Mutual predation between and cannibalism within several freshwater gammarids: Dikerogammarus villosus versus one native and three invasives

Dikerogammarus villosus, a Ponto-Caspian species, is known to be a particularly successful invader, and is currently the prevailing invasive gammarid in Southern German large waters. Field observations suggest that D. villosus has replaced the native G. pulex and the invasive D. haemobaphes, also a Ponto-Caspian species, in some reaches of the German Danube. Dikerogammarus villosus is also believed to be the reason why Echinogammarus berilloni, a Mediterranean species, and Dikerogammarus bispinosus, a further Ponto-Caspian gammaridean species, could not build significant populations in Southern German rivers. Because intraguild predation (IGP) is regarded as a major force leading to species displacements, we hypothesized that superiority in predation by D. villosus is responsible for the disappearance or limited occurrence of several native and invasive gammarideans in many reaches of Southern German waters. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a series of laboratory IGP experiments with 1:1 combinations in which D. villosus was allowed to prey on other gammarids and vice versa. We also studied the extent of cannibalism within species. Dikerogammarus villosus was a stronger predator than G. pulex and E. berilloni. However, D. villosus was not stronger in predation than its relatives D. haemobaphes and D. bispinosus, although results with the combinations of D. villosus and D. bispinosus were less conclusive, especially in the female–female combination. Cannibalism rate was high in D. haemobaphes compared with other species. We conclude that superiority in IGP experiments could explain the disappearance of G. pulex and the missing or limited occurrence of E. berilloni since the arrival of D. villosus in Southern German rivers. However, the results of IGP experiments do not explain why D. haemobaphes was displaced by D. villosus in many places and why D. bispinosus could not build significant populations in Southern German waters. Possibly specific combinations between mutual predation and cannibalism or factors other than predation could have affected displacement and occurrence patterns of Dikerogammarus species in Southern German waters.