scholarly journals Habitat Preferences and Trophic Position of Brachydiplax chalybea flavovittata Ris, 1911 (Insecta: Odonata) Larvae in Youngsan River Wetlands of South Korea

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jong-Yun Choi ◽  
Seong-Ki Kim ◽  
Jeong-Cheol Kim ◽  
Soon-Jik Kwon

In freshwater ecosystems, habitat heterogeneity supports high invertebrate density and diversity, and it contributes to the introduction and settlement of non-native species. In the present study, we identified the habitat preferences and trophic level of Brachydiplax chalybea flavovittata larvae, which were distributed in four of the 17 wetlands we examined in the Yeongsan River basin, South Korea. Larval density varied across four microhabitat types: open water area, and microhabitats dominated by Myriophyllum aquaticum, Paspalum distichum, and Zizania latifolia. Microhabitats dominated by M. aquaticum had the highest larval density, followed by those dominated by P. distichum. The larvae were more prevalent in silt sediments than in plant debris or sand. Stable isotope analysis showed that B. chalybea flavovittata is likely to consume, as a food source, other species of Odonata larvae. We conclude that successful settlement of B. chalybea flavovittata can be attributed to their habitat preferences. As temperature increases due to climate change, the likelihood of B. chalybea flavovittata spreading throughout South Korea increases. We, therefore, recommend continued monitoring of the spread and ecological impacts of B. chalybea flavovittata.

2014 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tristan Juette ◽  
Julien Cucherousset ◽  
Julien Cote

Abstract While the ecological impacts of invasive species have been demonstrated for many taxonomic groups, the potential effects of behavioural variation among non-native individuals (i.e. personality) on these impacts have been largely overlooked. This is despite the fact that recent studies have demonstrated that, by nature, the three first stages of biological invasions (i.e. transport, establishment and spread) can lead to personality-biased populations. Freshwater ecosystems provide a unique opportunity to investigate this issue, notably because the ecological impacts of non-native species have been extensively documented and because animal personality has been widely studied using freshwater model species. Here, we aim at developing some perspectives on the potential effects of animal personality on the ecological impacts of freshwater non-native species across levels of biological organizations. At the individual level, personality types have been demonstrated to affect the physiolo- gy, metabolism, life history traits and fitness of individuals. We used these effects to discuss how they could subsequently impact invaded populations and, in turn, recipient communities. We also discussed how these might translate into changes in the structure of food webs and the functioning of invaded ecosystems. Finally we discussed how these perspectives could interact with the management of invasive species.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter E. Jones ◽  
Jeroen S. Tummers ◽  
Shams M. Galib ◽  
Darragh J. Woodford ◽  
John B. Hume ◽  
...  

Aquatic invasive species (AIS) are one of the principal threats to freshwater biodiversity. Exclusion barriers are increasingly being used as a management strategy to control the spread of AIS. However, exclusion barriers can also impact native organisms and their effectiveness is likely to be context dependent. We conducted a quantitative literature review to evaluate the use of barriers to control animal AIS in freshwater ecosystems worldwide. The quantitative aspect of the review was supplemented by case studies that describe some of the challenges, successes, and opportunities for the use of the use of AIS exclusion barriers globally. Barriers have been used since the 1950s to control the spread of AIS, but effort has been increasing since 2005 (80% of studies) and an increasingly diverse range of AIS taxa are now targeted in a wide range of habitat types. The global use of AIS barriers has been concentrated in North America (74% of studies), Australasia (11%), and Europe (10%). Physical barriers (e.g., weirs, exclusion screens, and velocity barriers) have been most widely used (47%), followed by electric (27%) and chemical barriers (12%). Fish were the most targeted taxa (86%), followed by crustaceans (10%), molluscs (3%) and amphibians (1%). Most studies have been moderately successful in limiting the passage of AIS, with 86% of the barriers tested deterring >70% of individuals. However, only 25% of studies evaluated barrier impacts on native species, and development of selective passage is still in its infancy. Most studies have been too short (47% < 1 year, 87% < 5 years) to detect ecological impacts or have failed to use robust before-after-control-impact (BACI) study designs (only 5%). Hence, more effective monitoring is required to assess the long-term effectiveness of exclusion barriers as an AIS management tool. Our global case studies highlight the pressing need for AIS control in many ecoregions, and exclusion barriers have the potential to become an effective tool in some situations. However, the design and operation of exclusion barriers must be refined to deliver selective passage of native fauna, and exclusion barriers should only be used sparingly as part of a wider integrated management strategy.


2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1778) ◽  
pp. 20133003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela L. Strecker ◽  
Julian D. Olden

Despite long-standing interest of terrestrial ecologists, freshwater ecosystems are a fertile, yet unappreciated, testing ground for applying community phylogenetics to uncover mechanisms of species assembly. We quantify phylogenetic clustering and overdispersion of native and non-native fishes of a large river basin in the American Southwest to test for the mechanisms (environmental filtering versus competitive exclusion) and spatial scales influencing community structure. Contrary to expectations, non-native species were phylogenetically clustered and related to natural environmental conditions, whereas native species were not phylogenetically structured, likely reflecting human-related changes to the basin. The species that are most invasive (in terms of ecological impacts) tended to be the most phylogenetically divergent from natives across watersheds, but not within watersheds, supporting the hypothesis that Darwin's naturalization conundrum is driven by the spatial scale. Phylogenetic distinctiveness may facilitate non-native establishment at regional scales, but environmental filtering restricts local membership to closely related species with physiological tolerances for current environments. By contrast, native species may have been phylogenetically clustered in historical times, but species loss from contemporary populations by anthropogenic activities has likely shaped the phylogenetic signal. Our study implies that fundamental mechanisms of community assembly have changed, with fundamental consequences for the biogeography of both native and non-native species.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camille Musseau ◽  
Simone Vincenzi ◽  
Dušan Jesenšek ◽  
Stéphanie Boulêtreau ◽  
Frédéric Santoul ◽  
...  

AbstractNiche-based hypotheses have been proposed to explain processes and mechanisms of success in the establishment of non-native species into native communities. Competition due to niche overlap may lead to native species niche shift and to native species replacement. To understand the ecological consequences of trophic interactions between non-native rainbow trout and native and endangered marble trout, we used as model system the Idrijca river (Western Slovenia) in which marble trout occurs either in allopatry (MTa) or in sympatry (MTs) with rainbow trout (RTs). We focused on different metrics of niche change such as centroid shift, niche overlap and trophic niche breadth using stable isotope analysis (δ15N and δ13C). Our results showed plasticity in niche overlap between MTs and RTs and niche shift of marble trout when occurring in sympatry with RTs, but not due to a niche replacement of MTs by RTs. Niche breadth of marble trout increases in sympatry and the trophic position during the growth period was higher for MTs than MTa.


2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric L. Bruestle ◽  
Curtis Karboski ◽  
Anna Hussey ◽  
Aaron T. Fisk ◽  
Knut Mehler ◽  
...  

Lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) were once abundantly distributed throughout the Laurentian Great Lakes. However, widespread overharvesting and habitat degradation has diminished their numbers. The lower Niagara River contains one of the few remnant lake sturgeon populations in New York State. This study determined the diet of adult lake sturgeon and quantified their trophic position in a food web dominated by non-native species. Stomach content analysis assessed recent diet, and stable isotope analysis (δ15N and δ13C) of blood and fin tissue quantified trophic position and carbon source over varying time scales. Two non-native species dominated the diet of lake sturgeon — the amphipod Echinogammarus ischnus (62% by number) and the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) (44% by mass). Stable isotope analysis revealed that round goby was the primary contributor to the long-term (i.e., fin) average diet, whereas short-term (i.e., blood) diet was more diverse. In contrast with findings from other systems, we found that adult lake sturgeon in the lower Niagara River were primarily piscivorous, actively targeting live fish prey. The recovery of this population is potentially supported by the high availability of energetically rich but non-native food resources.


2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian M Roth ◽  
Catherine L Hein ◽  
M Jake Vander Zanden

Crayfish often dominate freshwater ecosystems and can have strong effects on littoral habitat and biota through foraging. However, there is substantial debate regarding the trophic role of crayfish and implications of their foraging behavior on littoral ecosystems. We created a bioenergetics model for rusty crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) to determine how growth and prey choice constrain crayfish consumption, which affects littoral ecosystems. We simulated over 6400 potential rusty crayfish diets by varying the abundance of important prey. We judged how crayfish prey choice affects the amount and identity of prey that crayfish must consume to match observed growth. We compared our model predictions with stable isotope evidence from 10 northern Wisconsin lakes to determine energy sources and trophic position of rusty crayfish relative to other invertebrates. Our diet simulations and stable isotope analysis concurred that crayfish of all ages are primarily predators. Individuals that do not feed on zoobenthos must therefore consume large quantities of less desirable food such as macrophytes, which are an important component of littoral habitat.


2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (12) ◽  
pp. 2118-2129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie N. Schmidt ◽  
M. Jake Vander Zanden ◽  
James F. Kitchell

Restoration and rehabilitation of native species in the Laurentian Great Lakes is a priority for fisheries management agencies. Restoration efforts are increasingly incorporating a perspective that considers species within a broader food web context. We used stable isotope analysis and museum-preserved specimens to describe and quantify 100 years of food web changes in the Lake Superior fish community. We validated stable isotope analysis of museum specimens by showing a positive correlation between isotope- and diet-based estimates of trophic position. While introductions have created a more trophically diverse food web than historically found in Lake Superior, two separate metrics revealed little community-wide change in the food web. Our species-specific analysis revealed trophic niche differences between shortjaw ( Coregonus zenithicus ) and shortnose ( Coregonus reighardi ) ciscoes, two species previously argued to be indistinguishable based on morphological characteristics. By providing a historical context, our findings show the ability of the Lake Superior food web to accommodate non-native species introductions over the last century while still supporting native species populations. This long-term information about food web structure can help guide management and restoration goals in Lake Superior. Furthermore, Lake Superior can serve as a basis for comparing food web changes in other, more highly altered Great Lakes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 637 ◽  
pp. 195-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
EM DeRoy ◽  
R Scott ◽  
NE Hussey ◽  
HJ MacIsaac

The ecological impacts of invasive species are highly variable and mediated by many factors, including both habitat and population abundance. Lionfish Pterois volitans are an invasive marine species which have high reported detrimental effects on prey populations, but whose effects relative to native predators are currently unknown for the recently colonized eastern Gulf of Mexico. We used functional response (FR) methodology to assess the ecological impact of lionfish relative to 2 functionally similar native species (red grouper Epinephelus morio and graysby grouper Cephalopholis cruentata) foraging in a heterogeneous environment. We then combined the per capita impact of each species with their field abundance to obtain a Relative Impact Potential (RIP). RIP assesses the broader ecological impact of invasive relative to native predators, the magnitude of which predicts community-level negative effects of invasive species. Lionfish FR and overall consumption rate was intermediate to that of red grouper (higher) and graysby grouper (lower). However, lionfish had the highest capture efficiency of all species, which was invariant of habitat. Much higher field abundance of lionfish resulted in high RIPs relative to both grouper species, demonstrating that the ecological impact of lionfish in this region will be driven mainly by high abundance and high predator efficiency rather than per capita effect. Our comparative study is the first empirical assessment of lionfish per capita impact and RIP in this region and is one of few such studies to quantify the FR of a marine predator.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Esteban Góngora ◽  
Kyle H. Elliott ◽  
Lyle Whyte

AbstractThe role of the gut microbiome is increasingly being recognized by health scientists and veterinarians, yet its role in wild animals remains understudied. Variations in the gut microbiome could be the result of differential diets among individuals, such as variation between sexes, across seasons, or across reproductive stages. We evaluated the hypothesis that diet alters the avian gut microbiome using stable isotope analysis (SIA) and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We present the first description of the thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia) fecal microbiome. The murre microbiome was dominated by bacteria from the genus Catellicoccus, ubiquitous in the guts of many seabirds. Microbiome variation was explained by murre diet in terms of proportion of littoral carbon, trophic position, and sulfur isotopes, especially for the classes Actinobacteria, Bacilli, Bacteroidia, Clostridia, Alphaproteobacteria, and Gammaproteobacteria. We also observed differences in the abundance of bacterial genera such as Catellicoccus and Cetobacterium between sexes and reproductive stages. These results are in accordance with behavioural observations of changes in diet between sexes and across the reproductive season. We concluded that the observed variation in the gut microbiome may be caused by individual prey specialization and may also be reinforced by sexual and reproductive stage differences in diet.


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