Adaptive responses in Cypridopsis vidua (Crustacea: Ostracoda) to food and shelter offered by a macrophyte (Chara fragilis) |
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Authors: | J R Roca A Baltanas F Uiblein |
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Institution: | (1) Institut d'Investigacions d'Alta Muntanya (Univ. Barcelona), Apdo. 21, E-25530 Vielha (Lleida), Spain;(2) Centro de Investigaciones del Agua. CSIC, La Poveda, E-28500 Arganda del Rey (Madrid), Spain;(3) Institut für Limnologie, A-5310 Gaisberg 116;(4) Institut für Vergleichende Verhaltensforschung der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Savoyenstr. 1A, A-1160 Wien, Austria |
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Abstract: | The ostracod Cypridopsis vidua prefers periphyton growing on Chara fragilis to other feeding substrates. This species actively searches for periphyton, scrapes it off from Chara stems and handles it with a well organized feeding technique. When exposed to different quantities of periphyton on Chara stems, C. vidua selects foraging sites according to their nutritional value. When exposed to low quantities of water from tanks containing fish, C. vidua responds to these weak chemical cues moving from uncovered areas into Chara plants. Experiments with juvenile cyprinids (Abramis brama) as predators and C. vidua as prey clearly showed that the presence of Chara reduces fish foraging success and that C. vidua survival rate increases with increasing density of Chara. |
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Keywords: | Feeding behaviour predator avoidance chemical cues perceptual capacity Abramis brama |
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