I've been searching for quite a while without really finding an answer to this question, so I decided to try it here.
Some phytoplankton species produce toxins as a defense strategy. But what exactly happens to the predator, e.g., to zooplankton? I've read that they may have a decreased reproductivity. But is there a faster effect acting as a defense mechanism such as phytoplankton sensing zooplankton, then producing toxins and zooplankton sensing the toxins and avoiding the area or similar? Otherwise, it would be quite a long-time defense.. If anybody knows something about this, please answer and give me a reference.
Thanks a lot!
