| 1. |
- Johansson, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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Active selection for large guppies, Poecilia reticulata, by the pike cichlid, Crenicichla saxatilis
- 2004
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Ingår i: Oikos. - : Wiley. - 1600-0706 .- 0030-1299. ; 105:3, s. 595-605
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Size-selective predation has been proposed to be one important evolutionary force shaping life-history traits in guppies (Poecilia reticulata). Populations living in the presence of the ring-tailed pike cichlid (Crenicichlasaxatilis) are smaller, mature earlier, allocate more energy to offspring and get more and smaller young than guppies in localities without Crenicichla. We investigated if Crenicichlasaxatilis is a size-selective predator, if the selectivity is a result of active choice and if the optimal prey size can be explained according to an optimal foraging model. In single-prey experiments we quantified the predators' pre-capture costs (time), capture success, and post-capture costs (time) for four different prey sizes spanning from 10 to 40 mm total length. To see which of the components of the prey cycle the predator takes into account for its choice, we then predicted prey values and optimal prey size with 6 different models that included one or more of the prey cycle components. In two multiple prey experiments, the cichlids were given the choice of the two and four different prey sizes simultaneously. Crenicichlasaxatilis actively selected the largest guppies in both cases. The three prey-value functions that included handling time (post-capture cost) did not accurately predict the prey choice. Instead the prey-value functions that took into account pre-capture cost (approach and attack time) were able to correctly predict the choice of the largest guppy size, suggesting that pre-capture costs may be more important than post-capture costs for prey choice in Crenicichlasaxatilis. The study confirms that Crenicichlasaxatilis is a size-selective predator selecting large guppies, while earlier evidence for selectivity for large prey in Crenicichla cichlids has been weak and equivocal. Our result strengthen the possibility that size-selective predation is a mechanism in life-history evolution in guppies.
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| 2. |
- Persson, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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Foraging capacities and effects of competitive release on ontogenetic diet shift in bream, Abramis brama
- 2002
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Ingår i: Oikos. - : Wiley. - 1600-0706 .- 0030-1299. ; 97:2, s. 271-281
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bream Abramis brama) undergo ontogenetic diet shift from zooplankton to benthic macroinvertebrates, but the switching size may be highly variable. To unravel under what conditions bream are pelagic versus benthic foragers, we experimentally determined size-dependent foraging capacities on three prey types from the planktivory and benthivory niche: zooplankton, visible and buried macroinvertebrates. From these data we derived predictions of size-dependent diet preferences from estimates of prey value and competitive ability, and tested these predictions on diet data from the field. Planktivorous foraging capacity described a hump-shaped relationship with bream length that peaked for small bream of 67 mm total length. Benthivory capacity increased with increasing bream size, irrespective if benthic prey were visible on the sediment surface or buried in the sediment. From the experimental data and relationships of metabolic demand we calculated minimum resource requirement for maintenance (MRR) for each of the prey categories used in experiments. MRR increased with bream size for both zooplankton and visible chironomids, but decreased with bream size for buried chironomids, suggesting that intermediate sized bream (120-300 mm) may be competitively sandwiched between small and large bream that are more competitive planktivores and benthivores, respectively. Prey value estimates and competitive abilities qualitatively predicted diet shift in a bream population being released from competition. Competitive release did not change the diet of the largest size-class feeding on an optimal diet of benthic invertebrates both before and after competitive release. However, profound diet shifts towards benthic macro invertebrates were recorded for intermediate size-classes that fed on a suboptimal diet prior to competitive release. Thus, laboratory estimates of size-dependent foraging capacity of bream in planktivorous and benthivorous feeding niches provided useful information on size-specific competitive ability, and successfully predicted diet preference in the field.
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| 3. |
- Stenberg, Marika, et al.
(författare)
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Patch use behaviour in benthic fish depends on their long-term growth prospects
- 2006
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Ingår i: Oikos. - : Wiley. - 1600-0706 .- 0030-1299. ; 112:2, s. 332-341
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Animals foraging in a heterogeneous environment may combine prior information on patch qualities and patch sample information to maximize intake rate. Prior information dictates the long-term expectations, whereas prior information in combination with patch sample information determines when to leave an individual food patch. We examined patch use behaviour of benthic feeding fish in their natural environment at different spatial scales to test if they could determine patch quality and if patch use behaviour was correlated with environmental quality. In seven lakes along a gradient of environmental quality (measured as maximum benthivore size), we made repeated measurements of giving-up density (GUD) in artificial food patches of different qualities. At the largest spatial scale, between lakes, we tested if giving-up densities revealed the long-term growth expectation of benthic fish. At the local scale of patches and micro patches we tested for the ability of benthic fish to assess patch quality, and how this ability depended on the patch exploitation levels between the different lakes. We found that GUD was positively related to maximum size of bream, suggesting that short-term behavioural decisions reflected long-term growth expectations. Benthic fish discriminated between nearby rich and poor patches, but not between rich and poor micropatches within a food patch. This suggests that the foraging scale of benthic fish lies between the patch and micro patch scale in our experiments. We conclude that patch use behaviour of benthic fish can provide a powerful measure of habitat quality that reveals how benthic fish perceive their environment.
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| 4. |
- van Deurs, Mikael, et al.
(författare)
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Fish resist temptation from junk food : state-dependent diet choice in reproductive Atlantic cod Gadus morhua facing seasonal fluxes of lipid-rich prey
- 2022
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Ingår i: Oikos. - : Wiley. - 0030-1299 .- 1600-0706. ; 2022:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In ecological sciences, animal diets are often simplified to ‘resources' or ‘caloric quantities'. However, in the present study, we investigated the optimal foraging strategy of Atlantic cod Gadus morhua when both macro- and micro-nutritional requirements are accounted for. Proteins cannot be synthesized from fatty acids, so the proteins for gonad development must come from other dietary sources. In addition, micronutrients are required in smaller quantities. For example, for cod, arachidonic acid (ARA) acts as a micronutrient precursor for prostaglandins, which is important for reproduction. We formulated a dynamic state-dependent model to make predictions about optimal diet choice and foraging behavior. We applied the model to a case study in the strait between Denmark and Sweden. The model predicted that energy acquired from dietary protein should be twice that acquired from lipids, with a small increase in the lipid requirements when gonads are growing. The model also predicted that the ‘energy sparing effect of lipids' made it beneficial to engage in risky foraging activity to supplement a lean diet with a little bit of fat. When we constructed the model to also optimize ARA uptake, the cod consumed relatively more ARA-rich crabs in the months prior to spawning, despite the otherwise poor energetic value of this prey. In support of the model predictions, field observations indicated that lipid stores reached a peak shortly after the arrival of the lipid-rich migrating herring and the fatty acid signal of these herring were evident in the liver of nearly all cod. Three month later, only half of the cod contained the herring-derived fatty acid signal, supporting the predicted shift in prey type prior to spawning. From these model predictions and field observations, we conclude that, also in the wild, nutritional requirements can be at least as important as pure energy acquisition.
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| 5. |
- Persson, Anders
(författare)
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Effects of Fish Predation and Excretion on the Configuration of Aquatic Food Webs
- 1997
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Ingår i: Oikos. - 1600-0706. ; 79:1, s. 137-146
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The relative importance for algae of fish excretion and fish predation on zooplankton was studied in experimental pools. Even- (zoo- and phytoplankton) and odd-link systems (planktivorous fish, zoo- and phytoplankton) were established, in which the standing stock of primary producers was expected to follow the predictions from food chain theory sensu Oksanen. Two intermediate treatments (fish predation and nutrient regeneration by fish alone) were used to determine the relative power of fish in affecting the transition from an even-link system to an odd-link system, i.e. their relative power in the trophic cascade. Algal density and production were found to only be enhanced when both fish predation and fish excretion acted together. A reduction in the grazer biomass alone did not increase the algal biomass. Fish excretion alone increased the algal biomass somewhat, but not significantly so compared with the control. The results suggest that both fish predation on zooplankton and the regeneration of nutrients by fish may be necessary to create the difference in algal biomass between an even- and an odd-link system predicted by food chain models, at least in the absence of an external input of nutrients. In addition, the effects of increased nutrient regeneration due to use of non-zooplankton resources by the fish, nutrient maintenance in living biota, and decreased grazing pressure seem to reinforce the cascading effect of planktivorous fish on algae. Consequently, use of a fixed carrying capacity in simple predatorprey models may lead to loss of important information on the dynamics of aquatic food webs, preventing an adequate understanding of cascading trophic interactions from being achieved.
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