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Spatial Variation In Rna:Dna Ratios Of Diporeia Spp. In The Great Lakes Region, Daniel J. Ryan, Maria S. Sepúlveda, Thomas F. Nalepa, Tomas O. Höök

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Over the past two decades, Diporeia in all of the Laurentian Great Lakes, except Superior, have declined dramatically. These declines have seemingly coincided with expansion of invasive Dreissena polymorpha and D. bugensis, however the exact mechanisms underlying decreasing Diporeia densities are obscure. We explored the use of RNA:DNA (R/D) ratios as a conditional index for Diporeia by experimentally demonstrating that Diporeia R/D responds to periods of starvation. Moreover, during 2008–2009 we collected Diporeia from throughout the Great Lakes and Cayuga Lake (New York, USA), and used R/D ratios to index condition of these in situ collected animals. We evaluated …