Cyclops kolensis has the potential for moderate environmental impact if introduced to the Great Lakes. This species has superior exploitation competitive ability for commonly consumed algal prey in emerging low food niches. However, this advantage wanes with increasing food abundance (Scharfenberger et al. 2013). It has been reported that Cyclops kolensis can dominate zooplankton communities. In Lake Baikal, it reached 80-90% of the total zooplankton biomass during a couple of years (Mazepova 1998). Cyclops kolensis has the potential to reduce the abundance of its prey. As a consequence of their population growth, Cyclops kolensis reduced the abundance of their preferred prey, Epischura. It is possible that Cyclops kolensis may compete with other organisms that feed on Epischura. This species has been documented at relatively high densities (400 individuals/m2), at numbers greater than endemic copepods (Pislegina and Silow 2009). It also feeds on calanoid copepods, ciliates, and cladocerans (Wickham 1995), including the rotifers Gastropus stylifer and Keratella cochlearis, both native species in the Great Lakes (Meyer et al. 2017). As a prey item, Cyclops kolensis has the potential to alter trophic dynamics by providing a source of food for the juvenile ruffe, Gymnocephalus cernua (which invaded the Great Lakes) (Rivier 1996).
Cyclops spp. is also an intermediate host for the tapeworm Diphyllobothrium, which infects fish such as salmon (Center for Disease Control 2013). It has not been reported that this particular species, Cyclops kolensis, is a host for this tapeworm.
There is little or no evidence to support that Cyclops kolensis has the potential for significant socio-economic impact if introduced to the Great Lakes.
Cyclops spp. is a vector of several parasites. Members of this genus are an intermediate host for Dracunculus medinensis (Guinea worm) which affects humans who drink water contaminated with infected water fleas. In dracunculiasis, or Guinea worm disease, female worms are liberated from the water fleas after digestion, and subsequently move through the person’s subcutaneous tissue, causing intense pain (World Health Organization 2013). It eventually emerges through the skin, usually at the feet, producing oedema, a blister that will become an ulcer. Guinea worm disease is accompanied by fever, nausea, and vomiting. Cyclops spp. is also an intermediate host for the tapeworm Diphyllobothrium, which infects fish such as salmon (Center for Disease Control 2013). Humans can be infected by ingesting undercooked fish. It is not known if this particular species Cyclops kolensis is a vector for these diseases.
There is little or no evidence to support that Cyclops kolensis has the potential for significant beneficial impacts if introduced to the Great Lakes.
Cyclops kolensis appears in early spring; thus it is an important food source for fishes when other crustaceans have not appeared (Rivier 1996; Khalko et al. 2019). It has not been indicated that Cyclops kolensis can be used for the control of other organisms or improving water quality. There is no evidence to suggest that this species is commercially, recreationally, or medically valuable.