Journal article

Authors list: Rütz, Nora K.; Marxsen, Jürgen; Wolters, Volkmar

Publication year: 2023

Pages: 269-281

Journal: Hydrobiologia

Volume number: 850

Issue number: 2

ISSN: 0018-8158

eISSN: 1573-5117

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-022-05058-6

Publisher: Springer

Abstract: 
A lack of knowledge about the long-term cultivation requirements of groundwater fauna is hampering the establishment of biological criteria to identify chemical threats to groundwater. As a contribution to solving this problem, we have carried out comprehensive laboratory studies on the diet and survival rates of the groundwater amphipod Niphargus aquilex. Preference tests indicated higher consumption of common ash (Fraxinus excelsior) than black alder (Alnus glutinosa) foliage. Compared to detritus from the sampling site, however, survival rates of N. aquilex significantly increased when living oligochaetes were added to ash foliage as an additional food source. Our results indicate that N. aquilex has evolved an omnivorous feeding strategy as an adaptation to the limited availability of nutrient-rich food sources in aquifers. The high acceptance of animal food sources and the predatory behaviour of N. aquilex underline the importance of and requirement for protein in its diet and suggest a high trophic position in groundwater food webs. Based on our results, we provide an optimized culturing protocol that opens up new perspectives for using N. aquilex as an organism for testing the biological quality of groundwater.

Harvard Citation style: Rütz, N., Marxsen, J. and Wolters, V. (2023) Long-term cultivation of the groundwater amphipod Niphargus aquilex (Crustacea), Hydrobiologia, 850(2), pp. 269-281. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-022-05058-6

APA Citation style: Rütz, N., Marxsen, J., & Wolters, V. (2023). Long-term cultivation of the groundwater amphipod Niphargus aquilex (Crustacea). Hydrobiologia. 850(2), 269-281. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-022-05058-6