Hyalella azteca

Hyalella azteca
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Amphipoda
Family: Dogielinotidae
Genus: Hyalella
Species: H. azteca
Binomial name
Hyalella azteca
(Saussure, 1858)

Hyalella azteca is a widespread and abundant species of amphipod crustacean in North America. It reaches 3–8 mm (0.12–0.31 in) long, and is found in a range of fresh and brackish waters. It feeds on algae and diatoms and is a major food of waterfowl.

Description

Hyalella azteca grows to a length of 3–8 millimetres (0.12–0.31 in), with males being larger than females.[1] Their colour is variable, but the most frequent hues are white, green and brown.[1]

Distribution

Hyalella azteca is found across Central America, the Caribbean and North America,[2] as far north as the Arctic tree line.[1] It lives among vegetation in permanent bodies of freshwater, including lakes and rivers,[1] extending into tidal fresh water, and freshwater barrier lagoons.[2] It is "the most abundant amphipod of lakes [in North America]".[3]

Ecology

In contrast to other species of Hyalella, H. azteca is extremely common and has wide ecological tolerances.[4] It can tolerate alkaline waters and brackish waters, but cannot tolerate a pH lower (more acidic) than 6.0.[4]

The main foodstuffs of H. azteca are filamentous algae and diatoms, although they may also consume organic detritus.[1] It cannot assimilate either cellulose or lignin, even though these biomolecules are a major component of the leaf litter.[5] It can, however, assimilate 60%–90% of the bacterial biomass that it ingests.[5]

Hyalella azteca is an important food for many waterfowl. In Saskatchewan, 97% of the diet of female white-winged scoters was observed to be H. azteca, and it also makes up a significant part of the diet of lesser scaup.[6]

Life cycle

Hyalella azteca passes through a minimum of nine instars during its development.[4] Sexes can first be distinguished at the 6th instar, with the first mating occurring in the 8th instar. Subsequent instars, of which there may be 15–20, are considered adulthood.[4]

Uses

Hyalella azteca is used in various aquatic bioassays.[7]

Taxonomic history

External identifiers for Hyalella azteca
Encyclopedia of Life 342551
ITIS 94026
NCBI 294128
WoRMS 158105
Also found in: Wikispecies

Hyalella azteca was first described by Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure in 1858, under the name Amphitoe aztecus, based on material collected by Aztecs[8] from a "cistern" near Veracruz, Mexico.[9] It has also been described under several junior synonyms, including:[10]

When Sidney Irving Smith erected the genus Hyalella in 1874, H. azteca was the only included species, and therefore the type species.[11] The genus now includes dozens of species, mostly in South America.[11]

H. azteca is now thought to represent a species complex, since there is little gene flow between populations, and different morphotypes are known to coexist in some areas.[8] Two local populations have been described as separate species – Hyalella texana from the Edwards Plateau of Texas, and Hyalella montezuma from Montezuma Well, Arizona.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Aquatic Invertebrates: Amphipods". The Nature of the Rideau River. Canadian Museum of Nature. May 18, 2007. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  2. 1 2 Mark D. Sytsma, Jeffery R. Cordell, John W. Chapman & Robyn C. Draheim (October 2004). "Final Technical Report: Appendices" (PDF). Lower Columbia River Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Survey 2001–2004. United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  3. C. F. Mason (2002). "Acidification". Biology of Freshwater Pollution (4th ed.). Pearson Education. pp. 175–204. ISBN 978-0-13-090639-7.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Douglas Grant Smith (2001). "Amphipoda". Pennak's freshwater invertebrates of the United States: Porifera to Crustacea (4th ed.). John Wiley and Sons. pp. 569–584. ISBN 978-0-471-35837-4.
  5. 1 2 N. Kaushik (1975). "Decomposition of allochthonous organic matter and secondary production in stream ecosystems". Productivity of World Ecosystems: Proceedings of a Symposium Presented August 31–September 1, 1972, at the V General Assembly of the Special Committee for the International Biological Program, Seattle, Washington. United States National Academy of Sciences. pp. 90–95. ISBN 0-309-02317-3.
  6. Gary L. Krapu & Kenneth J. Reinecke (1992). "Foraging ecology and nutrition". In Bruce D. J. Batt. Ecology and Management of Breeding Waterfowl. University of Minnesota Press. pp. 1–29. ISBN 978-0-8166-2001-2.
  7. Robert Jay Goldstein, Rodney W. Harper & Richard Edwards (2000). "Foods and feeding". American Aquarium Fishes. Volume 28 of W. L. Moody, Jr., natural history series. Texas A&M University Press. pp. 43–51. ISBN 978-0-89096-880-2.
  8. 1 2 3 Yihao Duan, Sheldon I. Guttman, James T. Oris & A. John Bailer (2000). "Genetic structure and relationships among populations of Hyalella azteca and H. montezuma (Crustacea:Amphipoda)". Journal of the North American Benthological Society 19 (2): 308–320. JSTOR 1468073.
  9. Exequiel R. Gonzalez & Les Watling; Watling (2002). "Redescription of Hyalella azteca from its type locality, Vera Cruz, Mexico (Amphipoda: Hyalellidae)". Journal of Crustacean Biology 22 (1): 173–183. doi:10.1651/0278-0372(2002)022[0173:ROHAFI]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 1549618.
  10. J. Lowry (2010). J. Lowry, ed. "Hyalella azteca (Saussure, 1858)". World Amphipoda database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  11. 1 2 J. Laurens Barnard (1969). "The Families and Genera of Marine Gammaridean Amphipoda". United States National Museum Bulletin 271: 1–535.

Further reading

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