Diet and trophic niche of common carp Cyprinus carpio in the Lower Santa Lucía River, Uruguay.

Abstract

Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) is a highly invasive fish that causes adverse ecological effects worldwide. Taking into account C. carpio biological traits, it can potentially exploit different environments by feeding from the benthic zone and affect native fish trophic structure. While extensive research exists for several invaded areas, the ecological aspects and the natural history of this invasion are almost unknown in the southern Neotropics. In this work we analyzed gut contents of this species to unveil aspects of the feeding strategy and trophic niche breadth in one of the oldest locations of invasion in Uruguay, the lower Santa Lucía River (La Plata basin). The results showed that C. carpio consumed detritus, native benthic macroinvertebrates, as well as the exotics invasive golden mussel Limnoperna fortunei and Asian clam Corbicula fluminea. In this scenario, there could be a benefit between C. carpio and the invasive bivalves through the biotic melting model or "Meltdown". Also, the common carp fed on native invertebrates that are listed as priority species for conservation. The common carp's feeding strategy was considered omnivorous generalist and its trophic position in the food web was multitrophic. The potential trophic niche overlap with native fish species is discussed based on a bibliographic review.