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DEGRADATION OF THE PERITROPHIC MEMBRANE OF FRESH-WATER ZOOPLANKTON FECAL PELLETS
Citation:
Bathelt, R. AND C. Schelske. DEGRADATION OF THE PERITROPHIC MEMBRANE OF FRESH-WATER ZOOPLANKTON FECAL PELLETS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-83/118.
Description:
Fecal pellets produced by Lake Michigan and Douglas Lake zooplankton in laboratory experiments were settled gently onto microscope slides in specially designed settling chambers. Permanent slides of settled pellets were made in triplicate 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, and 144 hours after removal of zooplankton. Light microscopic examination of the fecal material revealed variations in the amount of pellet degradation within each time interval as well as between successive time intervals. Degradation of the peritrophic membrane of fecal pellets from Douglas Lake zooplankton occurred more rapidly than those from Lake Michigan zooplankton. Degradation of the peritrophic membrane was not accompanied by significant changes in bacteria or chemical conditions in water surrounding the pellets. Results of degradation and sinking rate experiments showed that fecal pellets produced in the upper water column could be transported intact to the sediments of the deepest parts of Lake Michigan. (Copyright (c) 1983, by the American Microscopical Society, Inc.)