Collected: May 2004 in Upper Chesapeake Bay off of Hart-Miller Island.

Gear: Epibenthic sled fitted with a 363 micrometer mesh plankton net.

Notes: Leptodora, the largest known cladoceran, dwarfs other marine and brackish species. This, transparent cladoceran is quite unlike most familiar water fleas. It is widespread in freshwater lakes in Europe and the U. S.. Despite its huge size and high seasonal abundance in the Chesapeake Bay, published reports from brackish waters are rare, perhaps due to its tendency to remain near the bottom during the day.

Biology and Ecology: Unlike other cladocerans, brood are released at the nauplius stage. A predator of other zooplankton Leptodora is a favorite food of stripped bass up to 45 cm (18”) long in some Maryland reservoirs. Its role in estuarine food chains remains unstudied.

Identification: Balcer, M.D. et al. 1984. Zooplankton of the Great Lakes. University of Wisconsin Press

Web Links:
On the Ontogeny of Leptodora kindtii (Crustacea, Branchiopoda, Cladocera), with Notes on the Phylogeny of the Cladocera (Journal Article)