mitigated the negative effect of cylindrospermopsin-producing and non-cylindrospermopsin-producing on as a dietary supplement.

Feeding effects are crucial for evaluating the capacity of zooplankton to regulate phytoplankton populations within freshwater ecosystems. To examine the impact of the bloom-forming cyanobacteria , which occurs in tropical and subtropical freshwaters, on the growth of zooplankton in relation to toxins, filament length and fatty acid content, we fed with only (cylindrospermopsin (CYN)-producing and non-CYN-producing, as the negative controls), only (as the positive control) and a mixed diet containing (CYN-producing and non-CYN-producing) and . Consequently, our findings revealed that the toxic effect of CYN-producing strains on was mitigated by the coexistence of containing stearidonic acid (SDA, C18:4 ω3) in mixed diets. This was evident in the elevated survival rate compared that from diets containing only and a significantly higher reproduction and population intrinsic increase rate compared to diets consisting of only or . Additionally, a strong positive correlation was observed between arachidonic acid (ARA, 20:4ω6) and the population intrinsic increase rate of ; notably, strains were found to be rich in the ω6 polyunsaturated fatty acid ARA. These outcomes reinforce the crucial role of polyunsaturated fatty acids in predicting the population increase of crustacean zooplankton, which has long been neglected. Furthermore, our results underscore the potential effectiveness of zooplankton, particularly in temperate lakes, in controlling CYN-producing populations.