A "crown of thorns" is an inducible defense that protects Daphnia against an ancient predator.

ABSTRACT: Genetic data has become an essential part of ecological studies, because the analyses of diversity within and among natural populations may grant access to previously overlooked ecological and evolutionary causalities, especially among cryptic species. Here, we present an example of how phylogenetic analysis of molecular data obtained within a DNA barcoding study, in combination with morphological and ecological data from the field and laboratory experiments, unraveled a striking predator-prey interaction between aquatic organisms. The "crown of thorns," a conspicuous morphological feature among water fleas of the Daphnia atkinsoni species complex (Crustacea: Cladocera), is considered to represent a species-specific trait. However, our study, initiated by the analysis of sequence variation

SUBMITTER: Petrusek A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2650140 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature