Impact of Introduction: Potential:
Skistodiaptomus pallidus is an efficient omnivorous predator, with the ability to prey on preferred rotifers and microzooplankton from large distances. It also consumes algae and practices cannibalism, which may allow populations to persist when resource availability is low (Williamson and Butler 1986; Williamson and Vanderploeg 1988). It has also been known to attain very high densities in suitable habitats, reaching 10,000 per m3 in a Lake Erie marsh to unknown consequences (Krieger and Klarer 1991). Skistodiaptomus pallidus became the primary calanoid copepod in a particularly eutrophic portion of Lake Tahoe, dominating two previously common species, Leptodiaptomus tyrrelli and Epischura nevadensis (Byron and Saunders 1981).
Additionally, based on evidence from an Ohio lake, it has been suggested that S. pallidus is an intermediate host for the parasitic worm Tanaorhamphus longirostris, although study of this occurrence has been limited (Hubschman 1983). Documented evidence combined with its record of spread across the U.S. (Byron and Saunders 1981) have led some recently colonized areas, like New Zealand, to express concern over the potential effects of S. pallidus on native ecosystems (Duggan et al. 2006).
References: (click for full references)
Byron, E.R., and J.F. Saunders III. 1981. Colonization of Lake Tahoe, California, Nevada, USA and other western habitats by the copepod Skistodiaptomus pallidus
(Calanoida). Southwestern Naturalist 26(1): 82-83.
Chapman, M.A., J.D. Green, and T.G. Northcote. 1985. Seasonal dynamics of Skistodiaptomus pallidus Herrick and other zooplankton populations in Deer Lake, S.W. British Columbia. Journal of Plankton Research 7(6): 867-876.
Dowell, K.M. 1997. Evidence for diapause in the freshwater copepod Skistodiaptomus pallidus. American Midland Naturalist 137(2): 362-368.
Duggan, I.C., J.D. Green, and D.F. Burger. 2006. First New Zealand records of three non-indigenous zooplankton species: Skistodiaptomus pallidus, Sinodiaptomus valkanovi, and Daphnia dentifera. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 40: 561-569.
Geddes, M.C., and G.A. Cole. 1981. Variation in sexual size differentiation in North American diaptomids (Copepoda: Calanoida): does variation in the degree of dimorphism have ecological significance? Limnology and Oceanography 26(2): 367-374.
Geiling, W.T., and R.S. Campbell. 1972. The effect of temperature on the development rate of the major life stages of Diaptomus pallidus Herrick. Limnology and Oceanography 17: 304-307.
GLMRIS. 2012. Appendix C: Inventory of Available Controls for Aquatic Nuisance Species of Concern, Chicago Area Waterway System. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Hubschman, J.H. 1983. Diaptomus pallidus Herrick, 1879 (Crustacea: Copepoda) as an intermediate host for Tanaorhamphus longirostris (Van Cleave, 1913) (Acanthocephala: Neoechinorhynchidae). Journal of Parasitology 69(5): 930-932.
Krieger, K.A., and D.M. Klarer. 1991. Zooplankton dynamics in a Great Lakes coastal marsh. Journal of Great Lakes Research 17: 255-269.
Lesko, L.T., P.L. Hudson, and M.A. Chriscinske. 2003. Calanoid copepods of the Laurentian Great Lakes. Ann Arbor, MI, Online at http://www.glsc.usgs.gov/greatlakescopepods/
McLaughlin, P.L., and 39 others. 2005. Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada—Crustaceans. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 31, Bethesda, Maryland, American Fisheries Society, 545 p.
Marcogliese, D.J., and G.W. Esch. 1992. Alterations of vertical distribution and migration of zooplankton in relation to temperature. American Midland Naturalist 128(1): 139-155.
Mills, E.L., J.H. Leach, J.T. Carlton, and C.L . Secor. 1993. Exotic Species in the Great Lakes: A History of Biotic Crises and Anthropogenic Introductions. Journal of Great Lakes Research 19(1): 1-54.
Pennak, R. 1989. Fresh-water Invertebrates of the Unites States, 3rd ed. Protozoa to Mollusca. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, New York State. 628 pp.
Reid, J.W., and P.L. Hudson. 2008. Comment on “Rate of species introductions in the Great Lakes via ship’s ballast water and sediments. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 65(3): 549-553.
Thum, R.A. and R.S. Stemberger. 2006. Pure spatial and spatially structured environmental variables explain Skistodiaptomus copepod range limits in the northeastern USA. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 63(6): 1397-1404.
Torke, B. 2001. The distribution of calanoid copepods in the plankton of Wisconsin Lakes. Hydrobiologia 453-454: 351-365.
Williamson, C.E., and N.M. Butler. 1986. Predation on rotifers by the suspension-feeding calanoid copepod Diaptomus pallidus. Limnology and Oceanography 31: 393-402.
Williamson, C.E., and H.A. Vanderploeg. 1988. Predatory suspension-feeding in Diaptomus: prey defenses and the avoidance of cannibalism. Bulletin of Marine Science 43(3): 561-572.
Wonham, M.J., S.A. Bailey, H.J. MacIsaac, and M.A. Lewis. 2005. Modelling the invasion risk of diapausing organisms transported in ballast sediments. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 62: 2386-2398.
This information is preliminary or provisional and is subject to revision. It is being provided to meet the need for timely best science. The information has not received final approval by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and is provided on the condition that neither the USGS nor the U.S. Government shall be held liable for any damages resulting from the authorized or unauthorized use of the information.