Dietary Preference of<i>Gammarus pulex</i>and<i>Asellus aquaticus</i>during a Laboratory Breeding Programme for Ecotoxicological Studies

Bloor, Michelle

doi:10.1155/2011/294394

Cited by 26 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Leaves were conditioned in stream water for two weeks at 15 °C, which allowed the leaching of soluble components, softening, and encouraged fungal growth (Bloor 2011). Leaves were cut into 6 mm-diameter leaf discs using a cork-borer, with midribs and any obvious infected areas avoided, and these were then air-dried, sorted into batches of five, and weighed (leaf batch air-dry mass = 16.00 ± 3.27 mg, n = 320).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Leaves of the sycamore tree ( A. pseudoplatanus ) were provided as the food source, as this tree is common at the collection sites of both species and its leaves have been shown to be highly palatable to amphipods (MacNeil and Platvoet 2005 ). Leaves were conditioned in stream water for two weeks at 15 °C, which allowed the leaching of soluble components, softening, and encouraged fungal growth (Bloor 2011 ). Leaves were cut into 6 mm-diameter leaf discs using a cork-borer, with midribs and any obvious infected areas avoided, and these were then air-dried, sorted into batches of five, and weighed (leaf batch air-dry mass = 16.00 ± 3.27 mg, n = 320).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Antagonistic effects of biological invasion and environmental warming on detritus processing in freshwater ecosystems

et al. 2016

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Global biodiversity is threatened by multiple anthropogenic stressors but little is known about the combined effects of environmental warming and invasive species on ecosystem functioning. We quantified thermal preferences and then compared leaf-litter processing rates at eight different temperatures (5.0–22.5 °C) by the invasive freshwater crustacean Dikerogammarus villosus and the Great Britain native Gammarus pulex at a range of body sizes. D. villosus preferred warmer temperatures but there was considerable overlap in the range of temperatures that the two species occupied during preference trials. When matched for size, G. pulex had a greater leaf shredding efficiency than D. villosus, suggesting that invasion and subsequent displacement of the native amphipod will result in reduced ecosystem functioning. However, D. villosus is an inherently larger species and interspecific variation in shredding was reduced when animals of a representative size range were compared. D. villosus shredding rates increased at a faster rate than G. pulex with increasing temperature suggesting that climate change may offset some of the reduction in function. D. villosus, but not G. pulex, showed evidence of an ability to select those temperatures at which its shredding rate was maximised, and the activation energy for shredding in D. villosus was more similar to predictions from metabolic theory. While per capita and mass-corrected shredding rates were lower in the invasive D. villosus than the native G. pulex, our study provides novel insights in to how the interactive effects of metabolic function, body size, behavioural thermoregulation, and density produce antagonistic effects between anthropogenic stressors.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00442-016-3796-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antagonistic effects of biological invasion and environmental warming on detritus processing in freshwater ecosystems

et al. 2016

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“…The number of α-amylase genes is also variable in non-decapod crustaceans. For instance, six copies of the α-amylase gene occur in the detritivore isopod Asellus aquaticus [48], which eats on leaf material in freshwater environments [49], while two copies in other detritivore isopod, Sphaeroma serratum [48], which fed on detritus from marine algae or terrestrial plants [49], although its fatty acid signature suggested that animal material is also included in its natural diet [49]. In other arthropods this issue has been studied more thoroughly.…”

Section: Gene and Transcript Featuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward a More Comprehensive View of α-Amylase across Decapods Crustaceans: New Insights from Carnivorous

Rodríguez-Viera¹,

Alpízar-Pedraza²,

Mancera³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Decapod crustaceans are a very diverse group and have evolved to suit a wide variety of diets. Alpha-amylases enzymes, responsible for starch and glycogen digestion, have been more thoroughly studies in herbivore and omnivore than in carnivorous species. We used information on the α-amylase of a carnivorous lobster as a connecting thread to provide a more comprehensive view of α-amylases across decapods crustaceans. Omnivorous crustaceans such as shrimps, crabs and crayfish present relatively high amylase activity respect to carnivorous. Yet, contradictory results have been obtained and relatively high activity in some carnivores has been suggested to be a remnant trait from ancestor species. Here we provided information sustaining that high enzyme sequence and overall architecture conservation do not allow high changes in activity, and that differences among species may be more related to number of genes and isoforms, as well as transcriptional and secretion regulation. However, recent evolutionary analyses revealed that positive selection might have also occurred among distant lineages with feeding habits as a selection force. Some biochemical features of decapod α-amylases can be related with habitat or gut conditions, while less clear patterns are observed for other enzyme properties. Likewise, while molt cycle variations in α-amylase activity are rather similar among species, clear relationships between activity and diet shifts through development cannot be always observed. Regarding the adaptation of α-amylase to diet, juveniles seem to exhibit more flexibility than larvae, and it has been described variation in α-amylase activity or number of isoforms due to the source of carbohydrate and its level in diets, especially in omnivore species. In the carnivorous lobster, however, no influence of the type of carbohydrate could be observed. Also, lobsters were not able to fine-regulate α-amylase gene expression in spite of large changes in carbohydrate content of diet, while retaining some capacity to adapt α-amylase activity to very low carbohydrate content in the diets. In this review, we raised arguments for the need of more studies on the α-amylases of less studied decapods groups, including carnivorous species which rely more on dietary protein and lipids, to broad our view of α-amylase in decapods crustaceans.

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“…In the laboratory, pairs were separated and each individual was placed in a transparent plastic container of 100 ml of water from the collection site at 4°C with a 1-cm 2 piece of rotted oak leaf as a food source (Bloor 2010). Each day, the water was replaced with new filtered river water, taken from the sample site at low tide, preventing the G. zaddachi from feeding on their own faeces or on any algae or microbial biofilms accumulating in the storage containers (Bloor 2010(Bloor , 2011.…”

Section: Collection and Maintenancementioning

confidence: 99%

Sex or food? Effects of starvation, size and diet on sexual cannibalism in the amphipod crustacean Gammarus zaddachi

et al. 2018

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Cannibalism of females by males before, during or immediately following sex has been attributed to misidentification of females, rejection of females as mates and prioritisation of feeding over reproduction. In the gammarid amphipod Gammarus zaddachi, males demonstrate that they have identified a female and accepted her as a suitable mate by engaging in precopula pairing behaviour. However, a male may later decide to eat the female after pairing with her. Laboratory experiments were performed in which survival of females in precopula pairs of G. zaddachi was monitored after their male partners had been subjected to starvation, herbivorous diets or diets containing animal matter. These indicate that the female is less likely to survive when she is abnormally small relative to the male, when the male is at risk of death by starvation or when the male's diet has lacked animal content. Decisions by males to forgo reproductive opportunities in favour of cannibalism, even after engaging in costly mate-guarding behaviour, emphasise the importance of carnivory in the trophic ecology of Gammarus species.

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Dietary Preference ofGammarus pulexandAsellus aquaticusduring a Laboratory Breeding Programme for Ecotoxicological Studies

Cited by 26 publications

References 15 publications

Antagonistic effects of biological invasion and environmental warming on detritus processing in freshwater ecosystems

Antagonistic effects of biological invasion and environmental warming on detritus processing in freshwater ecosystems

Toward a More Comprehensive View of α-Amylase across Decapods Crustaceans: New Insights from Carnivorous

Sex or food? Effects of starvation, size and diet on sexual cannibalism in the amphipod crustacean Gammarus zaddachi

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