Preference for cannibalism and ontogenetic constraints in competitive ability of piscivorous top predators

We experimentally show that the piscivorous top predator Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) have higher attack rates on cannibal prey compared to the interspecific prey species ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius), and that sticklebacks are more efficient competitiors for zooplankton resources...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLoS ONE
Main Authors: Byström, Pär, Ask, Per, Andersson, Jens, Persson, Lennart
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Umeå universitet, Institutionen för ekologi, miljö och geovetenskap 2013
Subjects:
Cannibalism
piscivory
competition
Arctic char
ninespine stickleback
Ecology
Ekologi
Arctic
Salvelinus alpinus
Zooplankton
Online Access:http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-37993
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0070404
Description
Summary:We experimentally show that the piscivorous top predator Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) have higher attack rates on cannibal prey compared to the interspecific prey species ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius), and that sticklebacks are more efficient competitiors for zooplankton resources compared to juvenile char. We also conducted a literature survey that together with our experiments showed that piscivorous top consumers selected cannibal prey over interspecific prey in 9 out of 10 cases. Our literature survey also showed that specialist prey species are competitively superior compared to juvenile piscivorous species within the zooplankton niche. We discuss our results in relation to omnivory in fish communities and we suggest that the observed general preference for cannibal prey over interspecific prey in piscivores and the competitive advantage of prey species over juvenile piscivores may be major mechanisms for coexistence in fish communities.

Similar Items