The future of cladoceran research

The cladocerans are a group of Crustacea used as model organisms in many fields of biology. In system-atics, ecology, physiology and genetics, the cladocerans appear as frequently used examples in case studies. Their reproductive system, switching between parthenogenesis and sexual reproduction, makes them particularly suited for studies dealing with genetic and environmentally induced variability. It is on the whole a particularly handy group of animals that can be used for studying almost all kinds of evolutionary processes.