| The Hydra is the most common representative of freshwater cnidarians. In general, it is found in freshwaters on every continent, with the exception of Antarctica. The aim of the present study is to gather biological and ecological data on aspects of two species of Hydra native to Brazil: Hydra viridissima and Hydra salmacidis. Predation and food selectivity experiments were performed to assess the possible predators and the prey preferences, respectively, of the two species. The results indicate that the two species of Hydra were not consumed by any of the predators that were tested, which are typical predators of invertebrates in freshwater: nymphs of Odonata Anisoptera and the phantom midge larvae of Chaoborus sp. (Insecta), adults of Copepoda Cyclopoida... |
