Substrate mediated predator–prey interactions between invasive crayfish and indigenous and non-native amphipods
journal contribution
posted on 2020-08-04, 14:38 authored by C Beatty, Kate MathersKate Mathers, C Patel, D Constable, Paul WoodPaul Wood© 2020, The Author(s). The increasing number of taxa being translocated across the globe is leading to many non-native species encountering indigenous taxa as well as other non-native species. Environmental heterogeneity may strongly influence the spatial distribution, habitat use and refuge availability for these taxa. Using a series of 24-h mesocosm experiments we examined the predator–prey interactions between an invasive crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) and four amphipod taxa, one indigenous (Gammarus pulex) and three non-native species (Crangonyx pseudogracilis, Dikerogammarus villosus and Gammarus tigrinus) to Great Britain. The potential mediating effect of physical habitat on predator–prey interactions was examined via the use of different substrate particle sizes; cobbles, gravels and, sand. Survivorship of amphipods in response to crayfish predation varied significantly with the highest rates recorded for the non-native species D. villosus, followed by G. tigrinus, and C. pseudogracilis, with the lowest survivorship recorded for the indigenous species G. pulex for all substrates except cobble. However, total biomass consumption of the indigenous G. pulex and the non-native D. villosus by P. leniusculus were similar suggesting that crayfish may have been satiated by larger D. villosus individuals. Substrate size had a significant influence on the predation success of P. leniusculus, with larger substrate clasts typically resulting in increased survivorship rates for all species except C. pseudogracilis, which displayed lower predation rates for sand substrates. The findings of this study highlight the risks that naïve indigenous taxa may face from new invasive species and the importance of characterising physical habitat (complexity and refugia potential) when considering the potential ecological effects of invaders on predation success.
History
School
- Social Sciences and Humanities
Department
- Geography and Environment
Published in
Biological InvasionsVolume
22Issue
9Pages
2713 - 2724Publisher
SpringerVersion
- VoR (Version of Record)
Rights holder
© The authorsPublisher statement
This is an Open Access Article. It is published by Springer under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported Licence (CC BY). Full details of this licence are available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Acceptance date
2020-06-05Publication date
2020-06-17Copyright date
2020ISSN
1387-3547eISSN
1573-1464Publisher version
Language
- en
Depositor
Prof Paul Wood Deposit date: 4 August 2020Usage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedKeywords
AmphipodSubstrate characteristicsInvasive speciesPredationNativeScience & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicineBiodiversity ConservationEcologyBiodiversity & ConservationEnvironmental Sciences & EcologyFRESH-WATER BIODIVERSITYSIGNAL CRAYFISHPACIFASTACUS-LENIUSCULUSDIKEROGAMMARUS-VILLOSUSKILLER SHRIMPINTERFERENCE COMPETITIONCRUSTACEA MALACOSTRACACOMMUNITY STRUCTURESTREAM COMMUNITYCLIMATE-CHANGEEnvironmental SciencesBiological Sciences
Licence
Exports
RefWorksRefWorks
BibTeXBibTeX
Ref. managerRef. manager
EndnoteEndnote
DataCiteDataCite
NLMNLM
DCDC