Trade-Offs in Diel Vertical Migration by Zooplankton: The Costs of Predator Avoidance

Prey are under selection to minimize predation losses. In aquatic environments, many prey use chemical cues released by predators, which initiate predator avoidance. A prominent example of behavioral predator-avoidance constitutes diel vertical migration (DVM) in the freshwater microcrustacean Daphnia spp., which is induced by chemical cues (kairomones) released by planktivorous fish. In a bioassay-guided approach using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, we identified the kairomone from fish incubation water as 5α-cyprinol sulfate inducing DVM in Daphnia at picomolar concentrations. The role of 5α-cyprinol sulfate in lipid digestion in fish explains why from an evolutionary perspective fish has not stopped releasing 5α-cyprinol sulfate despite the disadvantages for the releaser. The identification of the DVM-inducing kairomone enables investigating its spatial and temporal distribution and the underlying molecular mechanism of its perception. Furthermore, it allows to test if fish-mediated inducible defenses in other aquatic invertebrates are triggered by the same compound.

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Diel vertical migration of predators (planktivorous fish larvae) and prey (zooplankton) in a tropical lagoon

Iheringia Série Zoologia ◽

10.1590/1678-476620151052174183 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 105 (2) ◽

pp. 174-183 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Marcos Marques Mendonça ◽

Pablo Henrique dos Santos Picapedra ◽

Michelli Caroline Ferronato ◽

Paulo Vanderlei Sanches

Keyword(s):

Vertical Migration ◽

Diel Vertical Migration ◽

Predator Avoidance ◽

Fish Larvae ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Reproductive Period ◽

Planktivorous Fish ◽

Spatial Overlap ◽

Tropical Lagoon ◽

Small Depth

ABSTRACT Based on the hypothesis that diel vertical migration (DVM) is a mechanism of predator avoidance, the objective of the present study was to test for the occurrence of DVM in planktivorous fish larvae of Hypophthalmus edentatus (Spix, 1829) (Siluriformes, Pimelodidae) and Plagioscion squamosissimus (Heckel, 1840) (Perciformes, Sciaenidae), and zooplankton (rotifers, cladocerans and copepods) in an isolated tropical lagoon in the floodplain of the Upper Paraná River, Brazil (region of Parque Nacional de Ilha Grande). We investigated spatial overlap between predators (planktivorous fish larvae) and prey (zooplankton), and tested which physical and chemical variables of the water are related to the DVM of the studied communities. We performed nocturnal (8:00 pm and 4:00 am) and diurnal sampling (8:00 am and 4:00 pm) in the limnetic region of the lagoon for six consecutive months, from October 2010 to March 2011, which comprises the reproductive period of the fish species analyzed. During the day the larvae tried to remain aggregated in the bottom of the lagoon, whereas at night they tried to disperse in the water column. Especially for cladocerans, the diel vertical migration is an important behavior to avoid predation larvae of H. edentatus and P. squamosissimus once decreased spatial overlap between secured and its potential predators, which corroborates the hypothesis that DVM is a mechanism of predator avoidance. Although significant correlations were observed between the abiotic factors and WMD of microcrustaceans at certain times of day, the effect of predation of fish larvae on zooplankton showed more important in this environment, because the small depth and isolation not allow great variation of abiotic factors seasonally and between strata the lagoon.

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Diel vertical migration in zooplankton: field evidence in support of the predator avoidance hypothesis

Hydrobiologia ◽

10.1007/bf00010777 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 234 (1) ◽

pp. 33-39 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

Stephen M. Bollens ◽

Bruce W. Frost ◽

Dave S. Thoreson ◽

Sidney J. Watts

Keyword(s):

Vertical Migration ◽

Diel Vertical Migration ◽

Predator Avoidance ◽

Field Evidence

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Sensory Mechanism and Selective Advantage for Diel Vertical Migration in Juvenile Sockeye Salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f90-204 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 47 (9) ◽

pp. 1796-1802 ◽

Cited By ~ 76

Author(s):

David A. Levy

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Vertical Migration ◽

Diel Vertical Migration ◽

Predator Avoidance ◽

Sockeye Salmon ◽

Selective Advantage ◽

Metabolic Efficiency ◽

Diel Vertical Migrations ◽

Temperature Controlled ◽

Sensory Mechanism

Diel vertical migrations are commonly undertaken by juvenile sockeye salmon within pelagic lake nursery environments. Data from hydroacoustic surveys in British Columbia lakes are used to compare predictions from sensory mechanism and selective advantage theories for diel vertical migration with the performance of the animals under field conditions. The observations suggest that light and temperature controlled juvenile sockeye day and night depth positions respectively. A multifactor hypothesis, which interprets the migration as a three-way compromise between foraging, predator avoidance, and the optimization of nocturnal metabolic efficiency, provides the most realistic explanation for the selective advantage of the behavior.

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Diel vertical migration in the Lake Superior pelagic community. II. Modeling trade-offs at an intermediate trophic level

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f06-125 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 63 (10) ◽

pp. 2296-2307 ◽

Cited By ~ 58

Author(s):

Olaf P Jensen ◽

Thomas R Hrabik ◽

Steven J.D. Martell ◽

Carl J Walters ◽

James F Kitchell

Keyword(s):

Predation Risk ◽

Trophic Level ◽

Vertical Migration ◽

Diel Vertical Migration ◽

Lake Trout ◽

Lake Superior ◽

High Growth ◽

Growth Trajectory ◽

Mysis Relicta ◽

Trade Offs

Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain diel vertical migration (DVM); however, they have generally been applied to DVM behavior of a single trophic level. We evaluate the costs (predation risk) and benefits (foraging rate and growth rate potential) of different hypothetical and observed DVM trajectories for a three-level pelagic food chain in Lake Superior containing opossum shrimp (Mysis relicta), deepwater ciscoes (Coregonus spp.), and lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). Lake trout appear to be maximizing foraging and growth rates by tracking vertically migrating ciscoes, while the DVM trajectories of ciscoes suggests a trade-off between predation risk and growth. For ciscoes, two alternative DVM trajectories both minimize the ratio of risk to growth: a shallow trajectory that follows low light levels down to 80 m during the day and a deep trajectory (below 150 m) that tracks highest Mysis densities. Observed cisco DVM trajectories appear to follow the shallow high risk – high growth trajectory in 2001, but switch to the deep, low risk – low growth trajectory in 2004 when lake trout density was higher and the density of ciscoes was lower.

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