ZOOPLANKTON COMMUNITY STRUCTURE OF LAKE-LIVINGSTON, TEXAS, AS RELATEDTO PADDLEFISH FOOD RESOURCES

The zooplankton community of Lake Livingston was examined in terms of composition, abundance, distribution, and appropriateness as a food re source for paddlefish, Polyodon spathula. By comparing the range of in terraker distances of paddlefish (0.06-0.08 mm) to size measurements o f different zooplankton taxa, we determined that paddlefish do not con sume small rotifers and copepod nauplii as efficiently as they do larg er copepods and cladocerans. All zooplankton taxa (rotifers, cladocera ns, and copepods) were comprised of relatively small organisms, and co mmunity abundance and biomass were dominated by small rotifers and cop epod nauplii most of the year. In fall and winter, however, the biomas s was dominated by copepods. A bioenergetics model predicted the paddl efish biomass that could be supported in Lake Livingston at a density of 1.17 kg ha(-1), with a range of 0.06 to 10.45 kg ha(-1).