Leptodiaptomus ashlandi

Leptodiaptomus ashlandi is a calanoid copepod zooplankton native to the Laurentian Great Lakes and their basin.

Leptodiaptomus ashlandi
Female and male L. ashlandi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Copepoda
Order: Calanoida
Family: Diaptomidae
Genus: Leptodiaptomus
Species:
L. ashlandi
Binomial name
Leptodiaptomus ashlandi
(Marsh, 1893)

Distribution

Leptodiaptomus ashlandi is a zooplankton species widely distributed across Canada and the northern half of the United States in large deep lakes. It occurs in all the Great Lakes.[1]

Morphology

Adult females of L. ashlandi can be distinguished by their two-segmented urosome and asymmetrical, rounded metasomal wings. Males are characterized by a large lateral spine on leg 5, located in the proximal third of the terminal segment, and by the presence of a slender process on the third segment from the distal end of the right antennule.[2] This species is morphologically similar to other leptodiaptomids (Leptodiaptomus minutus, L. sicilis) and skistodiaptomids (Skistodiaptomus oregonensis).

Ecology

Leptodiaptomus ashlandi are known prey items for a number of native and non-native Great Lakes fishes. They are also prey items for other invertebrate zooplankton. Remains have been found within gut-contents of Mysis diluviana[3] and are trophically below Limnocalanus macrurus.[4]

References
  1. Mary D. Balcer, Nancy L. Korda & Stanley I. Dodson (1984). "Life history and ecology of the major crustacean species" in Zooplankton of the Great Lakes: A Guide to the Identification and Ecology of the Common Crustacean Species. University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 49–109. ISBN 978-0-299-09820-9.
  2. Hudson, Patrick L., and Lynn T. Lesko. 2003. Free-living and Parasitic Copepods of the Laurentian Great Lakes: Keys and Details on Individual Species. Ann Arbor, MI: Great Lakes Science Center Home Page. http://www.glsc.usgs.gov/greatlakescopepods/MainMenu.php?
  3. Brian P. O'Malley & David B. Bunnell. (2014). Diet of Mysis diluviana reveals seasonal patterns of omnivory and consumption of invasive species in offshore Lake Michigan, Journal of Plankton Research, 36(4):989–1002, doi:10.1093/plankt/fbu038
  4. Doubek, J. P. & Lehman, J. T. (2014). Historical trophic position of Limnocalanus macrurus in Lake Michigan, Journal of Great Lakes Research, 40(4): 1027–1032, doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2014.09.003
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