Native fish larvae take advantage of introduced mussel larvae: field evidence of feeding preferences on veligers of the introduced freshwater bivalve Limnopernafortunei
Previous work has shown that the invasive bivalve Limnoperna fortunei has had a measurable impact on local food webs, but knowledge of the trophic interactions involved is still very limited. On the basis of samples collected along the lower Paraguay-middle Paraná rivers, we studied the feeding beha...
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Published in | Hydrobiologia Vol. 745; no. 1; pp. 211 - 224 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Cham
Springer International Publishing
01.02.2015
Springer Nature B.V |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Previous work has shown that the invasive bivalve
Limnoperna fortunei
has had a measurable impact on local food webs, but knowledge of the trophic interactions involved is still very limited. On the basis of samples collected along the lower Paraguay-middle Paraná rivers, we studied the feeding behavior and selectivity of larval fish, with emphasis on veligers of the introduced bivalve
L. fortunei
. Among feeding larvae (i.e., without a yolk sac), 16.5% had only
Limnoperna
veligers in their guts, while 15.6% had veligers and some other prey. Half of the fish taxa recorded (8 out of a total of 16) consumed
Limnoperna
veligers. The Paraguay and Paraná rivers differed strongly in the proportions of fish larvae that consumed veligers: 14 and 68%, respectively. This difference paralleled the availability of veligers in the water column, which was significantly lower in the Paraguay (0.8 ± 0.5 ind. l
−1
) than in the Paraná River (5.5 ± 2.3 ind. l
−1
). Conversely, cladocerans, originally the staple food of fish larvae, were more abundant in the Paraguay (consumed by 48% of the individuals) than in the Paraná River (26%). These results indicate that, when widely available,
Limnoperna
veligers largely replace the original prey of fish larvae, especially in their younger stages (protolarvae). |
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ISSN: | 0018-8158 1573-5117 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s10750-014-2108-x |