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首页> 外文OA文献 >Crayfish: Scavenger or deadly predator? Examining a potential predator-prey relationship between crayfish and benthic fish in aquatic food webs
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Crayfish: Scavenger or deadly predator? Examining a potential predator-prey relationship between crayfish and benthic fish in aquatic food webs

机译：小龙虾：清道夫还是致命的捕食者？检查水生食物网中小龙虾和底栖鱼之间潜在的捕食者 - 猎物关系

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摘要

Benthic food webs are complex and often poorly understood. Crayfish in particular play a key role in the transfer of energy to higher trophic levels, and can constitute the highest proportion of benthic invertebrate biomass in an aquatic system. Commonly referred to as a keystone species, crayfish are seen as ecologically important for their consumption of detritus and algal material, as well as for their role as a common prey item for over 200 North American animal species. More recently, crayfish have been recognized as obligatory carnivores, but studying crayfish as a potential predator of benthic fish in lotic systems, where they co-occur, has yet to be addressed. Competition exists between crayfish and Percid benthic fish in Illinois streams, for food resources and refuge from larger predators. Previous research, though, has ignored a potential predator-prey interaction between these two groups. I examined a possible relationship between crayfish and benthic fish populations, by both quantifying natural densities of both taxa and using enclosure/exclosure experiments. Data obtained from sampling Illinois streams showed that increased crayfish density correlates with decreased fish density, and this relationship is more pronounced in sites that have established populations of invasive crayfish. Additional data from manipulated in-stream enclosure/exclosure experiments examining the relationship between crayfish density and fish mortality from predation showed an occurrence of predation in all crayfish treatments, with the highest overall fish mortality occurring in the low density crayfish treatment. Finally, controlled tank experiments were performed to provide formal evidence that crayfish are capable of actively killing and consuming benthic fish. The results of this research provide novel insight into the complex and vital role of crayfish in aquatic food webs. This research also has important management and conservation implications, suggesting that streams that contain invasive crayfish might see a decline in native benthic fish biodiversity.
机译：底栖食物网非常复杂，而且人们对其了解很少。小龙虾尤其在能量向较高营养级的转移中起关键作用，并且可以构成水生系统中底栖无脊椎动物生物量的最高比例。小龙虾通常被称为基石种，在生态上很重要，因为它们消耗碎屑和藻类物质，并作为200多种北美动物的常见猎物而发挥作用。最近，小龙虾被公认为是强制性的食肉动物，但在小龙虾共同存在的抽水系统中研究小龙虾作为底栖鱼类的潜在掠食者尚待解决。伊利诺伊州小河中的小龙虾和Percid底栖鱼类之间存在竞争，争夺食物资源和大型捕食者的庇护所。但是，先前的研究忽略了这两个群体之间潜在的食肉动物与猎物之间的相互作用。我通过量化两个类群的自然密度和使用围网/围网实验研究了小龙虾和底栖鱼类种群之间的可能关系。从伊利诺伊州河流采样获得的数据表明，小龙虾密度的增加与鱼密度的降低有关，这种关系在已建立侵入性小龙虾种群的地点更为明显。检查小龙虾密度与捕食引起的鱼类死亡率之间关系的受控河内围捕/封闭实验的其他数据显示，在所有小龙虾处理中均发生捕食，而在低密度小龙虾处理中总鱼类死亡率最高。最后，进行了受控罐实验以提供正式证据，证明小龙虾能够主动杀死和食用底栖鱼类。这项研究的结果为小龙虾在水生食物网中的复杂而至关重要的作用提供了新颖的见解。这项研究还具有重要的管理和保护意义，表明含有侵入性小龙虾的溪流可能会导致原生底栖鱼类生物多样性下降。

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  • 作者

    Thomas Claire L.;

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  • 年度 2011
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  • 原文格式 PDF
  • 正文语种 {"code":"en","name":"English","id":9}
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