The feeding habits and food selectivity ofBranchinecta gainiwere studied in six ponds on an Antarctic island.B. gainibehaves as a detritovorous, herbivorous filter-feeder, feeding largely on organic sediments and bottom communities. The bulk of the gut contents were formed from amorphous organic material presumably of vegetal origin, and a great variety of organisms from algae to remains of larval stages of Diptera. Filamentous algae were negatively selected but hyphae and spores, as well as remains ofB. gaini, were positively selected.
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