Ingestion rates of Limnomysis benedeni, an invasive omnivorous crustacean feeding on various plankton species

Rising temperatures from global climate change alter the physiology of ectotherms, potentially shifting omnivores’ diets toward increased herbivory. However, the relevance and generality of these dietary shifts remain poorly understood in multispecies context due to a lack of studies using live prey. To address this gap, we conducted laboratory grazing experiments with an invasive mysid Limnomysis benedeni. Mysids were offered different combinations of autotrophic prey (Cryptomonas sp.) and heterotrophic prey (the ciliate Coleps sp., the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus, and juvenile Daphnia magna) differing in body size across three temperature treatments (16, 23, and 30 °C). The dataset contains measurements of prey abundances before and after the experiment, from which prey-specific ingestion rates, autotrophic-to-heterotrophic ingestion ratios, and total ingested carbon biomass were calculated. These data enable the testing of temperature-dependent changes in feeding allocation between autotrophic and heterotrophic prey by an invasive omnivorous consumer.