Introduction of Mysis relicta (Mysida) reduces niche segregation between deep-water Arctic charr morphs

• Published in: Hydrobiologia
• Main Authors: Knudsen, Rune, Eloranta, Antti, Siwertsson, Anna, Paterson, Rachel A., Power, Michael, Sandlund, Odd Terje
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Nature 2019
• Subjects: VDP::Matematikk og naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480; VDP::Mathematics and natural scienses: 400::Zoology and botany: 480; Arctic; Limingen; Norway; Arctic charr; Zooplankton
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10037/17378; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-019-3953-4

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Hydrobiologia . The final authenticated version is available online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-019-3953-4 . Niche diversification of polymorphic Arctic charr can be altered by multiple anthropogenic stressors. The opossum-shrimp ( Mysis relicta ) was introduced to compensate for reduced food resources for fish following hydropower operations in Lake Limingen, central Norway. Based on habitat use, stomach contents, stable isotopes (δ 13 C, δ 15 N) and trophically transmitted parasites, the zooplanktivorous upper water-column dwelling ‘normal’ morph was clearly trophically separated from two sympatric deep-water morphs (the ‘dwarf’ and the ‘grey’) that became more abundant with depth (> 30 m). Mysis dominated (50–60%) charr diets in deeper waters (> 30 m), irrespective of morph. Mysis and/or zooplankton prey groups caused high dietary overlap (> 54%) between the ‘dwarf’ morph and the two other ‘normal’ and ‘grey’ morphs. After excluding Mysis , the dietary overlap dropped to 34% between the two profundal morphs, as the ‘dwarf’ fed largely on deep-water zoobenthos (39%), while the ‘grey’ morph fed on fish (59%). The time-integrated trophic niche tracers (trophically transmitted parasites and stable isotopes) demonstrated only partial dietary segregation between the two deep-water morphs. The high importance of Mysis in Arctic charr diets may have reduced the ancestral niche segregation between the deep-water morphs and thereby increased their resource competition and potential risk of hybridization.