Prevalence and substrate specificity of epizoans on crustacean zooplankton were examined during an annual cycle in Tulé Reservoir, a large, shallow and polymictic waterbody in western Venezuela. Epistylis sp., a ciliate protozoan, and Synedra sp., a pennate diatom, were the most frequent epibiont taxa. The prevalence of all epibionts on 1800 individual crustaceans was only 3.3%, and the occurrence of the two epibiotic taxa together on the same substrate zooplankter was low (3.3% of total infested crustaceans). Cyclopoid copepods were preferred as substrate for Epistylis sp. Neither epibiont taxon was found on copepodids or adults of a calanoid. Both epibionts were absent in the early rainy season but appeared in mid rainy season and showed the highest prevalence in the early dry season. During the remainder of the dry season prevalence was low. Epibiont prevalence was not related to presence or absence of zooplankton taxa or water temperature. Differences from temperate epibiont communities are discussed Resumen. A lo largo de un ciclo anual, se estudió la prevalencia y la especificidad al sustrato de los epibiontes de la comunidad de crustáceos planctónicos del Embalse Tulé, un cuerpo de agua somero y polimictico del Occidente de Venezuela. Epistylis sp., un protozoario ciliado, y Synedra sp., una diatomea pennada, fueron los taxones más frecuentes. La prevalencia de ambos epibiontes en conjunto sobre los 1.800 individuos examinados fue de 3,3% y la presencia de ambos epibiontes en el mismo sustrato fue baja (3,3% del total de individuos infestados). Los copépodos ciclopoideos fueron preferidos por Epistylis como sustrato. Ningún epibionte se observó en los copépodos calanoides. Los epibiontes aparecieron a mediados del período de lluvias y alcanzaron su máxima prevalencia al principio del período de sequía. La prevalencia no se encontró relacionada ni con la presencia o ausencia de las especies zooplanctónicas ni con la temperatura del agua. En el presente trabajo se realizan comparaciones con las comunidades epibiónticas de la zona templada y se discuten explicaciones a las diferencias encontradas.

A population of M. micrura KURZ from a shallow, muddy and temporary pond, located in Peninsula of Paraguani, western Venezuela, was studied from filling to drying phase. Population density, age structure, fecundity, and length of females, were determined. This population showed a low population density (< 50 ind/l), a low and density-dependent fecundity (mean eggdadults = 1.3; mean clutch size = 2.1 eggs + embryos), and low juveniles to adults ratio (0.71). No significant correlation was detected between mean clutch size and mean body length of ovigerous females. Our results suggest effects of food limitations, and fish predation on demographic parameters of this population. Still, in unfavourable conditions, some demographics features associated to opportunistic species were evident.

In order to test the even/odd clutch size hypothesis in cladoceran species different from Daphnia, we analyzed a data set of 2,322 clutches from populations of Moina micrura KURZ, Ceriodaphnia cornuta SARS and Bosmina tubicen BREHM, from a reservoir in western Ve nezuela. The studied populations exhibited low fecundity, and no significant differences were found between the frequency of even and odd clutch sizes. Thus, our results do not support the hypothesis that even clutch sizes are more fre quent than odd clutch sizes in cladoceran populations with typically low fecundity.