Influence of the dietary contribution of terrestrial insects to the condition factor of bleak Alburnus alburnus in a highly polluted lowland river

Abstract

Bleak Alburnus alburnus is a highly abundant but understudied fish species, and we know little about the trophic ecology of populations inhabiting rivers in central Europe. From an ecosystem perspective, this fish species is interesting as it is known to feed on surface insects, thereby linking the terrestrial with the aquatic habitat. In a previous study, we demonstrated that this flux is intensified, and dietary contribution of terrestrial insects is higher in fish inhabiting sections of the Spree River, Germany, that are polluted from iron oxides occurring from former lignite mining activities, and thus are characterized by lower abundances of aquatic insects. As terrestrial insects can be considered as food of lower quality (measured as long‐chained polyunsaturated fatty acids, n‐3 LC‐PUFAs) compared to aquatic prey, it is reasonable to assume that the higher contribution of terrestrial insects is related to a lower body condition in fish. In this study, we explore the trophic ecology of riverine A. alburnus and their fitness consequences of feeding on terrestrial insects. We therefore modeled a terrestrial index from stable isotopes of hydrogen (δ2H) measured in the A. alburnus muscle tissue and compared individuals caught in locations upstream of a dam that were greatly influenced by iron oxides, with individuals caught in sections located downstream of a dam where passive remediation technologies are applied. The terrestrial index was significantly higher in A. alburnus caught in locations at high‐iron concentrations, characterized by low abundances of aquatic prey, compared to A. alburnus caught in unpolluted habitats at low‐iron concentrations. In contradiction to our hypothesis, the terrestrial index had no significant effect on the body condition of A. alburnus (measured as Fulton's condition factor K) in the sections downstream of the dam (i.e., at low‐iron concentrations) and a significant positive, albeit weak, effect in sections upstream of the dam (i.e., at high‐iron concentrations). However, the condition factor was generally lower in the high‐iron section, potentially related to more direct effects of the iron oxide. We conclude that in A. alburnus, terrestrial insects can be considered as the less‐favored food, unless the fish occur in environments where the aquatic food is of limited availability. Further research is needed to evaluate the direct and indirect effects, including the internal n‐3 LC‐PUFA synthesis as an adaption toward low‐quality terrestrial prey on the fitness consequences of A. alburnus.