Predation rates of zooplankton in arctic ponds1

Twelve species of arctic freshwater zooplankton were tested for predatory behavior in feeding trials, two species at a time, at several developmental stages. All were herbivorous as nauplii, early copepodids, or neonates. Heterocope septentrionalis and Acanthocyclops vernalis were common high‐intensity predators in the more mature stages. Daphnia middendorffiana and Polyartemiella hazeni were common passive predators in more mature stages. Cyclops vicinus, Diacyclops languidoides, Eucyclops agilis, Diaptomus alaskaensis, and Diaptomus bacillifer were not predaceous. The predator‐prey system in arctic ponds is complex; each predator serves as prey for some other species.