Pricklier with the proper predator? Predator-induced small-scale changes of spinescence in .

Phenotypic plasticity in defensive traits is a common response of prey organisms to variable and unpredictable predation regimes and risks. Cladocerans of the genus are keystone species in the food web of lentic freshwater bodies and are well known for their ability to express a large variety of inducible morphological defenses in response to invertebrate and vertebrate predator kairomones. The developed defenses render the daphnids less susceptible to predation.