Well,

Daphnia are typically filter feeders, ingesting mainly unicellular algae and various sorts of organic detritus including protists and bacteria. Beating of the legs produces a constant current through the carapace which brings such material into the digestive tract. Daphnia may be used in certain environments to test the effects of toxins on an ecosystem, which makes them an indicator genus, particularly useful because of its short lifespan and reproductive capabilities. Because they are nearly transparent.

Sincerely

Hello Rakesh,

Daphnia is a common indicator species use for several types of toxicological and environmental studies. There are much information in the internet and also follow the article attached herewith.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2042/

Hello Rakesh,

Daphnia species rarely occur in rivers as they cannot swim against a current and would be washed downstream. They may however be encountered in backwaters, floodplain ponds and oxbow lakes. Their value as pollution indicators has been well summarised by Yohan and Bayan.They are mostly parthenogenetic, females producing identical offspring that can be used e.g. in laboratory tests of water samples.

Other cladocerans (water-fleas) with similar life cycles could be used in the same way, but Daphnia spp. have been very widely used and their physiological tolerances are now well known.

Hello,

The cladocerans Daphnia are considered good bio-indicator. You can perform laboratory toxicological test to see the level of contaminant of water (e.g. heavy metals). Have a look to LC50, CD50, Immobilisation tests..

Daphnia eats micro algae (e.g. Scenedesmus sp.) and yeast mainly.

Yes, you can find Daphnia in freshwater river because it's a freshwater species also if it can tollerate high salinity levels.

Daphnia can survive around 2-3 months if in good environments. They are mostly parthenogenetic, females produce genetically identical offspring if not stressed, or male if stressed.

Regards