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Competition mediated coexistence of invading intermediate consumer, ninespine stickleback, and a resident omnivorous top predator, Arctic char
Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences.
Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences.
Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences.
Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences.
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(English)Manuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Climate change results in changes in the geographical distribution of species. Species invasion success into a new area is dependent both on the dispersal ability of species as well as the strength and identity of biotic interactions between resident and invading species. Coexistence in intraguild predation (IGP) systems depends on the relative strength of predation and competition interactions which in turn are temperature dependent. We investigated the effects of introducing an intermediate consumer, ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius), into allopatric populations of the omnivorous top predator Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus). Introductions were performed in lakes with different climate regimes, two tundra lakes and two forest lakes that differed in average summer temperatures with 1.4 ± 0.5 ºC (average ± 1SD). We found that sticklebacks were able to invade and increase in density in both tundra and forest lakes. Sticklebacks had strong negative effects on resource densities which also was reflected in a decreased growth of small char. Increasing stickleback density had a positive effect on growth of large adults and on the maximum size of char. We conclude that stickleback presence is not limited by biological interactions in these systems but rather by dispersion ability. We suggest that the size dependency in the response of char to the invasion of sticklebacks is fundamental for the successful invasion of sticklebacks, and that size dependent interactions including cannibalism play important roles for coexistence in natural IGP-systems.

Keywords [en]
Intraguild predation, omnivory, competition, cannibalism, temperature, climate change, invasion
National Category
Ecology
Research subject
biology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-37992OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-37992DiVA, id: diva2:371636
Available from: 2010-11-22 Created: 2010-11-22 Last updated: 2018-06-08Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Invasion of top and intermediate consumers in a size structured fish community
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Invasion of top and intermediate consumers in a size structured fish community
2010 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Alternative title[sv]
Invasion av toppredatorer och intermediära konsumenter i ett storleksstrukturerat fisksamhälle
Abstract [en]

In this thesis I have investigated the effects of invading top and intermediate consumers in a size-structured fish community, using a combination of field studies, a lake invasion experiment and smaller scale pond and aquaria experiments.

The lake invasion experiment was based on introductions of an intermediate consumer, ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius L.), in to allopatric populations of an omnivorous top predator, Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus L.). The invasion experiment was performed in two tundra lakes and in two birch forest lakes to investigate the effect of climate on the invasion success. I found that the effect of sticklebacks on char was size dependent. Small char suffered reduced growth from resource competition with sticklebacks whereas the maximum size of adult char increased from the addition of a larger prey resource, stickleback. The negative effect of sticklebacks on the growth of small char suggests that sticklebacks may be a better resource competitor than char, which was also supported by the pond and aquaria experiments. The pond experiments also suggested that char were more efficient cannibals than interspecific predators on sticklebacks. Cannibalism in char may limit the recruitment of char and decrease both their predatory and competitive effect on coexisting species and thereby also promote the coexistence of char and sticklebacks. The successful invasion by sticklebacks and their subsequent increases in density suggest that the absence of sticklebacks in char lakes in this region is not caused by biotic interactions with char. Instead, it may be suggested that co-occurrence of sticklebacks and char in the region is limited by dispersal.

The char – stickleback system resembles an intraguild predation system with char as the top consumer and stickleback as the intermediate consumer. The effects of the stickleback invasion is also contrasted with a field study of a northern pike (Esox lucius L.) invasion into a system with coexisting char and stickleback, where pike can be viewed as the top consumer and char as the intermediate consumer both feeding on sticklebacks. In this case pike excluded char. The identity of the invading species and the relative strength of the predatory and competitive interactions in the two contrasting systems are discussed in relation to coexistence in intraguild predation systems. I found that the identity of the invading species is of crucial importance for the response at the ecosystem level, and that the inherent size dependency of competitive and predatory interactions in fish communities is important for attaining a mechanistical understanding of the effects of invasive species in lake ecosystems.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Umeå: Umeå universitet, Institutionen för ekologi, miljö och geovetenskap, 2010. p. 27
Keywords
Invasion, intraguild predation, size-structure, cannibalism, climate, temperature, Arctic char, ninespine stickleback
National Category
Ecology
Research subject
biology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-37995 (URN)978-91-7459-119-4 (ISBN)
Public defence
2010-12-17, KBC-huset, KB3B1, Umeå Universitet, Umeå, 11:03 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2010-11-26 Created: 2010-11-22 Last updated: 2018-06-08Bibliographically approved

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Ask, PerAsk, JennyByström, PärJansson, MatsKarlsson, JanPersson, Lennart

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