Zooplankton Predation and Consumption by Freshwater Crayfish, <i>Cherax tenuimanus</i>, at Different Sizes and Light Conditions

Meakin, Craig; Qin, Jianguang; Mair, G.C.

doi:10.1080/02705060.2009.9664276

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 27 publications

(24 reference statements)

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“…When four age classes of yabby Cherax destructor were tested with live plankton versus pellet food, they spent 85% of their time feeding on live food and 15% feeding on the inert pellets (Meakin et al, 2008), demonstrating a preference for live food items. This was also observed in a study where juvenile hairy marron Cherax tenuimanus, when presented with both live Daphnia and pellet, showed a significant preference for feeding on the live food (Meakin et al, 2009). While observations on feeding preferences were not made as part of this study, a preference for live food items may be a result of their greater nutritional value.…”

Section: Hatchling Survivalsupporting

confidence: 74%

Effects of Different Diet Types on Growth and Survival of White-Clawed Crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes in Hatcheries

Nightingale

Jones

McCabe³

et al. 2021

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Developing an optimal diet for rearing endangered white-clawed crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes is important for captive breeding success prior to wild release. Four ex situ, 40-day experiments assessed survival and growth of crayfish fed different treatment diets. Two experiments (A and B) were undertaken with hatchlings, to determine if live food was an essential dietary component during the first few weeks after hatching. The second set of experiments (C and D) were undertaken with juvenile (60-day-old) A. pallipes, to determine an optimal diet after the initial critical feeding stage. In experiment A, we fed hatchlings: i) live Artemia nauplii + plankton (Live + P); ii) decapsulated Artemia cysts + plankton (Cyst + P) or iii) decapsulated Artemia cysts + plankton encapsulated in agar gel (Gel + CP). Survival and growth was significantly greater with Live + P than with the other two diets. In experiment B we compared Live + P with commercially available feeds by feeding hatchlings: i) live Artemia nauplii + Australian pellet (Live + Aus); ii) live Artemia nauplii plus New Zealand pellet (Live + NZ); iii) live Artemia nauplii + plankton (Live + P); or (iv) practical Spanish crayfish pellet diet (Spain). Under these experimental conditions crayfish survival was significantly higher with Live + P diet than with Live + Aus or Spain. Growth was also significantly greater with Live + P than with the Live + NZ or Spanish treatment diets. In experiment C, 60-day-old juvenile A. pallipes were fed: i) defrosted plankton plus vegetables (Standard) or (ii) defrosted plankton plus vegetables encapsulated in agar gel (Gel + PV). Survival was not significantly different between the diets; however, growth was significantly greater with the Standard diet rather than Gel + PV. In experiment D, juveniles were fed four different diets: i) Australian pellet (Australia); ii) New Zealand pellet (New Zealand); iii) plankton and vegetables (Standard); or iv) practical Spanish diet (Spain). Survival was significantly lower in crayfish fed the New Zealand diet. Crayfish growth was significantly greater with the Standard diet of plankton and vegetables than all three pellet diets. Our results showed that live food is optimal for high survival and growth in A. pallipes hatchlings and a plankton, plus vegetable, diet produces higher growth in juveniles compared to pellet diets.

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Section: Hatchling Survivalsupporting

confidence: 74%

Effects of Different Diet Types on Growth and Survival of White-Clawed Crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes in Hatcheries

Nightingale

Jones

McCabe³

et al. 2021

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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“…Light wavelength has been documented to affect predation in a number of species (Becker et al., 2013; Jones et al 2016; South et al., 2017). Crayfish predominantly detect prey through a chemosensory pathway and, therefore, do not rely on visual foraging cues (Corotto and O’Brien 2002; Meakin et al., 2009) so foraging occurs in crepuscular or nocturnal periods as an anti‐predator strategy (Styrishave et al., 2007). Since freshwater crabs are also nocturnal (Cumberlidge, 2011) they are likely to interact and share common resources with crayfish during the night when both species emerge to forage.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive crayfish outperform Potamonautid crabs at higher temperatures

2021

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Data on ecological impacts of freshwater crayfish invasions in Africa are scarce but invasion history suggests the likelihood of negative implications for biodiversity. To evaluate the potential for ecological impacts we describe the consumer‐resource dynamics of two established crayfish species (Cherax quadricarinatus and Procambarus clarkii) in comparison with the native trophic analogue, the freshwater crab Potamonautes perlatus preying upon Clarias gariepinus fry using comparative functional responses (FRs) and FR ratio (FRR). Experiments were conducted under dark and light conditions as well as low (19°C) and high (28°C) temperature treatments. All three species exhibited potentially population destabilising Type II (hyperbolic) FRs towards prey, which was significantly higher in the dark than in the light. At low temperatures, P. perlatus exhibited the highest maximum feeding estimate although the FR curve was not significantly different from C. quadricarinatus at the highest prey densities. Both crayfish species had higher attack rates at both temperatures and consumed significantly more prey at the high temperature than P. perlatus. The FRR of both crayfish species at the high temperature treatment was higher than that of P. perlatus due to high attack rate and low handling parameters. At 19°C, P. perlatus had a higher or negligible relative FR magnitude compared to P. clarkii and C. quadricarinatus respectively, which suggests some degree of biotic resistance at this temperature; however, this resistance is decreased at 28°C. Cherax quadricarinatus consistently had disruptive FR parameters across both temperatures. Findings from this study represent an important step towards understanding the impacts of crayfish in Africa for public authorities and environmental managers. The two invasive crayfish species have the potential to exert greater per capita impacts on benthic prey communities in invaded systems as shown by their high FRs and FRRs. Furthermore, C. quadricarinatus is an emerging invader globally and our results provide evidence of potential for negative ecological impact regardless of thermal conditions. African countries and their respective environmental managers should therefore maximise efforts to prevent the introduction and spread of these invaders to conserve native biodiversity.

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“…Daphnia magna is an important prey species for larval and adult crayfish (Brown et al 1992;Meakin et al 2009;Kozák et al 2015). Our results substantiate this, but data on field effects of crayfish species on daphniid populations is limited.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of prey identity and substrate type on the functional response of a globally invasive crayfish

South¹,

McCard²,

Khosa³

et al. 2019

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Biological invasions threaten biodiversity on a global scale, therefore, developing predictive methods to understand variation in ecological change conferred is essential. Trophic interaction strength underpins community dynamics, however, these interactions can be profoundly affected by abiotic context, such as substrate type. The red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) has successfully invaded a number of freshwater ecosystems. We experimentally derive the Functional Response (FR) (density dependent predation) of the red swamp crayfish preying upon both a benthic prey; chironomid larvae, and a pelagic prey; Daphnia magna, on a no substrate control, sand, and gravel substrates to determine whether (1) there is a higher impact on prey that are benthic, and (2) whether the presence of different substrate types can dampen the interaction strength. We apply and demonstrate the utility of the Functional Response Ratio (FRR) metric in unravelling differences in ecological impact not obvious from traditional FR curves. Procambarus clarkii is capable of constantly utilising high numbers of both benthic and pelagic prey items, showing a Type II functional response under all scenarios. The presence of gravel and sand substrate each independently decreased the magnitude FR upon D. magna. Though, with regards to chironomid larvae the FR curves showed no difference in magnitude FR, the FRR reveals that the highest impact is conferred when foraging on sand substrate. This reinforces the need for impact assessments to be contextually relevant.

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Zooplankton Predation and Consumption by Freshwater Crayfish, Cherax tenuimanus, at Different Sizes and Light Conditions

Cited by 9 publications

References 27 publications

Effects of Different Diet Types on Growth and Survival of White-Clawed Crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes in Hatcheries

Effects of Different Diet Types on Growth and Survival of White-Clawed Crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes in Hatcheries

Invasive crayfish outperform Potamonautid crabs at higher temperatures

The effect of prey identity and substrate type on the functional response of a globally invasive crayfish

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