Predation Risk, Prey Behavior, and Feeding Rate in Daphnia pulex

Exposure to chemical exudates from the planktonic invertebrate predator Chaohorus americanus causes the prey Daphnia pulex to migrate upwards in the water column of laboratory experimental chambers. This behavior is an antipredator defense that results in spatial separation of Daphnia from Chaoborus, since this predator tends to remain near the bottom of the chambers. We test the effects of prey vulnerability, genotype, prior exposure to predators, and predator density on antipredator behavior of D. pulex. To study differences in vulnerability, we compared two genotypes of Daphnia that differed in their ability to produce a morphological defense (growth of neck spines) when exposed to Chaohorus chemical. Overall, behavioral responses to Chaoborus were stronger at higher predator densities. Juvenile Daphnia that are most vulnerable to Chaoborus predation had stronger responses than the less vulnerable adults. Neither genetically determined ability to produce neck spines nor phenotypic expression of neck spines affected strength of antipredator behavior. Vertical migration to avoid Chaoborus may have an ecological cost. Presence of Chaoborus reduced ingestion rates of juvenile Daphnia at low food levels (5 × 103 algal cells∙mL−1). Feeding experiments also showed differences in feeding characteristics of two different clones of D. pulex.