Data from: A high-throughput method to quantify feeding rates in aquatic organisms: A case study with Daphnia

Food ingestion is one of the most basic features of all organisms.
However, obtaining precise — and high-throughput — estimates of feeding
rates remains challenging, particularly for small, aquatic herbivores such
as zooplankton, snails, and tadpoles. These animals typically consume low
volumes of food that are time consuming to accurately measure. We extend a
standard high-throughput fluorometry technique, which uses a microplate
reader and 96-well plates, as a practical tool for studies in ecology,
evolution, and disease biology. We outline technical and methodological
details to optimize quantification of individual feeding rates, improve
accuracy, and minimize sampling error. This high-throughput assay offers
several advantages over previous methods, including: i) substantially
reduced time allotments per sample to facilitate larger, more efficient
experiments; ii) technical replicates; and iii) conversion of in vivo
measurements to units of carbon (mg dw L-1), which enables broad-scale
comparisons across an array of taxa and studies. To evaluate the accuracy
and feasibility of our approach, we use the zooplankton, Daphnia dentifera
as a case study. Our results indicate that this procedure accurately
quantifies feeding rates and highlights differences among seven genotypes.
The method detailed here has broad applicability to a diverse array of
aquatic taxa, their food, environmental contaminants (e.g., plastics), and
infectious agents. We discuss simple extensions to quantify
epidemiologically relevant traits, such as pathogen exposure and
transmission rates, for infectious agents with oral or trophic
transmission.