host quickly.
D. pulex also
interact with humans in a way that they provide many uses for
them. First off, although Daphnia do not provide a direct food
source for humans, they do, however, provide the fish, in which
humans are catching, with food.
Fishing is a huge industry today and without the food source of
Daphnia, this industry may not be as sustainable as it is today
due to lack of fish population. Also, D. pulex are commonly used
in the
lab by scientists because they are small, relatively
inexpensive, and easy to culture since they are so versatile
with their habitats. Next, because Daphnia are transparent,
it makes it easy to study internal structures of the organism
such as the
heart beat
and the digestive system. Lastly, Daphnia
are used in aquariums to help cut down on algae and levels of
debris.
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