Predation by native brown shrimp on invasive Pacific oyster spat

A probabilistic framework for windows of opportunity: the role of temporal variability in critical transitions

“…Moreover, becoming larger is often a good way to escape from predation or herbivory: trees that grow tall enough may escape the herbivory of their foliage [18]. Bivalves are also known to become less vulnerable to predation by crustaceans once a size threshold is surpassed [10]. Becoming larger can even increase an organism's ability to tolerate toxic conditions [19,20].…”

Characterizing a novel predator–prey relationship between native Diplonychus esakii (Heteroptera: Belostomatidae) and invasive Gambusia affinis (Teleostei: Poeciliidae) in central China

“…For example, Cabrera-Guzmán et al (2015) found that although invasive cane toads (Rhinella marina) contain potent defensive chemicals, native rodents (Melomys burtoni, Rattus colletti, and R. tunneyi) readily killed and consumed cane toads. Weerman et al (2014) discovered that spat of invasive Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) is more susceptible to predation by indigenous brown shrimps (Crangon crangon) compared to the spat of native bivalves. In the latter examples, native predators potentially constrain the invasion success or exotic prey species, and we argue that our present study-in conjunction with future studies on other potential predators of G. affinis-may help understand how local predator communities affect the further spread of the species.…”

“…For example, predation experiments by Błońska et al (2015) demonstrated that the Ponto-Caspian racer goby Babka gymnotrachelus preys more on the native amphipod Gammarus fossarum than invasive Dikerogammarus villosus and Pontogammarus robustoides in its invasive range in Poland. Fewer studies have asked how invasive prey species integrate into existing food webs (e.g., Weerman et al 2014;Cabrera-Guzmán et al 2015;Raspi et al 2015). One important step towards understanding trophic relationships between native predators and invasive prey species is to examine predators' feeding preferences, for instance, via standardized food choice experiments (see Horstkotte and Plath 2008;Plath et al 2011).…”

The use of remote sensing to reveal landscape-scale ecosystem engineering by shellfish reefs

“…Predation may limit the distribution of shellfish reefs, in the subtidal mainly by benthic predators such as starfish, crabs and shrimps, and in the intertidal by birds during low tide and by benthic predators when submerged (Johnson & Smee 2014;Weerman et al 2014;Van Der Veer et al 1998;Waser et al 2016). Although predation has been shown to be important for oyster distribution (Fodrie et al 2014;Johnson & Smee 2014;Weerman et al 2014), many predators still have a preference for mussels over Pacific oysters.…”

“…Although predation has been shown to be important for oyster distribution (Fodrie et al 2014;Johnson & Smee 2014;Weerman et al 2014), many predators still have a preference for mussels over Pacific oysters. This may be partly due to potential predators not having learned yet how to handle Pacific oysters (enemy release hypothesis (Troost 2010)), and partly due to the fact that the relatively large and irregularly shaped Pacific oysters and their spat are more difficult to detach from the substrate and to handle.…”