Comparative feeding ecology of 11 sympatric species of cichlid algal feeders in Lake Tanganyika with reference to their developmental stages

The exceedingly rich middle Pleistocene mammalian fauna from the classic Ensenadan Tarija basin in southern Bolivia contains a diversity of medium to large-bodied herbivores consisting of both endemic (†Toxodontia, †Litopterna, Xenarthra) and immigrant (Rodentia, Proboscidea, Perissodactyla, and Artiodactyla) taxa. In order to characterize feeding ecology and niche differences, a suite of morphological characters was measured for each of 13 species of herbivorous mammals from the Pleistocene of Tarija; these were combined with carbon isotopic results from tooth enamel. (The Xenarthra were excluded from this study because they lack tooth enamel.)Several different bivariate and multivariate combinations of characters can be used to characterize the feeding adaptations, niches, and guild composition of the Tarija mammalian herbivores. During the Pleistocene the browsing guild in the Tarija basin is interpreted to include the tapir (Tapirus tarijensis), extinct llama (Palaeolama weddelli), peccary (Tayassusp.), and deer (Hippocamelussp.). The mixed-feeding guild included two horse species (Hippidion principaleandOnohippidium devillei), litoptern (Macrauchenia patachonica), and capybara (Neochoerus tarijensis). The grazing guild included the numerically dominant horse (Equus insulatus), two lamine species (Lama angustimaxillaand cf.Vicugna, provicugna), notoungulate (Toxodon platensis), and gomphothere proboscidean (Cuvieronius hyodon). The grazing guild has the widest range of body sizes relative to the two other guilds. Closely related sympatric species within the Equidae and Camelidae differentiate their niches from one another using a combination of body size, feeding ecology, and probably local habitat. Most of the paleoecological reconstructions resulting from this combined morphological and isotopic analysis corroborate previous studies based primarily on morphology; there are, however, some notable surprises.

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Trophic niche and spatio-temporal changes in the feeding ecology of two sympatric species of coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus and P. laevis)

Marine Ecology Progress Series ◽

10.3354/meps11971 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 563 ◽

pp. 197-210 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

JK Matley ◽

AJ Tobin ◽

CA Simpfendorfer ◽

AT Fisk ◽

MR Heupel

Keyword(s):

Feeding Ecology ◽

Sympatric Species ◽

Temporal Changes ◽

Trophic Niche ◽

Coral Trout ◽

Plectropomus Leopardus ◽

Spatio Temporal

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Feeding Ecology of Three Sympatric Species of Leatherjackets (Pisces : Monacanthidae) from a Posidonia Seagrass Habitat in New South Wales

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf9780631 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 29 (5) ◽

pp. 631 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

JD Bell ◽

JJ Burchmore ◽

DA Pollard

Keyword(s):

Feeding Ecology ◽

Fish Community ◽

New South ◽

New South Wales ◽

Sympatric Species ◽

Seagrass Habitat ◽

Total Biomass ◽

Epiphytic Algae ◽

South Wales ◽

Animal Material

Three species of leatherjackets, Monacanthus chinensis, Meuschenia freycineti and Meuschenia trachylepis, averaged 34% of the total biomass and 27% of the total numbers of fishes in a Posidonia australis seagrass habitat near Sydney. Monacanthus chinensis was dominant, comprising 22% of the total biomass and 18% of the total numbers in this fish community. All three species were omnivorous, consuming considerable amounts of seagrass and algae as well as animal material. However, only the encrusting fauna and epiphytic algae of the seagrass appeared to be actually digested. Other foods of all three species included hydroids, molluscs, crustaceans and polychaetes. Meuschenia freycineti consumed the largest quantities (65%) of seagrass, Monacanthus chinensis consumed the largest amount (40%) and greatest variety of animal foods, and Meuschenia trachylepis took the smallest quantity (12%) and number of animal foods and the greatest amount (55 %) of algae. All three species were found to be highly dependent on the encrusting fauna, epi- phytic algae and other epifauna and infauna of this seagrass habitat, and the importance of preserving Posidonia beds is therefore stressed.

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Experimental hybridization of sympatric temnopleurid sea urchins living in Yamaguchi, Japan

Zoosymposia ◽

10.11646/zoosymposia.15.1.22 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 212-228

Author(s):

AKIRA YAMANAKA ◽

YUKI TAKUWA ◽

CHISATO KITAZAWA

Keyword(s):

Malate Dehydrogenase ◽

Developmental Stages ◽

Sea Urchins ◽

Sympatric Species ◽

Gastrula Stage ◽

Isozyme Analyses ◽

Original Species ◽

Species Specific ◽

Breeding Seasons ◽

Glucose 6 Phosphate Dehydrogenase

Three sympatric species of temnopleurid sea urchins, Temopleurus toreumaticus (Leske, 1778), T. hardwickii (Gray, 1855) and Mespilia globulus (Linnaeus, 1758), occupy a habitat located a short distance from the shore of the Seto Inland Sea, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. Breeding seasons overlap considerably among these species. These species exhibit species-specific differences in embryonic and larval development such as a wrinkled zygote, wrinkled blastula, archenteron invagination, larval skeleton and juvenile morphology. In this study, we determined whether interbreeding among these species is possible. Investigations revealed that fertilization succeeded with all mating combination patterns and that all fertilized eggs developed to the gastrula stage. The blastula and gastrula of hybrids formed in a manner similar to the maternal whereas the developmental delay observed followed the pattern of the paternal species T. toreumaticus fertilized at a greater proportion than other pairs and metamorphosed. These results suggest that eggs of this species may have weaker fertilization block in general. At the early developmental stages, hybrid embryos from T. toreumaticus mothers express maternal, while some hybrids derived from sperm of T. toreumaticus and the eggs of other species ceased development at the 4-armed larval stage. The hybrids of T. hardwickii and M. globulus ceased development at the gastrula stage, suggesting that these species have a greater degree of genetically isolation distance. In hybrids of T. toreumaticus and strongylocentrotid Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus (A. Agassiz, 1864), larval skeletons expressed features from both species. These results suggest that traits of hybrids are derived not only from one or both original species, but that a mosaic effect can be obtained depending on the traits. These results indicate that temnopleurids have the weaker fertilization block mechanisms. Isozyme analyses showed that hybrid prisms of T. toreumaticus eggs and M. globulus sperm possess enzymatic patterns of malate dehydrogenase derived from each parent, whereas the enzymatic pattern of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase is derived from eggs, suggesting that malate dehydrogenase activity may be useful in detecting naturally occurring adult hybrids among these species in the Yamaguchi coastal area.

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Reciprocal Role of Salamanders in Aquatic Energy Flow Pathways

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d12010032 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 32 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Javier Sánchez-Hernández

Keyword(s):

Energy Flow ◽

Developmental Stages ◽

Food Resource ◽

Sympatric Species ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

Aquatic Systems ◽

Terrestrial Invertebrates ◽

Flow Pathways ◽

Carbon Retention

Many species of salamanders (newts and salamanders per se) have a pivotal role in energy flow pathways as they include individuals functioning as prey, competitors, and predators. Here, I synthesize historic and contemporary research on the reciprocal ecological role of salamanders as predators and prey in aquatic systems. Salamanders are a keystone in ecosystem functioning through a combination of top–down control, energy transfer, nutrient cycling processes, and carbon retention. The aquatic developmental stages of salamanders are able to feed on a wide variety of invertebrate prey captured close to the bottom as well as on small conspecifics (cannibalism) or other sympatric species, but can also consume terrestrial invertebrates on the water surface. This capacity to consume allochthonous resources (terrestrial invertebrates) highlights the key role of salamanders as couplers of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems (i.e., aquatic–terrestrial linkages). Salamanders are also an important food resource for other vertebrates such as fish, snakes, and mammals, covering the energy demands of these species at higher trophic levels. This study emphasizes the ecological significance of salamanders in aquatic systems as central players in energy flow pathways, enabling energy mobility among trophic levels (i.e., vertical energy flow) and between freshwater and terrestrial habitats (i.e., lateral energy flow).

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Inter-species differences in polychlorinated biphenyls patterns from five sympatric species of odontocetes: Can PCBs be used as tracers of feeding ecology?

Ecological Indicators ◽

10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.11.013 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 74 ◽

pp. 98-108 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Paula Méndez-Fernandez ◽

Benoit Simon-Bouhet ◽

Paco Bustamante ◽

Tiphaine Chouvelon ◽

Marisa Ferreira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Polychlorinated Biphenyls ◽

Feeding Ecology ◽

Species Differences ◽

Sympatric Species

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Feeding ecology of Lates stappersii in Lake Tanganyika

From Limnology to Fisheries: Lake Tanganyika and Other Large Lakes ◽

10.1007/978-94-017-1622-2_13 ◽

1999 ◽

pp. 131-139

Author(s):

Piero Mannini ◽

Ibrahim Katonda ◽

Balthazar Kissaka ◽

Piet Verburg

Keyword(s):

Feeding Ecology ◽

Lake Tanganyika ◽

Lates Stappersii

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The first case of aggressive mimicry among lamprologines in a new species of Lepidiolamprologus (Perciformes: Cichlidae) from Lake Tanganyika

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.1638.1.3 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 1638 (1) ◽

pp. 39-49 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

ROBERT SCHELLY ◽

TETSUMI TAKAHASHI ◽

ROGER BILLS ◽

MICHIO HORI

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Feeding Ecology ◽

Lake Tanganyika ◽

Color Pattern ◽

Morphometric Characters ◽

Aggressive Mimicry ◽

Bright Yellow ◽

Unique Color ◽

First Case ◽

A New Species

Lepidiolamprologus mimicus n. sp. is described from material collected along the Zambian coast of Lake Tanganyika. It is distinguished from congeners by its unique color pattern of bright yellow fins, a brownish-tan flank coloration and large, dark brown spots along the flanks, in addition to a series of meristic and morphometric characters. Lepidiolamprologus mimicus n. sp. exhibits an interesting feeding ecology, in which individuals blend into schools of their prey, yellow-finned cyprichromines, with the aid of similar coloration. This is the first instance of aggressive mimicry reported for lamprologines.

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