FRESHWATER INVERTEBRATES
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FRESHWATER INVERTEBRATE RECORDER’S ANNUAL REPORT 2007 ADRIAN CHALKLEY This report covers the period from August 2006 to July 2007. After a mild winter and a very wet spring water levels in streams and ponds have generally held up well this summer. The more common species have therefore been able to maintain large populations and there have been some particularly interesting or unusual records which are summarised below. Cladocera (Water Fleas) The following species have been added to the Freshwater Invertebrate Survey of Suffolk database, to the best of my knowledge they are new county records. Alona costata and Polyphemus pediculus were found at Lound in August 2006 with Ceriodaphnia quadrangula var. hamata, Daphnia hyalina var. lacustris and Pleuroxus denticulatus recorded at Elveden in July 2007. Other interesting species taken this year included Sida crystallina, recorded for the first time in almost 50 years at Lound along with Moina brachiata, the first record since 1903. In some farm ponds at Boxford I found Daphnia curvirostris, the first record of this species since 1958.
Polyphemus pediculus is a water flea that is very different in form to the majority of the order, which makes the lack of previous records all the more interesting as it is large (2 mm) and unlikely to be overlooked. The scarcity of cladocera recorders makes it likely that Polyphemus awaits discovery in many
Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 43 (2007)