Phenotypic plasticity of two Bosmina species in response to invertebrate predator kairomones

Abstract

Phenotypic plasticity is a key mechanism by which prey organisms adapt to variable predation risk. However, the specificity of these responses to different predators remains an important area of research. Here, we present a dataset from a common garden experiment designed to investigate morphological plasticity in two co-occurring zooplankton species, Bosmina coregoni and Bosmina longirostris, from Lake Constance. Replicated clones of both species were exposed to chemical cues (kairomones) from two distinct invertebrate predators, Bythotrephes longimanus and Leptodora kindtii, as well as a predator-free control. The resulting dataset comprises 236 individual observations, with measurements of key defensive traits (body size, antennule size, mucro size, eye diameter), reproductive output (clutch size), and essential metadata (species, clone, age, life stage, treatment). This resource provides a powerful tool for analyzing how predator identity and species-specific life histories interact to shape the expression of induced defenses in freshwater zooplankton.