Data from: Sensory loss and its consequences: the role of compound eye in the induced anti-predation defense of Daphnia

In aquatic food webs, Daphnia detect predation risk through integrated visual and olfactory cues. To determine how the compound eye interacts with olfactory cues to mediate antipredator responses, we surgically removed the compound eye of Daphnia and assessed behavioral, physiological, and transcriptomic responses with or without fish kairomone. Our results revealed that eyeless Daphnia exhibited increased speed, reduced phototaxis, and larger body size. Eye loss weakened the kairomone-induced decrease in body size and tail spine elongation, whereas key behavioral defenses persisted. Transcriptomic profiling showed that eye removal suppressed the photoreceptor gene OPN4 and modulated the MAPK-centered defense module, while up-regulating transcripts associated with chitin synthesis, EIF2 translation and VEGF-driven growth; lacking visual priming, kairomone failed to activate the NPC2 and AKR1B response characteristic. These findings enhance our understanding of sensory integration and inducible defense mechanisms in zooplankton, highlighting the compound eye's critical role in mediating Daphnia's response to predation risk.