Predator-prey interactions in the plankton: larval fish feeding on evasive copepods

Information on larval fish feeding is essential for understanding their trophic relations, including the management in conditions totally or partially controlled by humans. An experiment was designed to evaluate the larval diets of three commercially important species. Four varzea-lakes and the adjacent river were sampled with bongo and hand nets from January 1993 to November 1995. Larval diets were evaluated by length-classes and capture sites, and were tested by two factor ANOVA. The larvae were feeding in all habitats, except in the flooded forests. The three species had different diets, which varied with their length and lake. The rotifers were the main initial food item of the three species, replaced by fish larvae in Brycon cephalus, cladocerans in Triportheus elongatus and detritus in Semaprochilodus insignis. The increase of the ingestion limit, as the larvae grew, was higher than the increase in the consumed prey size for the three species.

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Larval fish feeding and turbulence: A case for the downside

Limnology and Oceanography ◽

10.4319/lo.2000.45.1.0001 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 89

Author(s):

Brian R. MacKenzie ◽

Thomas KiØrboe

Keyword(s):

Larval Fish ◽

Fish Feeding

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Ecological and Ethological Perspectives in Larval Fish Feeding

Journal of Applied Aquaculture ◽

10.1300/j028v13n01_06 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 13 (1-2) ◽

pp. 145-178 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

T. Ramakrishna Rao

Keyword(s):

Larval Fish ◽

Fish Feeding

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Larval fish feeding ecology, growth and mortality from two basins with contrasting environmental conditions of an inner sea of northern Patagonia, Chile

Marine Environmental Research ◽

10.1016/j.marenvres.2015.03.003 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 106 ◽

pp. 19-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Mauricio F. Landaeta ◽

Claudia A. Bustos ◽

Jorge E. Contreras ◽

Franco Salas-Berríos ◽

Pámela Palacios-Fuentes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Feeding Ecology ◽

Environmental Conditions ◽

Larval Fish ◽

Fish Feeding ◽

Northern Patagonia

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Individual-based simulations of larval fish feeding in turbulent environments

Marine Ecology Progress Series ◽

10.3354/meps07092 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 347 ◽

pp. 155-169 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

P Mariani ◽

BR MacKenzie ◽

AW Visser ◽

V Botte

Keyword(s):

Larval Fish ◽

Fish Feeding ◽

Turbulent Environments

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Reciprocal Oscillations in Densities of Larval Fish and Potential Predators: A Reflection of Present or Past Predation?

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f85-232 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 42 (11) ◽

pp. 1841-1849 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

K. T. Frank ◽

W. C. Leggett

Keyword(s):

Time Series Data ◽

Larval Fish ◽

Empirical Support ◽

Spatial Dimension ◽

Temporal Variations ◽

Series Data ◽

Predator Prey ◽

Larval Fishes ◽

Prey Interaction ◽

Predator Abundance

Reciprocity in time series data on the abundance of potentially interacting species has been one basis of empirical support for existing predator–prey theory. Evidence of this type has frequently been used to support the belief that predation by macroinvertebrates is one of the major causes of mortality among the early life stages of marine fishes. We question the validity of this generalization. We observed statistically significant inverse correlations between the abundance of macroinvertebrate predators and coastal ichthyoplankton in coastal Newfoundland both at the same site between years and at different sites in the same year. This correlation was shown to result not from a causal predator–prey interaction, but from occupation by the larvae and the macroinvertebrates of discrete water masses whose presence in the coastal area oscillates temporally in response to changes in wind conditions. Reevaluation of previously published reciprocal oscillations in the abundance of larval fish and potential predators, which had been cited as evidence of predatory regulation of larvae numbers, showed that in all cases available physical data suggest that these correlations too may have been spurious. We suggest that historical temporal variations in predator abundance may have served as a template for the evolution of adaptive strategies on the part of larval fishes which effectively isolate them from potential predators in either the temporal or spatial dimension. Our analyses suggest that such adaptations involve active behavioral responses to reliable physical and/or biological signals indicative of the existence of ecological "safe sites."

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Stable Isotopes as a Tool for Nutrient Assimilation Studies in Larval Fish Feeding on Live Food

Aquatic Ecology ◽

10.1023/b:aeco.0000020951.76155.3e ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 93-100 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Christian Schlechtriem ◽

Ulfert Focken ◽

Klaus Becker

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotopes ◽

Larval Fish ◽

Live Food ◽

Fish Feeding ◽

Nutrient Assimilation

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A technique for detection of larval fish in the digestive tract of predators by otolith marking

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf15201 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 68 (1) ◽

pp. 167 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

M. I. Gómez ◽

C. M. Fuentes

Keyword(s):

Digestive Tract ◽

Larval Fish ◽

Fish Larvae ◽

Larval Mortality ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Alizarin Red ◽

Prochilodus Lineatus ◽

Predator Prey ◽

Fish Predators

The aim of the present study was to develop a method to unequivocally detect pre-flexion fish larvae in the digestive tracts of fish predators, even several hours after their ingestion. For this purpose, we evaluated larval mortality and the quality of the marks generated in sagitta otoliths after 0.5- or 2-h immersion in 50–800mg L–1 alizarin red S stain. The optimal condition (2h, 200mg L–1) was chosen to stain Prochilodus lineatus larvae, which were offered to single predators at 5 or 12 days after marking (DAM). The otoliths were searched in the digestive tract of predators killed 1–17h after ingestion of the prey, and were then examined for mark presence. Otolith recovery rates were high (>70%) and mark detection was above 80% up to 3h after ingestion, but even after 9h, 20–40% of the otoliths were recovered, with mark detection levels of 65%. A higher number of DAM was associated with a higher success in otolith recovery and mark detection. Otolith marking constitutes a single and inexpensive technique that could be applied in both laboratory and field experimental studies of predator–prey interactions.

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