Infectivity is influenced by parasite spore age and exposure to freezing: do shallow waters provideDaphniaa refuge from some parasites?

Parasites impact ecological and evolutionary dynamics of Daphnia populations, their interactions with other food web members, and even ecosystem-level processes. Thus, there is interest in understanding factors that influence the infectivity and yield of transmission stages (“spores”) of common Daphnia parasites. We tested the impact of spore age (from 1 day to 1 year) and storage temperature (−20°C vs. 4°C) on infectivity and spore yield using...