Ontogenetic Dietary Shifts in a Predatory Freshwater Fish Species: The Brown Trout as an Example of a Dynamic Fish Species

Sánchez‐Hernández, Javier; Servia, María J.; Vieira‐Lanero, Rufino; Cobo, Fernando

doi:10.5772/54133

Cited by 19 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…The diets of smaller juvenile fish have not previously been characterized as they are usually not caught by gear such as gill nets. Fry can have a distinct impact on the zooplankton compared to larger fish because they are often very numerous and prey on smaller zooplankton (Walls et al, 1990;Ban et The ability of the planktivorous fish to detect and capture prey depends on factors like abundance, size and mobility of the prey (Brooks and Dodson, 1965;Reiriz et al, 1998;Sánchez-Hernández et al, 2012). In our study the trout fry preferred largest and most abundant zooplankton species according to the size selectivity hypothesis (Brooks and Dodson, 1965;Werner and Hall, 1974;O'Brien et al, 1976).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Cascading effect of exotic fish fry on plankton community in a tropical Andean high mountain lake: a mesocosm experiment

2017

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Fishless Andean high mountain lakes may be vulnerable to fish invasion because they tend to be small, oligotrophic and contain low zooplankton diversity. During the first decades of the twentieth century, rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mikiss, was introduced in South America, and stocking of juvenile stages (fry) in lakes continues today. However, their effect on plankton in these lakes has been little studied. We performed a mesocosms experiment to assess effects of trout of different ontogenetic stages on zooplankton and phytoplankton in a tropical-Andean high mountain lake. The presence of trout fry resulted in declines in several large zooplankton taxa, increases in chlorophyll a and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN). Our results showed that small fry consume large copepods (Colombodiaptomus brandorffi) at a faster rate than larger fry, and also consumed medium sized copepods (Tropocyclops prasinus) that are not affected by the larger trout fry. Fish of both sizes consumed Ceriodaphnia quadrangula, a midsize cladoceran. Fish predation had weak effect on the phytoplankton biomass, but we found a correlation between zooplankton biomass and phytoplankton richness, and significantly larger cell of the alga Peridinium in the presence of fish. Our results indicate that trout introduction produces cascading ecological and phenotypic effects on the plankton communities of tropical mountain lakes, similar to those observed in temperate latitudes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Cascading effect of exotic fish fry on plankton community in a tropical Andean high mountain lake: a mesocosm experiment

2017

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“…Studies about the gradual development of food capturing abilities during the ontogeny have been related to differences in relative foraging abilities (e.g., Morrison et al 1978;Sánchez-Hernández et al 2013). In addition, fishes can acquire foraging information from conspecifics (Reader et al 2003 and references therein), and as the predator acquires experience, the development of a search image can improve the ability to detect food, helping to account for the greater foraging efficiency observed in adults (Ware 1971;Morrison et al 1978).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age-related differences in prey-handling efficiency and feeding habitat utilization of Squalius carolitertii (Cyprinidae) according to prey trait analysis

Sánchez‐Hernández

2014

Biologia

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Multivariate prey trait analysis is a functional approach to understand predator-prey relationships. Here, seven macroinvertebrate ecological traits have been used for the analysis of trophic ecology of co-occurring age classes of Northern Iberian chub Squalius carolitertii, a cyprinid fish species. The present study identified several key factors in the handling efficiency and habitat utilization for feeding of S. carolitertii that may have a wider application, particularly for other cyprinid species. The results revealed a remarkable similarity in the feeding behaviour among age classes, suggesting a foraging behaviour convergence among them in both prey-handling efficiency and feeding habitat utilization. Nevertheless, some age classes showed clear preferences for particular categories of ecological trait; for example, age 1 showed a clear ability to feed on flattened prey items, whereas ages 2 and 3 were able to feed on preys with different body shape due to their general distribution in the fuzzy principal component analysis (FPCA). Finally, this study shows how multivariate approaches can complement traditional diet analyses, and the method has wide applicability across life-stages of cyprinid species.

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“…Moreover, fish species can undergo large ontogenetic dietary shifts over their ontogeny (Gerking 1994). For example, brown trout Salmo trutta L. usually switch from feeding on invertebrates to fish over their life cycle, and prey size normally tend to increase with fish length and mouth gape (Montori et al 2006;Sánchez-Hernández and Cobo 2012;Sánchez-Hernández et al 2013). However, morphological constraints such as mouth gape usually are more noticeable during the early life stages (larvae and fry) (Sánchez-Hernández and Cobo 2015 and references therein).…”

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confidence: 99%

Do age-related changes in feeding habits of brown trout alter structural properties of food webs?

Sánchez‐Hernández

2016

Aquat Ecol

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The aim of this study was to quantify changes in food webs based on ontogenetic dietary shifts of a top fish predator (here brown trout Salmo trutta L.). Here, the food web of a river in Central Spain (River Tormes) was studied to test the hypothesis that food web structural properties may change according to age-related changes in feeding habits of brown trout. Thus, the food web was established separately for age-0, age-1 and age-2 brown trout using a forward procedure (individual, modular and river networks); next the complete trophic networks were established. Overall, the networks were characterized by generalist predators with numerous prey types; specialized feeding was limited to a low number of taxa. Food web structural properties (number of links, connectance and linkage density) had the highest values in the age-1 scenario. The highest trophic level (i.e. the highest number of energy steps) was also found in the age-1 scenario, but the lowest in the age-0 scenario. Vulnerability and generalization tend to be higher in age-1 and age-0 scenarios, respectively. The present study exemplifies that agespecific brown trout predation on invertebrate predators emerged as the key factor to understand the changes in food web structural properties among age scenarios. I conclude that ontogenetic dietary shifts of brown trout promote changes in food web structural properties. This conclusion underscores the importance of considering different life history stages of species (i.e. to cover their ontogenetic dietary shifts) in food web construction.

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Ontogenetic Dietary Shifts in a Predatory Freshwater Fish Species: The Brown Trout as an Example of a Dynamic Fish Species

Cited by 19 publications

References 78 publications

Cascading effect of exotic fish fry on plankton community in a tropical Andean high mountain lake: a mesocosm experiment

Cascading effect of exotic fish fry on plankton community in a tropical Andean high mountain lake: a mesocosm experiment

Age-related differences in prey-handling efficiency and feeding habitat utilization of Squalius carolitertii (Cyprinidae) according to prey trait analysis

Do age-related changes in feeding habits of brown trout alter structural properties of food webs?

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