Effectiveness of zebra mussels to act as shelters from fish predators differs between native and invasive amphipod prey

Jarosław Kobak,Łukasz Jermacz,Dariusz Płąchocki

doi:10.1007/s10452-014-9492-1

Jarosław Kobak, Łukasz Jermacz + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-014-9492-1

Copy DOI

Journal: Aquatic Ecology	Publication Date: Sep 2, 2014
Citations: 67	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Nicolaus Copernicus University

Abstract

Biological invasions cause organisms to face new predators, but also supply new anti-predator shelters provided by alien ecosystem engineers. We checked the level of anti-predator protection provided to three gammarid species by an invasive Ponto-Caspian zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha, known for its habitat modification abilities. We used gammarids differing in their origin and level of association with mussels: Ponto-Caspian aliens Dikerogammarus villosus (commonly occurring in mussel beds) and Pontogammarus robustoides (not associated with mussels), as well as native European Gammarus fossarum (not co-occurring with dreissenids). The gammarids were exposed to predation of two fish species: the racer goby Babka gymnotrachelus (Ponto-Caspian) and Amur sleeper Perccottus glenii (Eastern Asian). This set of organisms allowed us to check whether the origin and level of association with mussels of both prey and predators affect the ability of gammarids to utilize zebra mussel beds as shelters. We tested gammarid survival in the presence of fish and one of five substrata: sand, macrophytes, stones, living mussels and empty mussel valves. D. villosus survived better than its congeners on all substrata, and its survival was highest in living dreissenids. The survival of the other gammarids was similar on all substrata. Both fish species exhibited similar predation efficiency. Thus, D. villosus, whose affinity to dreissenids has already been established, utilizes them as protection from fish predators, including allopatric predators, more efficiently than other amphipods. Therefore, the presence of dreissenids in areas invaded by D. villosus is likely to help the invader establish itself in a new place.

Highlights

Gregarious bivalves often act as ecosystem engineers, exerting a multidirectional impact upon their environment by filtering suspended particles and increasing substratum heterogeneity (Karatayev et al 2002)
We used gammarids differing in their origin and level of association with mussels: Ponto-Caspian aliens Dikerogammarus villosus and Pontogammarus robustoides, as well as native European Gammarus fossarum
This set of organisms allowed us to check whether the origin and level of association with mussels of both prey and predators affect the ability of gammarids to utilize zebra mussel beds as shelters

Summary

Introduction

Gregarious bivalves often act as ecosystem engineers, exerting a multidirectional impact upon their environment by filtering suspended particles and increasing substratum heterogeneity (Karatayev et al 2002). Other alien organisms originating from the Ponto-Caspian region may benefit from the presence of zebra mussels in newly invaded areas (Ricciardi 2001; Gonzalez and Burkart 2004) and increase their invasive potential in accordance with the invasional meltdown hypothesis (Simberloff and Von Holle 1999). This hypothesis states that the number and overall strength of positive interactions among invasive species, those originating from the same region, are greater than those of negative associations among them, which contributes to their invasion success. Existing evidence shows that native species can benefit from zebra mussel habitats (Stewart et al 1999; Kestrup and Ricciardi 2009; DeVanna et al 2011), leaving the question on the role of this bivalve in the invasional meltdown phenomenon open

Methods

Results

Conclusion