Diet, food resource partitioning and feeding periodicity of two riffle-dwelling fish species in a New Zealand river

The diets and feeding periodicities of two small, riffle-dwelling fish, the torrentfish, Cheimarrichthys fosteri , and the bluegilled bully, Gobiomorphus hubbsi , were investigated in an unstable, braided New Zealand river from May 1985 to April 1986. Aquatic insect larvae dominated diets of all fish and dietary overlap between species was high in 10 of 12 months. Nevertheless, the relative importance of prey items, as assessed by the index of relative importance (IRI), differed between species. Gobiomorphus hubbsi fed almost exclusively on larval Deleatidium (Ephemeroptera), whereas C. fosteri consumed a greater variety of prey items, with Deleatidium and trichopteran, elmid and chironomid larvae numerically dominant. A dietary switch from Deleatidium to chironomid larvae occurred in both species during December 1985, when total and relative abundances of mayfly and other benthic macroinvertebrate larvae were severely reduced by two consecutive floods. A diel sampling programme indicated that the feeding periodicity of the two species differed: C. fosteri was a nocturnal feeder, whereas G. hubbsi exhibited a strong crepuscular peak in feeding activity. Overall, the two fish partition their food resource weakly by consuming prey items in different proportions and sizes and more strongly by utilizing the food resource at different times.     

Experimental trophic ecology of juvenile largemouth bass,Micropterus salmoides,and blue tilapia,Oreochromis aureus

Synopsis The potential for feeding competition between largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, and blue tilapia, Oreochromis areus, in Lake Fairfield, Texas was evaluated experimentally. Largemouth bass and blue tilapia were grown in cages alone and in combination with each other. The fish were allowed to feed on the natural food within the lake. Largemouth bass grown in combination with blue tilapia were significantly shorter and weighed less than largemouth bass grown alone. Blue tilapia grown in combination with largemouth bass were statistically significantly longer and heavier than blue tilapia grown alone. Largemouth bass grown alone had diets (volume and number of food items) significantly different than the largemouth bass grown with the blue tilapia. Largemouth bass fed primarily on chironomid larvae and pupae, and odonates, whereas blue tilapia consumed vegetable matter, detritus, and chironomid larvae. Length and weight differences between large-mouth bass grown alone and in combination with blue tilapia, in conjunction with the largemouth bass diet shift, support the theory that these two species compete for food resources.     

Diet spectra and resource partitioning in the larvae and juveniles of three species and six cohorts of cyprinids from a subalpine lake

Summary Diet composition based on gut analyses was studied in larvae and juveniles belonging to six (out of eight) age groups (cohorts) of three species of cyprinids (Rutilus rutilus L., Leuciscus cephalus L., Scardinius erythrophthalmus L.) from a small meso-oligotrophic lake in Tyrol, Austria.A basic pattern of ontogenetic shifts of resource use is postulated for the first weeks after hatching, consisting of the sequence: phytoplankton-rotifers-crustaceans-chironomid larvae. However, there are several variations to this general theme.Diet overlap is of about the same magnitude between representatives of different species or different cohorts, and between members of schools belonging to one cohort. This points to the importance of random food selection in all larvae and juveniles during this phase of life.Prey size is a very poor predictor of food choice by young cyprinids, but there is greater similarity in diet between the larger juveniles than between the smaller larvae, irrespective of whether the fish compared represent different species, different cohorts or are members of homogeneous groups.The lack of correlation between prey size and predator size may be explained by assuming that out of a limited range of available prey size the fish always try to include in their diet also the largest items they are able to swallow. This would be a good strategy considering that growth rates are positively correlated with food size.One clearcut interspecific difference in resource use may be noted: The larvae of L. cephalus are distinguished from those of the other two species by the absence of rotifers and nauplii in their diet, and by their greater ability to handle both adult copepods and chironomid larvae.     

PLASTICITY OF JAW AND SKULL MORPHOLOGY IN THE NEOTROPICAL CICHLIDS GEOPHAGUS BRASILIENSIS AND G. STEINDACHNERI

I examined plasticity of jaw and skull morphology induced by feeding different diets in two species of the neotropical cichlid genus Geophagus. The two species possess different modes of development, which affect the size at which young begin feeding. I hypothesized that the difference in size at first feeding could lead to a difference in the amount of change inducible in the two species. The young of the substrate-spawning species, G. brasiliensis, which begin feeding at a smaller size, were predicted to be more plastic than those of the mouthbrooding species, G. steindachneri. The two diets used to induce differences were brine shrimp nauplii and chironomid larvae. Numerous measures of the jaw and skull differed significantly between groups fed the two diets but the amount of plasticity induced was small and would not present a problem for taxonomists. Contrary to my prediction, both the magnitude and pattern of plasticity induced in the two species was similar. Thus, mode of parental care and the size at which young begin feeding do not affect the degree of plasticity. Fish fed brine shrimp nauplii were longer in oral jaw region, but were shorter and shallower in the area behind the oral jaws. An additional group of G. brasiliensis was fed flake food to compare the results of this study to other studies. The differences in measures between fish fed brine shrimp diets and flake food diets were greater than those between fish fed brine shrimp and chironomid larvae. A possible role of plasticity for enhancing rather than retarding morphological evolution is discussed.     

Species co-occurrence, nestedness and guild–environment relationships in stream macroinvertebrates

1. Describing species distribution patterns and the underlying mechanisms is at the heart of ecological research. A number of recent studies have used null model approaches to explore mechanisms behind spatial variation in community structure.
2. However, unexplored questions are the degree to which single guilds of potentially competing stream macroinvertebrate species show: (i) interspecific segregation among-stream sites (i.e. occur together less often than expected by chance), suggesting competitive interactions; (ii) interspecific aggregation (i.e. occur together more often than expected by chance), suggesting similar responses to the environment; (iii) comply with nestedness, suggesting the existence of selective extinctions or colonisations and (iv) show similar environmental relationships.
3. The present analyses showed that guilds of stream macroinvertebrates exhibit non-random co-occurrence patterns that were generally contingent on the weighting of sites by stream size. Despite significant segregation of species, each guild also showed significantly nested patterns. Species richness was correlated with different environmental factors between the guilds, although these correlations were relatively low. By contrast, correlations between the major ordination axes and key environmental variables were slightly stronger in canonical correspondence analysis, and generally the same factors were most strongly correlated with variation in the species composition of each guild.
4. The present findings are the first to show that species within each stream macroinvertebrate guild show significant negative co-occurrence at the among-stream riffle scale. These findings present challenges for future studies that aim to disentangle whether these patterns comply with the habitat checkerboard or the competitive checkerboard explanations.     

Diverse diet compositions among harpaline ground beetle species revealed by mixing model analyses of stable isotope ratios

1. Species diversities of some insect lineages have been attributed to differentiation of feeding habits among species. Our objective was to determine variation in diet composition among harpaline ground beetle species occurring in a riverside grassland. 2. We examined the diet compositions of 14 species from six genera in the spring and 10 species from two genera in the autumn. We performed measurements of nitrogen and carbon stable isotope ratios in consumers and in their potential food items, and estimated relative contributions of different food items with two mixing models, IsoSource and MixSIR. 3. IsoSource and MixSIR software gave similar results, but IsoSource tended to calculate higher contributions of principal food items and smaller percentile ranges than MixSIR. Among harparine beetle species, there were diverse food utilisation patterns among four food categories (detritivorous invertebrates, herbivorous invertebrates, C3 plants, and C4 plants). Detritivores comprised the main diets of abundant harpaline species in the spring, whereas abundant harpaline species in the autumn were primarily herbivores feeding on C4 plants, or omnivores feeding on herbivorous invertebrates and C3 plants. Seasonal changes in food use were related to seasonal changes in the abundance of each food resource. 4. Mixing model analysis of stable isotope ratios is a convenient and effective method for roughly estimating diets of many species with diverse food habits (such as ground beetles). This method can contribute to determining the trophic relationships of related insects in one ecosystem.     

An Ant Mosaic Revisited: Dominant Ant Species Disassemble Arboreal Ant Communities but Co-Occur Randomly

The spatial distributions of many tropical arboreal ant species are often arranged in a mosaic such that dominant species have mutually exclusive distributions among trees. These dominant species can also mediate the structure of the rest of the arboreal ant community. Little attention has been paid to how diet might shape the effects of dominant species on one another and the rest of the ant community. Here, we take advantage of new information on the diets of many tropical arboreal ant species to examine the intra- and inter-guild effects of dominant species on the spatial distribution of one another and the rest of the tropical arboreal ant community in a cocoa farm in Bahia, Brazil. Using null model analyses, we found that all ant species, regardless of dominance status or guild membership, co-occur much less than expected by chance. Surprisingly, the suite of five dominant species showed random co-occurrence patterns, suggesting that interspecific competition did not shape their distribution among cocoa trees. Across all species, there was no evidence that competition shaped co-occurrence patterns within guilds. Co-occurrence patterns of subordinant species were random on trees with dominant species, but highly nonrandom on trees without dominant species, suggesting that dominant species disassemble tropical arboreal ant communities. Taken together, our results highlight the often complex nature of interactions that structure species-rich tropical arboreal ant assemblages.     

First results of a study of the feeding habits of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Synodontis</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">comoensis</Emphasis> (Siluriformes: Mochokidae) in a West African river (Comoé River,Comoé National Park,Côte d’Ivoire)

The feeding habits of Synodontis comoensis (Siluriformes, Mochokidae) have been studied for the first time. Specimens caught in the Comoé River (Comoé National Park, Côte d’Ivoire) had fed on different types of food including insects (Diptera, Ephemeroptera, Hymenoptera, and Isoptera), molluscs (gastropods and bivalves), oligochaetes, and macrophytes. The food items most frequently found in the stomach contents were chironomid larvae, oligochaetes, vegetable detritus, fruit, and gastropods. Correlation studies based on the index of preponderance of food items revealed noticeable variation in S. comoensis diet composition with fish size and season. Preferred food items of young fish were oligochaetes in the rainy season and vegetable detritus in the dry season. Food items preferred by larger fish were fruit and gastropods in the rainy season and chironomid larvae in the dry season.     

Feeding of an Iberian stream cyprinid assemblage: seasonality of resource use in a highly variable environment

Food resource use by seven cyprinids from an Iberian stream was analysed over 9 months. Differences in food resource use were found both between species and within species between seasons. Plant material was a more important food for carp, nase, goldfish and barbel than for gudgeon, roach and chub, irrespective of the season. Chironomid larvae were the staple animal food for the former five species throughout the year. Roach and chub, especially the latter, displayed large seasonal variations in prey use, with chironomid larvae only being important during autumn. Ephemerellid nymphs and ephemeropteran imagos dominated the animal diet of chub during spring and summer, respectively. Dipteran adults and Formicidae were the most important prey for roach during spring and summer, with other common prey being ephemerellid nymphs and hydropsychid larvae. Food resource overlap among the three dominant species (roach, barbel and chub) displayed a large seasonal variation. High overlaps were observed during autumn when these species used the same resources. During summer overlaps were much lower with each species specialising on different prey. The remaining less abundant species had large diet overlaps amongst themselves and with barbel, over all seasons. It is suggested that morphological constraints, habitat partitioning and temporal changes in food resource limitation may be involved in producing these patterns of food resource use.     

Highly Overlapping Winter Diet in Two Sympatric Lemming Species Revealed by DNA Metabarcoding

Sympatric species are expected to minimize competition by partitioning resources, especially when these are limited. Herbivores inhabiting the High Arctic in winter are a prime example of a situation where food availability is anticipated to be low, and thus reduced diet overlap is expected. We present here the first assessment of diet overlap of high arctic lemmings during winter based on DNA metabarcoding of feces. In contrast to previous analyses based on microhistology, we found that the diets of both collared (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) and brown lemmings (Lemmus trimucronatus) on Bylot Island were dominated by Salix while mosses, which were significantly consumed only by the brown lemming, were a relatively minor food item. The most abundant plant taxon, Cassiope tetragona, which alone composes more than 50% of the available plant biomass, was not detected in feces and can thus be considered to be non-food. Most plant taxa that were identified as food items were consumed in proportion to their availability and none were clearly selected for. The resulting high diet overlap, together with a lack of habitat segregation, indicates a high potential for resource competition between the two lemming species. However, Salix is abundant in the winter habitats of lemmings on Bylot Island and the non-Salix portion of the diets differed between the two species. Also, lemming grazing impact on vegetation during winter in the study area is negligible. Hence, it seems likely that the high potential for resource competition predicted between these two species did not translate into actual competition. This illustrates that even in environments with low primary productivity food resources do not necessarily generate strong competition among herbivores.     

Evidence of species interactions within an ectomycorrhizal fungal community

Ectomycorrhizal fungal communities can be structured by abiotic and biotic factors. Here, we present evidence for community structuring by species interactions. We sampled ectomycorrhizas and forest floor seven times during a 13-month period. The presence of various ectomycorrhizal fungal species was determined for each sample, and species co-occurrence analyses were performed. For both ectomycorrhizas and forest floor samples there was significantly less co-occurrence among species within the community than expected by chance, mostly because of negative associations involving Cenococcum geophilum or Clavulina cinerea. For some species pairs, there was significantly more co-occurrence than expected by chance. Both nitrogen and tannin additions to the forest floor altered some interactions among species. The causes of these nonrandom distributions are currently unknown. Future investigations on competition, antibiosis, parasitism and facilitation among ectomycorrhizal fungal species appear to be warranted.     

Spatial and temporal organisation of the pre-dispersal seed predator guild in a perennial legume, Vicia tenuifolia

Abstract.  1. The variability of species combinations and membership assembly patterns in an insect pre-dispersal seed predator guild were studied at various spatial and temporal resolutions using presence/absence and abundance data in null models. The guild consists of seven beetle species (four bruchids and three curculionids) and one moth species that live on a perennial vetch, Vicia tenuifolia Roth (Leguminosae).
2. The seed predator guild varied considerably in the number of members and species combinations in space and time, and, contrary to expectations, there was no evidence of interspecific competition among guild members, supporting the view that other processes, including chance events, could contribute to guild formation.
3. It is concluded that, apart from the possibility of stochastic co-occurrence, it is the narrow host specialisation that constrains seed predator members to participate in the guild, and small differences in habitat preference can also lead to spatial and temporal variation.     

Comparison of fatty acid composition in major lipid classes of the dominant benthic invertebrates of the Yenisei river

The composition and content of fatty acids (FAs) in total lipids, triacylglycerols (TAG) and polar lipids (PL) in dominant groups of benthic invertebrates: gammarids (Gammaridae, Amphipoda), chironomid larvae (Chironomidae, Diptera), caddisfly larvae (Trichoptera) and mayfly larvae (Ephemeroptera) were studied in the Yenisei river. For the first time data on the FA composition of species belonging to Trichoptera (Insecta) are presented. The groups of aquatic insect larvae and gammarids weakly differed in total content of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Hence, the strong invasion of gammarids which occurred in the last decades in the Yenisei river should not result in a decrease in potential yield of essential PUFA in the ecosystem and corresponding decrease in food resource quality for fish in respect to PUFA content. Significant differences in biomarker FAs in TAG were found which correlated to specific food sources. Different levels of long-chain PUFA in PL of the invertebrates are discussed in relation to the genetic ability of particular taxa to form these FAs.     

Habitat selection by chironomid larvae: fast growth requires fast food

1. Sediments have been considered as a habitat, a cover from predators and a source of food, but also as a source of potential toxic compounds. Therefore, the choice of a suitable substrate is essential for the development of chironomids. 2. For the midge Chironomus riparius (Meigen 1804) the growth rate of larvae has often been related to the food quality in sediments rather than to the amount of toxicants in the sediment. Both food quality and sediment-bound toxicants have been reported to determine the field distribution of chironomid larvae. 3. We therefore studied the habitat selection by C. riparius larvae of floodplain lake sediments, differing in both food quality and concentrations of sediment-bound toxicants. We offered the different sediments pairwise to the chironomid larvae in a choice experiment and their settlement in the paired sediments was determined after 10 days. 4. It was observed that larvae showed a clear preference for sediments with higher food quality, which also provided better growth conditions, and that the food quality overruled avoidance of the sediments with higher toxicant concentrations. 5. Our observations correspond with the persistence of this fast growing opportunistic chironomid species in organically enriched aquatic ecosystems independent of the contamination level.     

Resource partitioning in rhinolophoid bats revisited

We assessed the ecomorphological structure of a guild of rhinolophoid bats in a Malaysian rainforest first described by Heller and von Helversen (1989). These authors found that the distribution of echolocation call frequencies used by 12 syntopic species was more even than expected from allometric relationships or in randomly generated communities, and that the observed minimal ratio was greater than expected by chance alone. In this study we were able to expand their guild to 15 species, but in doing so it became apparent that call frequencies might be less evenly distributed across the total frequency range than previously proposed. We replicated Heller and von Helversen’s (1989) analyses with the full 15-species complement but were unable to support their suggestion that rhinolophoid bats exhibit resource partitioning through differences in frequency bands. We adopted a multivariate approach and incorporated measures of body size and wing morphology into the analysis. We used phylogenetic autocorrelation to ensure that the species were statistically independentand principal component analysis to describe the morphological space occupied by the 15 species in the community and four additional species representing the extremes of phenotypic variation. We derived interspecific Euclidean distances and tested the mean values and SDs of these distances against those of 100 guilds of ”synthetic” species created randomly within the principal component space. The guild of Rhinolophoidea was not distributed randomly in multivariate space. Instead we found evidence of morphological overdispersion of the most similar species, which suggests niche differentiation in response to competition. Less similar species were nearer in morphological space than expected, and we suggest this is a consequence of ecological constraints on parameter combinations. Despite this underdispersion, many of the more distant neighbours were evenly rather than randomly spaced or clumped in morphospace, suggesting that, given the environmental constraints on morphology, species in this guild do experience limits to their similarity. Finally, we tested the influence of the relative abundance of species on morphological displacement, and found no evidence that abundant, spatially correlated species reduce interspecific overlap in morphological space. Received: 10 April 1999 / Accepted: 28 February 2000     

Feeding habits of the African bagrid,Chrysichthys filamentosus in a Nigerian lake

The feeding ecology ofChrysichthys, a commercially important freshwater bagrid in Nigeria, is described from a southeastern lake. Over a year period, 779 stomachs were examined. The main food items were chaoborid and chironomid larvae, ostracods, copepods and detritus. Larger fish fed mostly on insect larvae and detritus while the smaller individuals consumed mostly microcrustacea. Feeding intensity was lowest during the height of the flood. There was little diel change in the amount of food consumed. The fish are morphologically pre-adapted for their benthic omnivorous feeding habits.     

Plasticity of fish body shape. The effects of diet, development, family and age in two species of Geophagus (Pisces: Gichlidae)

Fish body shape is affected by the genetic makeup of an individual as well as environmental influences, such as diet, development, growth rate and nutrition. Fishes in the family Cichlidae exhibit tremendous morphological diversity in body shape and morphology related to feeding. Certain aspects of cichlid feeding morphology have been shown to be plastic in response to different diets but plasticity in body shape has not been examined previously. Plasticity affects ecological interactions, the direction and rate of evolution, and has ramifications for characters used in systematic studies. I examined the effect of different diets: chironomid larvae (bloodworms) and brine shrimp nauplii, on body shape in two species of the Neotropical cichlid genus Geophagus which differ in the size at which young begin feeding on external food sources. The fry of G. brasiliensis , a substrate spawner, begin to feed on external food sources earlier than the fry of G. steindachneri , a mouthbrooder. I hypothesized that the difference in size at first feeding could lead to a difference in the amount of plasticity inducible in the two species. The magnitudes of changes were mostly similar, although G. brasiliensis responded to the different diets with slightly greater changes in some of the head measurements. The pattern of changes in the two species were also similar, with fish fed ferine shrimp nauplii developing longer and shallower heads and shallower bodies and tails than fish fed chironomid larvae. I also examined the consequences of considering family and age as additional factors besides diet in G. steindachneri. Considering family or age as additional factors in the analyses did not change the conclusion that different diets induce differences, albeit small ones, in body shape. I argue that morphological plasticity is dependent on behavioural flexibility and that it may enhance evolutionary morphological diversification.     

Food partitioning among carnivores within feeding guild structure of fishes inhabiting a mudflat ecosystem of Indian Sundarbans

The present study was aimed to determine dietary composition and feeding guild structure of the fishes inhabiting mudflat habitat of Indian Sundarbans. In addition, partitioning of food resources by the fish species belonging to the carnivorous feeding guild was also performed to understand the survival strategies of fish in a mudflat estuarine habitat. Seventeen prey categories were isolated from the stomachs of 31 studied fish species. Overall, five feeding guilds (viz. plankti-benthivore: 12 species, herbivore: one species, detritivore: three species, omnivore: one species and carnivore: 14 species) were identified on the basis of the prey abundance within their stomachs, considering 64 % Bray–Curtis similarity. Among the carnivorous, maximum trophic richness was obtained for Uroconger lepturus followed by Ophichthus apicalis. Teleost and decapods were the main animal prey items preferred by majority of the carnivorous fishes. However, O. apicalis and Terapon jarbua showed their preference toward maximum number of prey categories among carnivores, which was also ratified by the high values for standardized niche breadth presented by them. The maximum degree of interspecific dietary overlap was found between Uropterygius marmoratus and Pseudapocryptes elongatus as both of them were recognized as cranci-piscivore. The lowest was observed between Hyporhamphus limbatus and Coilia neglecta. As food resources are not limiting in the mudflats of Indian Sundarbans, the general patterns of resource partitioning and niche differentiation in resident ecological communities will improve the understanding of the mechanisms underlying species coexistence and community structure.     

云南抚仙湖摇蚊幼虫的空间分布及其环境分析

2005年6—7月在抚仙湖共采集到摇蚊科幼虫5属6种,其中花纹前突摇蚊和羽摇蚊为优势种,两者的相对密度之和达94.9%,相对生物量之和达97.5％,其现存量基本代表了抚仙湖中摇蚊幼虫的现存量.全湖摇蚊幼虫平均密度为（275±333） ind·m^-2,平均生物量为(0.642±0.763） g·m^-2.花纹前突摇蚊为全湖性分布,羽摇蚊主要分布在明星鱼洞以南湖区,其他种类为局部性分布.小突摇蚊为典型的深水贫营养型种类,其分布的平均水深达107.2 m.抚仙湖摇蚊幼虫密度分布与水深呈极显著正相关(P＜0.001),与底质和水草的关系为沙砾石底＜沙泥底＜细泥底;水草区＜非水草区.与1980年前后的调查资料相比,摇蚊幼虫的出现率和现存量显著增加,并出现了典型富营养型的指示种羽摇蚊,表明抚仙湖水体的营养水平在提高.     

Longitudinal zonation and food of larval chironomids (Insecta: Diptera) along the course of a river in temperate Canada

The chironomid larvae of the Rouge River, Ontario, Canada, showed a longitudinal zonation which may have been influenced by water temperature and substrate composition. Species of Orthocladiinae predominated in the cooler headwaters while species of Chironomini dominated the comparatively warmer water near the estuary. In the middle section the chironomid assemblage was of a more mixed nature.
Differences occurred in both food availability and feeding between sites along the river. Within genera, there were differences in the proportions of major food items between the larval guts and the available food material sampled from the same area. In most cases (e.g. Cryptochironomus, Polypedilum and Orthocladius ) larvae selected detritus over diatoms. Some genera (e.g. Microtendipes ) changed the proportions of food items ingested seasonally, while others (e.g. Psectrocladius ) exhibited a more stable diet throughout the year. Second instar larvae appeared to seasonally adjust their diet most often (e.g. Cricotopus. Tanytarsus and Eukiefferiella ), however these changes were not just in the types of food eaten, but also in the proportions of food types consumed. Larvae of all genera continued feeding throughout the cold water conditions (<5°C) of winter. Incidence of predation was very low, for example <10% in the Tanypodinae. In the laboratory, species of Chironomini ingested and assimulated, to varying degress, isolated populations of diatoms, detritus and bacteria.