Can long-term salinity acclimation eliminate the inhibitory effect of salinization on anti-predation defense of Daphnia?

Freshwater salinization, due to road salt and other increased anthropogenic activities, has become a significant threat to freshwater organisms. However, whether freshwater salinization affects the response of aquatic organisms to their predators, especially prey that have been acclimated to salinity environments for a long time, remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the changes in anti-predator defense of Daphnia magna with and without salinity acclimation at five different salinities (0, 0.6, 0.8, 0.10, and 0.12 M). Results showed that freshwater salinization weakened the induced defense response of D. magna, regardless of whether it had undergone long-term salinity acclimation. Specifically, induced defense traits such as smaller body size, higher relative spine length, more relative reproductive output, and smaller body size neonates disappeared at >= 0.08 M salinities. In addition, there were no significant differences in most traits of induced defense strength between D. magna with and without salinity acclimation at the same salinity. Importantly, the integrated induced defense response index decreased with increasing salinity. Our study showed that salinity-tolerant organisms do not recover their induced defense at high salinities, underlining the importance of incorporating interspecific interactions when estimating the effects of freshwater salinization on organisms.

Automated summary

Freshwater salinization poses a significant threat to freshwater organisms, and this study found that it weakens the induced defense response of Daphnia magna. The study also showed that salinity-tolerant organisms do not recover their induced defense at high salinities, highlighting the importance of considering interspecific interactions when assessing the effects of freshwater salinization on organisms.