Habitat complexity and food item size modify the foraging behaviour of a freshwater fish

Murray, Gregory P. D.; Stillman, Richard A.; Britton, J. Robert

doi:10.1007/s10750-015-2465-0

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Species-specific foraging may be on account of the flexible choice of the predator (Chick and McIvor 1997;Valinoti et al 2011;Lyons et al 2016) and prey (Gotceitas and Colgan 1989;Ostrand et al 2004;DeBoom and Wahl 2013) in different refuge habitats. To gain maximal net energy in variable habitats, predators might alter their hunting modes with the changes in choice and distribution of prey, regardless of its predation type (Savino and Stein 1989a;Scharf et al 2006;Murray et al 2016). For example, in a low complexity habitat, lined seahorse, fish assemblages in the Novigrad Sea, and larvae of the diving water beetle (Dytiscus spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of artificial submersed vegetation on consumption and growth of mandarin fish Siniperca chuatsi (Basilewsky) foraging on live prey

Ren

Xiong

et al. 2019

Journal of Freshwater Ecology

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Mandarin fish Siniperca chuatsi (Basilewsky) is a commercially important aquaculture species, mainly cultured in Chinese ponds and only fed live fish. We evaluated the effects of artificial vegetation on consumption and growth of mandarin fish foraging on live prey Cirrhinus mrigala (Hamilton) in outdoor pools. In comparison to the 0% vegetation treatment, mandarin fish captured more prey in all treatments where vegetation was added. However, prey consumption did not vary between 15, 30, 45 and 60% vegetation additions. Weight gain of mandarin fish in the 0% vegetation treatment was significantly lower than those in the four vegetated treatments, with the highest weight gain recorded for the 30% vegetation treatment. Similar differences in specific growth rate were observed. The specific growth rate increased with increased vegetation coverage, but then declined slowly as vegetation coverage continued to increase, with a peak in the 30% vegetation treatment. These results suggest that transplanting submerged vegetation into culture ponds in an effort to improve water quality would not affect or even improve prey consumption and growth of mandarin fish, and that suitable vegetation coverage would range between 30% and 60% in terms of growth rate.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of artificial submersed vegetation on consumption and growth of mandarin fish Siniperca chuatsi (Basilewsky) foraging on live prey

Ren

Xiong

et al. 2019

Journal of Freshwater Ecology

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“…In the present study, we observed that free-floating macrophytes covered much of the water surface during summer, whereas the middle and bottom layers of the water column were essentially devoid of aquatic macrophytes. Habitats that are relatively simple in structure not only intensify competitive interactions between rotifer communities [48], but also favor the foraging activities of potential predators such as fish [49]. Both of these factors contribute to decreases in rotifer density.…”

Section: Seasonality Of Microhabitat Structures That Support Rotifer mentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of Rotifer Community to Microhabitat Changes Caused by Summer-Concentrated Rainfall in a Shallow Reservoir, South Korea

Choi

Kim

2020

Diversity

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Empirical studies suggest that the structural heterogeneity of aquatic ecosystem microhabitat is determined by the diversity and abundance of macrophytes. However, excessive accumulation of free-floating macrophytes on the water surface can reduce the biomass of submerged macrophytes, resulting in a relatively simplified habitat structure. We hypothesized that heavy summer rainfall disrupts the growth of free-floating macrophytes covering much of the Jangcheok Reservoir’s water surface, thereby resulting in a more complex habitat structure by allowing development of a more diverse of macrophytic community. We divided long-term (2008–2017) monitoring data (rainfall, macrophytes, and rotifers) into two groups: Rainy and Dry years, corresponding to years with annual rainfall higher and lower than the total annual average, respectively. We found that summer densities of rotifers fell sharply in Rainy years, but increased continuously in Dry years. This trend resulted in greater autumn densities in Rainy relative to Dry years, which we attributed to changes in habitat related to differential macrophyte development. Moderate disturbance of the water surface caused by high summer rainfall can promote growth of submerged macrophytes by creating large areas of open water and therefore a more complex autumnal microhabitat structure, resulting in seasonal variations in rotifer community structures and populations. Moreover, a highly complex microhabitat structure restricts foraging activity of fish (i.e., Lepomis macrochirus) that prey on rotifers. Based on these findings, we suggest that summer-concentrated rainfall plays an important role in supporting the density and species diversity of rotifers.

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“…Na literatura que reporta experimentos ecológicos, a espécie utilizada como presa geralmente é aclimatada nas condições experimentais por períodos que variam de 8 a 72 h (e.g., FIGUEIREDO et al, 2015), enquanto peixes predadores são aclimatados por pelo menos 14 dias (e.g. MURRAY et al, 2016 SILVA, 2014).…”

Section: Alguns Pontos Essenciais De Um Experimento Manipulativounclassified

Princípios básicos para testes de hipóteses com uso de experimentos manipulativos em ecologia: relato de um experimento de predador-presa

Granzotti

Gomes

2016

arqmudi

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ResumoExperimentos manipulativos são formas de testar hipóteses em que se controla uma ou mais variáveis de interesse para obter-se uma resposta, determinando as relações de causa e efeito. Alguns pontos-chave dessa abordagem são: a similaridade das condições experimentais com as condições naturais dos organismos e o controle dessas variáveis nas unidades experimentais; a aclimatação dos organismos utilizados; e a condução de um experimento piloto. O objetivo desse trabalho é relatar a metodologia de um experimento manipulativo sobre a influência da complexidade de habitat no sucesso de predação de um predador, com especial atenção à importância da aclimatação adequada dos organismos utilizados no experimento e da condução de um experimento piloto para testar o delineamento experimental planejado. Após um experimento piloto, o predador e as presas foram aclimatados e colocados em aquários com diferentes densidades de macrófitas submersas, em três níveis com cinco réplicas cada. Após duas horas, as presas remanescentes nos aquários foram contadas. As diferenças entre os tratamentos foram avaliadas por testes t de Student, mas não foram encontrados efeitos significativos da complexidade de habitat no consumo de presas pelo predador.

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Habitat complexity and food item size modify the foraging behaviour of a freshwater fish

Abstract: 26The functional response describes the relationship between feeding rate and prey density, and 27 is important ecologically as it describes how the foraging behaviour of an animal changes in 28 response to food availability. The effects of habitat complexity and food item size was

Cited by 15 publications

References 67 publications

Effects of artificial submersed vegetation on consumption and growth of mandarin fish Siniperca chuatsi (Basilewsky) foraging on live prey

Effects of artificial submersed vegetation on consumption and growth of mandarin fish Siniperca chuatsi (Basilewsky) foraging on live prey

Responses of Rotifer Community to Microhabitat Changes Caused by Summer-Concentrated Rainfall in a Shallow Reservoir, South Korea

Princípios básicos para testes de hipóteses com uso de experimentos manipulativos em ecologia: relato de um experimento de predador-presa

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