Inferring predator\u2013prey interaction in the subterranean environment: a case study from Dinaric caves

Ester Premate,Cene Fišer,Maja Zagmajster

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-01249-8

Abstract

Predator–prey interactions are among the most important biotic interactions shaping ecological communities and driving the evolution of defensive traits. These interactions and their effects on species received little attention in extreme and remote environments, where possibilities for direct observations and experimental manipulation of the animals are limited. In this paper, we study such type of environment, namely caves of the Dinarides (Europe), combining spatial and phylogenetic methods. We focused on several species of Niphargus amphipods living in phreatic lakes, as some of them use the dorsal spines as putative morphological defensive traits. We predicted that these spines represent a defense strategy against the olm (Proteus anguinus), a top predator species in the subterranean waters. We tested for spatial overlap of the olm and Niphargus species and showed that spined species live in closer proximity to and co-occur more frequently with the olm than non-spined species. Modeling of the evolution of the spines onto Niphargus phylogeny implies coevolution of this trait in the presence of olm. We conclude that these spines likely evolved as defensive traits in a predator–prey arms race. Combining multiple analyses, we provide an example for a methodological framework to assess predator–prey interactions when in-situ or laboratory observations are not possible.

Highlights

Predator–prey interactions are among the most important biotic interactions shaping ecological communities and driving the evolution of defensive traits
Predator–prey interactions are among the most important biotic interactions which control community dynamics[1,2,3], through their lethal outcome for the prey and through a range of other effects associated with the presence of p redators[4,5,6]
We explored an alternative approach for the assessment of the predator–prey interactions using a combination of spatial and phylogenetic methods applied to subterranean species from the Dinarides (Western Balkan Peninsula, Southern Europe) as a study system

Summary

Introduction

Predator–prey interactions are among the most important biotic interactions shaping ecological communities and driving the evolution of defensive traits These interactions and their effects on species received little attention in extreme and remote environments, where possibilities for direct observations and experimental manipulation of the animals are limited. We focused on several species of Niphargus amphipods living in phreatic lakes, as some of them use the dorsal spines as putative morphological defensive traits We predicted that these spines represent a defense strategy against the olm (Proteus anguinus), a top predator species in the subterranean waters. Predator–prey interactions have been extensively studied and the effects of predators on prey are well-documented in many taxa from different c ommunities[1,11,12] These interactions have received little attention so far in communities from extreme and hardly accessible environments, like subterranean habitats or deep sea. We explored its relationship with amphipod crustaceans of the genus Niphargus Schiödte, 1849, which present

Methods

Results

Conclusion