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Meira A, Byers JE, Sousa R. A global synthesis of predation on bivalves. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024; 99:1015-1057. [PMID: 38294132 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 12/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
Predation is a dominant structuring force in ecological communities. In aquatic environments, predation on bivalves has long been an important focal interaction for ecological study because bivalves have central roles as ecosystem engineers, basal components of food webs, and commercial commodities. Studies of bivalves are common, not only because of bivalves' central roles, but also due to the relative ease of studying predatory effects on this taxonomic group. To understand patterns in the interactions of bivalves and their predators we synthesised data from 52 years of peer-reviewed studies on bivalve predation. Using a systematic search, we compiled 1334 studies from 75 countries, comprising 61 bivalve families (N = 2259), dominated by Mytilidae (29% of bivalves), Veneridae (14%), Ostreidae (8%), Unionidae (7%), and Dreissenidae and Tellinidae (6% each). A total of 2036 predators were studied, with crustaceans the most studied predator group (34% of predators), followed by fishes (24%), molluscs (17%), echinoderms (10%) and birds (6%). The majority of studies (86%) were conducted in marine systems, in part driven by the high commercial value of marine bivalves. Studies in freshwater ecosystems were dominated by non-native bivalves and non-native predator species, which probably reflects the important role of biological invasions affecting freshwater biodiversity. In fact, while 81% of the studied marine bivalve species were native, only 50% of the freshwater species were native to the system. In terms of approach, most studies used predation trials, visual analysis of digested contents and exclusion experiments to assess the effects of predation. These studies reflect that many factors influence bivalve predation depending on the species studied, including (i) species traits (e.g. behaviour, morphology, defence mechanisms), (ii) other biotic interactions (e.g. presence of competitors, parasites or diseases), and (iii) environmental context (e.g. temperature, current velocity, beach exposure, habitat complexity). There is a lack of research on the effects of bivalve predation at the population and community and ecosystem levels (only 7% and 0.5% of studies respectively examined impacts at these levels). At the population level, the available studies demonstrate that predation can decrease bivalve density through consumption or the reduction of recruitment. At the community and ecosystem level, predation can trigger effects that cascade through trophic levels or effects that alter the ecological functions bivalves perform. Given the conservation and commercial importance of many bivalve species, studies of predation should be pursued in the context of global change, particularly climate change, acidification and biological invasions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Meira
- CBMA - Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology, Department of Biology, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, Braga, 4710-057, Portugal
| | - James E Byers
- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, 140 E. Green St, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Ronaldo Sousa
- CBMA - Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology, Department of Biology, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, Braga, 4710-057, Portugal
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2
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Moskowitz NA, D’Agui R, Alvarez-Buylla A, Fiocca K, O’Connell LA. Poison frog dietary preference depends on prey type and alkaloid load. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0276331. [PMID: 36454945 PMCID: PMC9714857 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to acquire chemical defenses through the diet has evolved across several major taxa. Chemically defended organisms may need to balance chemical defense acquisition and nutritional quality of prey items. However, these dietary preferences and potential trade-offs are rarely considered in the framework of diet-derived defenses. Poison frogs (Family Dendrobatidae) acquire defensive alkaloids from their arthropod diet of ants and mites, although their dietary preferences have never been investigated. We conducted prey preference assays with the Dyeing Poison frog (Dendrobates tinctorius) to test the hypothesis that alkaloid load and prey traits influence frog dietary preferences. We tested size preferences (big versus small) within each of four prey groups (ants, beetles, flies, and fly larvae) and found that frogs preferred interacting with smaller prey items of the fly and beetle groups. Frog taxonomic prey preferences were also tested as we experimentally increased their chemical defense load by feeding frogs decahydroquinoline, an alkaloid compound similar to those naturally found in their diet. Contrary to our expectations, overall preferences did not change during alkaloid consumption, as frogs across groups preferred fly larvae over other prey. Finally, we assessed the protein and lipid content of prey items and found that small ants have the highest lipid content while large fly larvae have the highest protein content. Our results suggest that consideration of toxicity and prey nutritional value are important factors in understanding the evolution of acquired chemical defenses and niche partitioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nora A. Moskowitz
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States of America
| | - Rachel D’Agui
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States of America
| | | | - Katherine Fiocca
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States of America
| | - Lauren A. O’Connell
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Oortwijn T, de Fouw J, Petersen JM, van Gils JA. Sulfur in lucinid bivalves inhibits intake rates of a molluscivore shorebird. Oecologia 2022; 199:69-78. [PMID: 35486255 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05170-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
A forager's energy intake rate is usually constrained by a combination of handling time, encounter rate and digestion rate. On top of that, food intake may be constrained when a forager can only process a maximum amount of certain toxic compounds. The latter constraint is well described for herbivores with a limited tolerance to plant secondary metabolites. In sulfidic marine ecosystems, many animals host chemoautotrophic endosymbionts, which store sulfur compounds as an energy resource, potentially making their hosts toxic to predators. The red knot Calidris canutus canutus is a molluscivore shorebird that winters on the mudflats of Banc d'Arguin, where the most abundant bivalve prey Loripes orbiculatus hosts sulfide-oxidizing bacteria. In this system, we studied the potential effect of sulfur on the red knots' intake rates, by offering Loripes with various sulfur content to captive birds. To manipulate toxicity, we starved Loripes for 10 days by removing them from their symbiont's energy source sulfide. As predicted, we found lower sulfur concentrations in starved Loripes. We also included natural variation in sulfur concentrations by offering Loripes collected at two different locations. In both cases lower sulfur levels in Loripes resulted in higher consumption rates in red knots. Over time the red knots increased their intake rates on Loripes, showing their ability to adjust to a higher intake of sulfur.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Oortwijn
- Department Coastal Systems (COS), NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg (Texel), The Netherlands.
| | - Jimmy de Fouw
- Department Coastal Systems (COS), NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg (Texel), The Netherlands
- Faculty of Science, Department of Aquatic Ecology and Environmental Biology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jillian M Petersen
- Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, 1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Jan A van Gils
- Department Coastal Systems (COS), NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg (Texel), The Netherlands
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands
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van Donk S, Shamoun-Baranes J, van der Meer J, Camphuysen KCJ. Foraging for high caloric anthropogenic prey is energetically costly. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2019; 7:17. [PMID: 31149339 PMCID: PMC6533676 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-019-0159-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2019] [Accepted: 04/17/2019] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Several generalist species benefit from food provided by human activities. Food from anthropogenic sources is often high in caloric value and can positively influence reproductive success or survival. However, this type of resource may require specific foraging skills and habitat experience with related costs and benefits. As a result, not all individuals utilize these resources equally, with some individuals preferentially foraging in habitats where natural resources of lower energy content are predominant, possibly due to lower energy expenditure of the specific foraging strategy. METHODS Here we investigate whether foraging in habitats which contain high caloric resources of anthropogenic origin is energetically costlier than foraging in habitats with low caloric resources such as intertidal areas or agricultural and natural areas, for example due to increased flight costs, in a generalist seabird, the herring gull Larus argentatus. We use data from GPS trackers with tri-axial acceleration measurements that allow us to quantify time-energy budgets, representing energy expenditure during foraging trips of herring gulls for each habitat. RESULTS We show that the rate of energy expenditure is on average 34% higher when individuals forage for high caloric prey in marine and urban areas compared to foraging for low caloric prey in intertidal and agricultural areas. Energetic estimates suggest that if birds would feed completely on these resources, they have to gather ~ 400 kJ per day more to compensate for the higher foraging costs. CONCLUSIONS Energy expenditure differs among foraging habitat and may thereby influence foraging decisions of individual herring gulls. As management of anthropogenic resources changes, so too may the costs and potential benefits of foraging strategies which are strongly tied to human activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne van Donk
- Department Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
- Department of Animal Ecology, VU University, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Judy Shamoun-Baranes
- Theoretical and Computational Ecology, IBED, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jaap van der Meer
- Department Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
- Department of Animal Ecology, VU University, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Kees C. J. Camphuysen
- Department Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
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Oudman T, Piersma T, Ahmedou Salem MV, Feis ME, Dekinga A, Holthuijsen S, ten Horn J, van Gils JA, Bijleveld AI. Resource landscapes explain contrasting patterns of aggregation and site fidelity by red knots at two wintering sites. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2018; 6:24. [PMID: 30598823 PMCID: PMC6300905 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-018-0142-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Accepted: 11/14/2018] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Space use strategies by foraging animals are often considered to be species-specific. However, similarity between conspecific strategies may also result from similar resource environments. Here, we revisit classic predictions of the relationships between the resource distribution and foragers' space use by tracking free-living foragers of a single species in two contrasting resource landscapes. At two main non-breeding areas along the East-Atlantic flyway (Wadden Sea, The Netherlands and Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania), we mapped prey distributions and derived resource landscapes in terms of the predicted intake rate of red knots (Calidris canutus), migratory molluscivore shorebirds. We tracked the foraging paths of 13 and 38 individual red knots at intervals of 1 s over two and five weeks in the Wadden Sea and at Banc d'Arguin, respectively. Mediated by competition for resources, we expected aggregation to be strong and site fidelity weak in an environment with large resource patches. The opposite was expected for small resource patches, but only if local resource abundances were high. RESULTS Compared with Banc d'Arguin, resource patches in the Wadden Sea were larger and the maximum local resource abundance was higher. However, because of constraints set by digestive capacity, the average potential intake rates by red knots were similar at the two study sites. Space-use patterns differed as predicted from these differences in resource landscapes. Whereas foraging red knots in the Wadden Sea roamed the mudflats in high aggregation without site fidelity (i.e. grouping nomads), at Banc d'Arguin they showed less aggregation but were strongly site-faithful (i.e. solitary residents). CONCLUSION The space use pattern of red knots in the two study areas showed diametrically opposite patterns. These differences could be explained from the distribution of resources in the two areas. Our findings imply that intraspecific similarities in space use patterns represent responses to similar resource environments rather than species-specificity. To predict how environmental change affects space use, we need to understand the degree to which space-use strategies result from developmental plasticity and behavioural flexibility. This requires not only tracking foragers throughout their development, but also tracking their environment in sufficient spatial and temporal detail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Oudman
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel The Netherlands
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9TF UK
| | - Theunis Piersma
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel The Netherlands
- Rudi Drent Chair in Global Flyway Ecology, Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Mohamed V. Ahmedou Salem
- EBIOME Ecobiologie Marine et Environnement, Département de Biologie, L’université de Nouakchott Al-Aasriya, BP. 880 Nouakchott, Mauritania
| | - Marieke E. Feis
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel The Netherlands
- Present Address: Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Laboratoire Adaptation et Diversité en Milieu Marin, UMR 7144, CS90074, 29688 Roscoff Cedex, France
| | - Anne Dekinga
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel The Netherlands
| | - Sander Holthuijsen
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel The Netherlands
| | - Job ten Horn
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel The Netherlands
| | - Jan A. van Gils
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel The Netherlands
| | - Allert I. Bijleveld
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel The Netherlands
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6
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Twining CW, Shipley JR, Winkler DW. Aquatic insects rich in omega‐3 fatty acids drive breeding success in a widespread bird. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:1812-1820. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.13156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2018] [Revised: 08/03/2018] [Accepted: 08/21/2018] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Cornelia Wingfield Twining
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca NY14853 USA
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology 78315 Radolfzell Germany
- Limnological Institute University of Konstanz 78464 Konstanz Germany
| | - Jeremy Ryan Shipley
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca NY14853 USA
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology 78315 Radolfzell Germany
| | - David W. Winkler
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca NY14853 USA
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7
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Marples NM, Speed MP, Thomas RJ. An individual-based profitability spectrum for understanding interactions between predators and their prey. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/bly088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicola M Marples
- Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Eire
| | - Michael P Speed
- Institute of Integrative Biology, Biosciences Building, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool, UK
| | - Robert J Thomas
- Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, UK
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Gommer R, Bom RA, Fijen TPM, van Gils JA. Stomach fullness shapes prey choice decisions in crab plovers (Dromas ardeola). PLoS One 2018; 13:e0194824. [PMID: 29641542 PMCID: PMC5895019 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2017] [Accepted: 03/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Foragers whose energy intake rate is constrained by search and handling time should, according to the contingency model (CM), select prey items whose profitability exceeds or equals the forager’s long-term average energy intake rate. This rule does not apply when prey items are found and ingested at a higher rate than the digestive system can process them. According to the digestive rate model (DRM), foragers in such situations should prefer prey with the highest digestive quality, instead of the highest profitability. As the digestive system fills up, the limiting constraint switches from ingestion rate to digestion rate, and prey choice is expected to change accordingly for foragers making decisions over a relative short time window. We use these models to understand prey choice in crab plovers (Dromas ardeola), preying on either small burrowing crabs that are swallowed whole (high profitability, but potentially inducing a digestive constraint) or on larger swimming crabs that are opened to consume only the flesh (low profitability, but easier to digest). To parameterize the CM and DRM, we measured energy content, ballast mass and handling times for different sized prey, and the birds’ digestive capacity in three captive individuals. Subsequently, these birds were used in ad libitum experiments to test if they obeyed the rules of the CM or DRM. We found that crab plovers with an empty stomach mainly chose the most profitable prey, matching the CM. When stomach fullness increased, the birds switched their preference from the most profitable prey to the highest-quality prey, matching the predictions of the DRM. This shows that prey choice is context dependent, affected by the stomach fullness of an animal. Our results suggest that prey choice experiments should be carefully interpreted, especially under captive conditions as foragers often ‘fill up’ in the course of feeding trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roy Gommer
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
- * E-mail:
| | - Roeland A. Bom
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
- Remote Sensing and GIS Center, Sultan Qaboos University, Al Khod, Oman
| | - Thijs P. M. Fijen
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jan A. van Gils
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
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9
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Dokter AM, van Loon EE, Rappoldt C, Oosterbeek K, Baptist MJ, Bouten W, Ens BJ. Balancing food and density-dependence in the spatial distribution of an interference-prone forager. OIKOS 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.04139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Adriaan M. Dokter
- Computational Geo-Ecology, Inst. for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Univ. of Amsterdam, Science Park 904; Amsterdam the Netherlands
- Centre for Avian Migration and Demography, Dept of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Inst. of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW); Wageningen the Netherlands
| | - E. Emiel van Loon
- Computational Geo-Ecology, Inst. for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Univ. of Amsterdam, Science Park 904; Amsterdam the Netherlands
| | | | - Kees Oosterbeek
- Sovon Dutch Centre for Field Ornithology, Coastal Ecology Team, Den Burg; Texel the Netherlands
| | - Martin J. Baptist
- Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen Marine Research; Den Helder the Netherlands
| | - Willem Bouten
- Computational Geo-Ecology, Inst. for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Univ. of Amsterdam, Science Park 904; Amsterdam the Netherlands
| | - Bruno J. Ens
- Sovon Dutch Centre for Field Ornithology, Coastal Ecology Team, Den Burg; Texel the Netherlands
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van den Hout PJ, Piersma T, ten Horn J, Spaans B, Lok T. Individual shifts toward safety explain age-related foraging distribution in a gregarious shorebird. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
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Oudman T, Bijleveld AI, Kavelaars MM, Dekinga A, Cluderay J, Piersma T, van Gils JA. Diet preferences as the cause of individual differences rather than the consequence. J Anim Ecol 2016; 85:1378-88. [PMID: 27306138 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2015] [Accepted: 05/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Behavioural variation within a species is usually explained as the consequence of individual variation in physiology. However, new evidence suggests that the arrow of causality may well be in the reverse direction: behaviours such as diet preferences cause the differences in physiological and morphological traits. Recently, diet preferences were proposed to underlie consistent differences in digestive organ mass and movement patterns (patch residence times) in red knots (Calidris canutus islandica). Red knots are molluscivorous and migrant shorebirds for which the size of the muscular stomach (gizzard) is critical for the food processing rate. In this study, red knots (C. c. canutus, n = 46) were caught at Banc d'Arguin, an intertidal flat ecosystem in Mauritania, and released with radio-tags after the measurement of gizzard mass. Using a novel tracking system (time-of-arrival), patch residence times were measured over a period of three weeks. Whether or not gizzard mass determined patch residence times was tested experimentally by offering 12 of the 46 tagged red knots soft diets prior to release; this reduced an individual's gizzard mass by 20-60%. To validate whether the observed range of patch residence times would be expected from individual diet preferences, we simulated patch residence times as a function of diet preferences via a simple departure rule. Consistent with previous empirical studies, patch residence times in the field were positively correlated with gizzard mass. The slope of this correlation, as well as the observed range of patch residence times, was in accordance with the simulated values. The 12 birds with reduced gizzard masses did not decrease patch residence times in response to the reduction in gizzard mass. These findings suggest that diet preferences can indeed cause the observed among-individual variation in gizzard mass and patch residence times. We discuss how early diet experiences can have cascading effects on the individual expression of both behavioural and physiomorphic traits. This emphasizes that to understand the ecological consequences of individual differences, knowledge of the environment during development is required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Oudman
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems and Utrecht University, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - Allert I Bijleveld
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems and Utrecht University, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - Marwa M Kavelaars
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems and Utrecht University, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - Anne Dekinga
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems and Utrecht University, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - John Cluderay
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, National Marine Facilities and Utrecht University, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - Theunis Piersma
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems and Utrecht University, Texel, The Netherlands.,Chair in Global Flyway Ecology, Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jan A van Gils
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems and Utrecht University, Texel, The Netherlands
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12
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van Gils JA, Lisovski S, Lok T, Meissner W, Ożarowska A, de Fouw J, Rakhimberdiev E, Soloviev MY, Piersma T, Klaassen M. Body shrinkage due to Arctic warming reduces red knot fitness in tropical wintering range. Science 2016; 352:819-21. [PMID: 27174985 DOI: 10.1126/science.aad6351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2015] [Accepted: 04/05/2016] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Reductions in body size are increasingly being identified as a response to climate warming. Here we present evidence for a case of such body shrinkage, potentially due to malnutrition in early life. We show that an avian long-distance migrant (red knot, Calidris canutus canutus), which is experiencing globally unrivaled warming rates at its high-Arctic breeding grounds, produces smaller offspring with shorter bills during summers with early snowmelt. This has consequences half a world away at their tropical wintering grounds, where shorter-billed individuals have reduced survival rates. This is associated with these molluscivores eating fewer deeply buried bivalve prey and more shallowly buried seagrass rhizomes. We suggest that seasonal migrants can experience reduced fitness at one end of their range as a result of a changing climate at the other end.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan A van Gils
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and Utrecht University, Post Office Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg (Texel), Netherlands
| | - Simeon Lisovski
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds Campus, Victoria 3217, Australia
| | - Tamar Lok
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Post Office Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, Netherlands. Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5175, Campus Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1919 Route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Włodzimierz Meissner
- Avian Ecophysiology Unit, Department of Vertebrate Ecology and Zoology, University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Agnieszka Ożarowska
- Avian Ecophysiology Unit, Department of Vertebrate Ecology and Zoology, University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Jimmy de Fouw
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and Utrecht University, Post Office Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg (Texel), Netherlands
| | - Eldar Rakhimberdiev
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and Utrecht University, Post Office Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg (Texel), Netherlands. Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119991, Russia
| | - Mikhail Y Soloviev
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119991, Russia
| | - Theunis Piersma
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and Utrecht University, Post Office Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg (Texel), Netherlands. Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Post Office Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Marcel Klaassen
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds Campus, Victoria 3217, Australia
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van Gils JA, Ahmedou Salem MV. Validating the Incorporation of 13C and 15N in a Shorebird That Consumes an Isotopically Distinct Chemosymbiotic Bivalve. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0140221. [PMID: 26458005 PMCID: PMC4601768 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0140221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2015] [Accepted: 09/23/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The wealth of field studies using stable isotopes to make inferences about animal diets require controlled validation experiments to make proper interpretations. Despite several pleas in the literature for such experiments, validation studies are still lagging behind, notably in consumers dwelling in chemosynthesis-based ecosystems. In this paper we present such a validation experiment for the incorporation of 13C and 15N in the blood plasma of a medium-sized shorebird, the red knot (Calidris canutus canutus), consuming a chemosymbiotic lucinid bivalve (Loripes lucinalis). Because this bivalve forms a symbiosis with chemoautotrophic sulphide-oxidizing bacteria living inside its gill, the bivalve is isotopically distinct from 'normal' bivalves whose food has a photosynthetic basis. Here we experimentally tested the hypothesis that isotope discrimination and incorporation dynamics are different when consuming such chemosynthesis-based prey. The experiment showed that neither the isotopic discrimination factor, nor isotopic turnover time, differed between birds consuming the chemosymbiotic lucinid and a control group consuming a photosynthesis-based bivalve. This was true for 13C as well as for 15N. However, in both groups the 15N discrimination factor was much higher than expected, which probably had to do with the birds losing body mass over the course of the experiment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan A. van Gils
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, 1790 AB Den Burg, The Netherlands
- * E-mail:
| | - Mohamed Vall Ahmedou Salem
- EBIOME Ecobiologie Marine et Environnement, Département de Biologie, Université des Sciences, de Technologie et de Médecine, B.P. 880, Nouakchott, Mauritania
- Laboratoire de Biologie Appliquée et Pathologie, Département de Biologie, Faculté des Science, B.P. 2121, Tetouan, Morocco
- Parc National du Banc d’Arguin, B.P. 5355, Nouakchott, Mauritania
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Oudman T, Hin V, Dekinga A, van Gils JA. The Effect of Digestive Capacity on the Intake Rate of Toxic and Non-Toxic Prey in an Ecological Context. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0136144. [PMID: 26287951 PMCID: PMC4543589 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2015] [Accepted: 07/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Digestive capacity often limits food intake rate in animals. Many species can flexibly adjust digestive organ mass, enabling them to increase intake rate in times of increased energy requirement and/or scarcity of high-quality prey. However, some prey species are defended by secondary compounds, thereby forcing a toxin limitation on the forager’s intake rate, a constraint that potentially cannot be alleviated by enlarging digestive capacity. Hence, physiological flexibility may have a differential effect on intake of different prey types, and consequently on dietary preferences. We tested this effect in red knots (Calidris canutus canutus), medium-sized migratory shorebirds that feed on hard-shelled, usually mollusc, prey. Because they ingest their prey whole and crush the shell in their gizzard, the intake rate of red knots is generally constrained by digestive capacity. However, one of their main prey, the bivalve Loripes lucinalis, imposes a toxin constraint due to its symbiosis with sulphide-oxidizing bacteria. We manipulated gizzard sizes of red knots through prolonged exposure to hard-shelled or soft foods. We then measured maximum intake rates of toxic Loripes versus a non-toxic bivalve, Dosinia isocardia. We found that intake of Dosinia exponentially increased with gizzard mass, confirming earlier results with non-toxic prey, whereas intake of Loripes was independent of gizzard mass. Using linear programming, we show that this leads to markedly different expected diet preferences in red knots that try to maximize energy intake rate with a small versus a large gizzard. Intra- and inter-individual variation in digestive capacity is found in many animal species. Hence, the here proposed functional link with individual differences in foraging decisions may be general. We emphasize the potential relevance of individual variation in physiology when studying trophic interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Oudman
- Department of Marine Ecology, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, The Netherlands
- * E-mail:
| | - Vincent Hin
- Department of Marine Ecology, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - Anne Dekinga
- Department of Marine Ecology, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - Jan A. van Gils
- Department of Marine Ecology, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, The Netherlands
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Duijns S, van Gils JA, Smart J, Piersma T. Phenotype-limited distributions: short-billed birds move away during times that prey bury deeply. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2015; 2:150073. [PMID: 26543585 PMCID: PMC4632549 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.150073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2015] [Accepted: 05/15/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
In our seasonal world, animals face a variety of environmental conditions in the course of the year. To cope with such seasonality, animals may be phenotypically flexible, but some phenotypic traits are fixed. If fixed phenotypic traits are functionally linked to resource use, then animals should redistribute in response to seasonally changing resources, leading to a 'phenotype-limited' distribution. Here, we examine this possibility for a shorebird, the bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica; a long-billed and sexually dimorphic shorebird), that has to reach buried prey with a probing bill of fixed length. The main prey of female bar-tailed godwits is buried deeper in winter than in summer. Using sightings of individually marked females, we found that in winter only longer-billed individuals remained in the Dutch Wadden Sea, while the shorter-billed individuals moved away to an estuary with a more benign climate such as the Wash. Although longer-billed individuals have the widest range of options in winter and could therefore be selected for, counterselection may occur during the breeding season on the tundra, where surface-living prey may be captured more easily with shorter bills. Phenotype-limited distributions could be a widespread phenomenon and, when associated with assortative migration and mating, it may act as a precursor of phenotypic evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sjoerd Duijns
- Department of Marine Ecology, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, PO Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - Jan A. van Gils
- Department of Marine Ecology, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, PO Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - Jennifer Smart
- Wash Wader Ringing Group, The Old School House, Rhoon Road, Terrington St Clement, Norfolk PE34 4H, UK
| | - Theunis Piersma
- Department of Marine Ecology, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, PO Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
- Chair in Global Flyway Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, The Netherlands
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How salinity and temperature combine to affect physiological state and performance in red knots with contrasting non-breeding environments. Oecologia 2015; 178:1077-91. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-015-3308-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2014] [Accepted: 03/25/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Martin BT, Nisbet RM, Pike A, Michel CJ, Danner EM. Sport science for salmon and other species: ecological consequences of metabolic power constraints. Ecol Lett 2015; 18:535-44. [PMID: 25858695 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2015] [Revised: 03/03/2015] [Accepted: 03/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
For metabolically demanding behaviours, power supply (ATP resynthesis per unit time) is an important constraint on performance. Yet ecology as a discipline lacks a framework to account for these power constraints. We developed such a framework (borrowing concepts from sports science) and applied it to the upriver migration of anadromous fish. Our models demonstrate how metabolic power constraints alters optimal migratory behaviour; in response to strong counter flows, fish minimise cost of transport by alternating between rapid, anaerobically fuelled swimming and holding to restore spent fuels. Models ignoring power constraints underestimated the effect of elevated water temperature on migration speed and costs (by up to 60%). These differences were primarily due to a temperature-mediated reduction in aerobic scope that impairs the ability of fish to rapidly migrate through warm waters. Our framework provides a mechanistic link between temperature-induced reductions in aerobic scope and their ecological consequences for individuals, populations and communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- B T Martin
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106-9610, USA
| | - R M Nisbet
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106-9610, USA
| | - A Pike
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - C J Michel
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - E M Danner
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
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van Gils JA, van der Geest M, De Meulenaer B, Gillis H, Piersma T, Folmer EO. Moving on with foraging theory: incorporating movement decisions into the functional response of a gregarious shorebird. J Anim Ecol 2014; 84:554-64. [PMID: 25283546 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2014] [Accepted: 09/26/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Models relating intake rate to food abundance and competitor density (generalized functional response models) can predict forager distributions and movements between patches, but we lack understanding of how distributions and small-scale movements by the foragers themselves affect intake rates. Using a state-of-the-art approach based on continuous-time Markov chain dynamics, we add realism to classic functional response models by acknowledging that the chances to encounter food and competitors are influenced by movement decisions, and, vice versa, that movement decisions are influenced by these encounters. We used a multi-state modelling framework to construct a stochastic functional response model in which foragers alternate between three behavioural states: searching, handling and moving. Using behavioural observations on a molluscivore migrant shorebird (red knot, Calidris canutus canutus), at its main wintering area (Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania), we estimated transition rates between foraging states as a function of conspecific densities and densities of the two main bivalve prey. Intake rate decreased with conspecific density. This interference effect was not due to decreased searching efficiency, but resulted from time lost to avoidance movements. Red knots showed a strong functional response to one prey (Dosinia isocardia), but a weak response to the other prey (Loripes lucinalis). This corroborates predictions from a recently developed optimal diet model that accounts for the mildly toxic effects due to consuming Loripes. Using model averaging across the most plausible multi-state models, the fully parameterized functional response model was then used to predict intake rate for an independent data set on habitat choice by red knot. Comparison of the sites selected by red knots with random sampling sites showed that the birds fed at sites with higher than average Loripes and Dosinia densities, that is sites for which we predicted higher than average intake rates. We discuss the limitations of Holling's classic functional response model which ignores movement and the limitations of contemporary movement ecological theory that ignores consumer-resource interactions. With the rapid advancement of technologies to track movements of individual foragers at fine spatial scales, the time is ripe to integrate descriptive tracking studies with stochastic movement-based functional response models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan A van Gils
- Department of Marine Ecology, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, PO Box 59, 1790, AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - Matthijs van der Geest
- Department of Marine Ecology, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, PO Box 59, 1790, AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands.,Chair in Global Flyway Ecology, Animal Ecology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies (CEES), University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700, CC Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Brecht De Meulenaer
- Department of Marine Ecology, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, PO Box 59, 1790, AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - Hanneke Gillis
- Department of Marine Ecology, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, PO Box 59, 1790, AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - Theunis Piersma
- Department of Marine Ecology, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, PO Box 59, 1790, AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands.,Chair in Global Flyway Ecology, Animal Ecology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies (CEES), University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700, CC Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Eelke O Folmer
- Department of Marine Ecology, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, PO Box 59, 1790, AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
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