Alpine newts (Triturus alpestris) as top predators in a high‐altitude karst lake: daily food consumption and impact on the copepod Arctodiaptomus alpinus

Abstract

SUMMARY1. Population dynamics and feeding ecology of adult and larval alpine newts (Triturus alpestris, Laurenti) were investigated in a high‐altitude karts lake to estimate their feeding pressure on the copepod Arctodiaptomus alpinuf (Imhof). Estimates of population size for reproducing adults ranged from 666 to 864 individuals in the lake during July and August. Total abundance of larvae before the onset of ice cover varied considerably between 4400 and 25400 individuals in different years.2. Arctodiaptomus alpinus was an important prey item for adult and larval alpine newts. During the second half of their aquatic period, adult newts moved to deeper water where the copepod reached its highest densities near the sediment. Adults and larvae exhibited no periodic feeding pattern. The feeding rhythm was more synchronized among the larvae than among the adults.3. Daily food consumption, estimated using the Elliott & Persson (1978) model, reached 4–21 mg dry biomass in adults. The daily ration of larvae was about 7% of body dry weight in the temperature range 6‐11°C. Compared to published estimates of daily food consumption in salmonid fishes, the feeding pressure of newts appears low.