Daphnia pulex
(Water Flea)
© Ian Gardiner (Photo ID #66337)
Photographer's Submitted Details
Photo Location
Brooks, Alberta
Photographer
Ian Gardiner
Habitat
Small, shallow lake
Photo Date
June 04, 2014
Upload Date
June 09, 2014
Elevation (m)
Latitude
Longitude
Photo ID #
66337
Comments
Ephippia floating at the margin of lake. These may be dispersed to other basins by wind, insects, birds, and mammals. The ephippium provides protection for the resting eggs against dessication (this particular lake will dry up in Summer), freezing, and the digestive enzymes in the guts of fish and birds. When favourable conditions return the following Spring, and melting snows once again fill the grassland depressions with water, these resting eggs will provide the seed for a new generation of Daphnia pulex.