Fish predation can induce mesohabitat-specific differences in food web structures in small stream ecosystems

Worischka, Susanne; Hellmann, Claudia; Berendonk, Thomas U.; Winkelmann, Carola

doi:10.1007/s10452-014-9490-3

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…In contrast to well‐examined effects of fish predation on the secondary production of macroinvertebrates (e.g. Winkelmann et al ., ; Worischka et al ., ), little is known about the effects on secondary production by meiofaunal invertebrates in marine habitats (Danovaro et al ., ; O'Gorman et al ., ) and freshwater ecosystems have been largely ignored. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that freshwater fish influence and decrease the secondary production of certain meiofaunal groups (nematodes, oligochaetes and crustaceans) but not rotifers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of predation by juvenile fish on the meiobenthic community structure in a natural pond

Weber

Traunspurger

2015

Freshwater Biology

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Summary Benthic communities in aquatic ecosystems include an abundant and functionally important meiofaunal component. The effects of predation by fish on zooplankton, macroinvertebrates and periphyton in freshwater habitats have been clearly demonstrated, whereas impacts on meiofaunal assemblages are poorly understood. In this study, the predation effects of benthivorous juvenile carp (Cyprinus carpio) on the abundance, biomass, secondary production, size classes and community structure of meiofaunal assemblages and on nematode diversity in the littoral zone of a natural freshwater pond were examined over 125 days using field enclosures and exclosures. Fish predation altered the abundance, biomass and secondary production of nematodes, oligochaetes and microcrustaceans (cyclopoids, harpacticoids, ostracods and cladocerans) but not of rotifers. These changes were consistent with top‐down control of the freshwater meiofaunal assemblages in the natural pond over time. By contrast, small‐bodied meiofauna were more abundant in the presence of fish, suggesting indirect facilitation. Both species richness and species composition but not the diversity of the nematode community were affected by fish predation. Removal of the fish from the enclosures resulted in the thorough recovery of the density, biomass and secondary production of nematodes, oligochaetes and microcrustaceans within 45 days. The results indicate that predation by juvenile freshwater fish depresses the overall abundance, biomass and secondary production of meiofaunal assemblages, except in the case of rotifers, and alters the size structure of the meiofaunal community. Our study provides insight into the food‐web ecology of lakes and the first evidence of freshwater fish predation effects on meiofaunal assemblages in a natural habitat.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of predation by juvenile fish on the meiobenthic community structure in a natural pond

Weber

Traunspurger

2015

Freshwater Biology

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“…All the samples were determined in dry weight. For consideration in wet weight, a factor of 4.5 should be taken into account (Worischka et al 2014).…”

Section: Analysis Of Physiological Markersmentioning

confidence: 99%

A workflow to investigate the impacts of weathered multi-walled carbon nanotubes to the mud snail Lymnaea stagnalis

Weise

Kurth

Politowski

et al. 2021

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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Although the development and application of nanomaterials is a growing industry, little data is available on the ecotoxicological effects on aquatic organisms. Therefore, we set up a workflow to address the potential uptake of weathered multi-walled carbon nanotubes (wMWCNTs) by a model organism, the pulmonary mud snail Lymnaea stagnalis (L. stagnalis), which plays an important role in the food web. It represents a suitable organism for this approach because as a grazer it potentially ingests large amounts of sedimented wMWCNTs. As food source for L. stagnalis, benthic biofilm was investigated by the use of a transmission electron microscope (TEM) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) after exposure with wMWCNTs. In addition, isotopic labeling was applied with 14C-wMWCNTs (0.1 mg/L) to quantify fate, behavior, and enrichment of 14C-wMWCNTs in benthic biofilm and in L. stagnalis. Enrichment in benthic biofilm amounted to 529.0 µg wMWCNTs/g dry weight and in L. stagnalis to 79.6 µg wMWCNTs/g dry weight. A bioconcentration factor (BCF) for L. stagnalis was calculated (3500 L/kg). We demonstrate the accumulation of wMWCNTs (10 mg/L) in the digestive tract of L. stagnalis in an effect study. Moreover, the physiological markers glycogen and triglycerides as indicators for the physiological state, as well as the RNA/DNA ratio as growth indicator, were examined. No significant differences between exposed and control animals were analyzed for glycogen and triglycerides after 24 days of exposure, but a decreasing trend is recognizable for triglycerides. In contrast, the significant reduction in the RNA/DNA ratio of L. stagnalis indicated an inhibition of growth with a following recovery after depuration. The described workflow enables a comprehensive determination of the fate and the behavior of wMWCNTs specifically and in general all kinds of CNTs in the aquatic environment and therefore contributes to a holistic risk assessment of wMWCNTs.

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“…In principle, the occurrence of a trophic cascade from fish over invertebrate grazers on periphyton seems likely because comparable effects have been observed under near-natural conditions in stream ecosystems for both zoobenthivorous fish ( Winkelmann et al, 2014 ) and drift-feeding fish ( Huryn, 1998 ; Buria et al, 2010 ; Pagnucco, Remmal & Ricciardi, 2016 ) and in many small-scale experiments (e.g., Power, 1990b ; Flecker & Townsend, 1994 ; Dahl, 1998 ; Kurle & Cardinale, 2011 ). Moreover, effects of zoobenthivorous fish on the composition of the benthic invertebrate community have been observed on different experimental scales (large scale: Winkelmann et al, 2007 ; Winkelmann et al, 2011 ; Worischka et al, 2014 ; small scale: Dahl, 1998 ; Shelton et al, 2016 ). Grazing mayfly larvae and chironomids are important prey species for zoobenthivorous fish ( Copp, Spathari & Turmel, 2005 ; Ureche et al, 2010 ; Worischka et al, 2015 ), which is in agreement with the strongest effects of fish exclusion on mayflies and chironomids in our experiments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benthic grazing in a eutrophic river: cascading effects of zoobenthivorous fish mask direct effects of herbivorous fish

Gerke

Chaves

Richter

et al. 2018

PeerJ

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Benthic grazing strongly controls periphyton biomass. The question therefore arises whether benthic grazing could be used as a tool to reduce excessive growth of periphyton in nutrient-enriched rivers. Although benthic invertebrate grazers reduce the growth of periphyton, this is highly context dependent. Here we assessed whether the only obligate herbivorous fish in European rivers, the common nase (Chondrostoma nasus L.), is able to reduce periphyton biomass in a eutrophic river. We conducted three consecutive in situ experiments at low, intermediate and high densities of nase in the river using standard tiles on the river bottom naturally covered with periphyton that were accessible to fish and tiles that excluded fish foraging with electric exclosures. The biomass of benthic invertebrate grazers was very low relative to nase. We hypothesised that nase would reduce periphyton biomass on accessible tiles and therefore expected higher periphyton biomass on the exclosure tiles, at least at intermediate and high densities of nase in the river. Contrary to our expectation, the impact of fish grazing was low even at high fish density, as judged by the significantly lower chlorophyll a concentration on exclosure tiles even though the ash-free dry mass on accessible and exclosure tiles did not differ. The lower chlorophyll a concentrations on exclosure tiles might be explained by a higher biomass of invertebrate grazers on the exclosure tiles, which would indicate that the effect of invertebrate grazers was stronger than that of herbivorous fish grazers. The high biomass of invertebrate grazers on exclosure tiles likely arose from the exclusion of zoobenthivorous fish, which occur in the river at high densities. The results of our small-scale experiments suggested that cascading top-down effects of zoobenthivorous fish have a higher impact on periphyton biomass than direct effects of herbivorous nase.

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Fish predation can induce mesohabitat-specific differences in food web structures in small stream ecosystems

Cited by 10 publications

References 64 publications

The effects of predation by juvenile fish on the meiobenthic community structure in a natural pond

The effects of predation by juvenile fish on the meiobenthic community structure in a natural pond

A workflow to investigate the impacts of weathered multi-walled carbon nanotubes to the mud snail Lymnaea stagnalis

Benthic grazing in a eutrophic river: cascading effects of zoobenthivorous fish mask direct effects of herbivorous fish

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