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Sinclair JS, Fraker ME, Hood JM, Frank KT, DuFour MR, Gorman AM, Ludsin SA. Functional traits reveal the dominant drivers of long-term community change across a North American Great Lake. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:6232-6251. [PMID: 34555234 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Ecosystems worldwide have been impacted by multiple anthropogenic stressors, yet efforts to understand and manage these impacts have been hindered by difficulties in disentangling relative stressor effects. Theoretically, the actions of individual stressors can be delineated based on associated changes in functional traits and these relationships should be generalizable across communities comprised of different species. Thus, combining trait perspectives with community composition data could help to identify the relative influence of different stressors. We evaluated the utility of this combined approach by quantifying shifts in fish species and trait composition in Lake Erie during the past 50 years (1969-2018) in relation to human-driven changes in nutrient inputs, climate warming, and biological invasions. Species and trait shifts were also compared between two Lake Erie basins, which differ in their environmental and biological characteristics, to identify trait responses that were generalizable across different ecosystems versus those that were context dependent. Our analyses revealed consistent species changes across basins, and shifts in feeding and thermal traits, that were primarily associated with altered nutrient inputs (oligotrophication followed by eutrophication). We found no or inconsistent trait-based evidence for the effects of warming and two invasive fishes. Context-dependent trait responses were also evident; nutrient inputs were related to shifts in species tolerant of turbidity in the shallow, eutrophic western basin, which contrasted to shifts between benthopelagic and benthic species in the deeper central basin. Our results reveal the dominant effects of specific stressors on a large freshwater lake and offer a framework for combining species-based and trait-based approaches to delineate the impacts of simultaneous stressors on communities of perturbed natural ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- James S Sinclair
- Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
- Division of River Ecology and Conservation, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Gelnhausen, Germany
| | - Michael E Fraker
- Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - James M Hood
- Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
- Translational Data Analytics Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Kenneth T Frank
- Ocean and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mark R DuFour
- Division of Wildlife, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Sandusky Fisheries Research Station, Sandusky, Ohio, USA
| | - Ann Marie Gorman
- Division of Wildlife, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Fairport Fisheries Research Unit, Fairport Harbor, Ohio, USA
| | - Stuart A Ludsin
- Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
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2
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Allan BJM, Ray JL, Tiedemann M, Komyakova V, Vikebø F, Skaar KS, Stiasny MH, Folkvord A, Nash RDM, Stenevik EK, Kjesbu OS. Quantitative molecular detection of larval Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) in stomach contents of Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) marks regions of predation pressure. Sci Rep 2021; 11:5095. [PMID: 33658658 PMCID: PMC7970838 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-84545-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2020] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Mortality rates in the early life-history stages of fishes are generally high yet identifying the causes remain unclear. Faltering recruitment rates of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) in the Norwegian Sea indicate a need to identify which mortality factors influence larval herring survival. Previous research suggests that increased predation pressure by Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) may contribute to the disconnect between spawning stock biomass and recruitment. To quantify the contribution of predation pressure by Atlantic mackerel to herring larval mortality, two research cruises were conducted within a probable “hot spot” (67–72° N) for intensified mackerel predation based on particle drift simulations. Mackerel stomach contents were analysed for herring larvae content using droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) with a quantitative molecular detection assay specific for herring. The ddPCR results demonstrate clear predation by mackerel on herring larvae and also suggest that the alternative use of visual examination may give misleading results. Our results show that mackerel should be considered a potentially important predator on herring larvae. The quantitative molecular assay presented here shows great promise as an efficient and specific tool to correctly identify and quantify predation pressure on early life-history stages of fishes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bridie Jean Marie Allan
- Institute for Marine Research, 5817, Bergen, Norway. .,Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand. .,Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand.
| | - Jessica Louise Ray
- NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS, NORCE Environment, 5008, Bergen, Norway
| | | | - Valeriya Komyakova
- Institute for Marine Research, 5817, Bergen, Norway.,Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, 7001, Australia
| | - Frode Vikebø
- Institute for Marine Research, 5817, Bergen, Norway
| | | | | | - Arild Folkvord
- Institute for Marine Research, 5817, Bergen, Norway.,University of Bergen, 5020, Bergen, Norway
| | - Richard D M Nash
- Institute for Marine Research, 5817, Bergen, Norway.,Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Lowestoft, NR33 0HT, Suffolk, UK
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Egeter B, Roe C, Peixoto S, Puppo P, Easton LJ, Pinto J, Bishop PJ, Robertson BC. Using molecular diet analysis to inform invasive species management: A case study of introduced rats consuming endemic New Zealand frogs. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:5032-5048. [PMID: 31110660 PMCID: PMC6509367 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2018] [Revised: 12/07/2018] [Accepted: 12/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The decline of amphibians has been of international concern for more than two decades, and the global spread of introduced fauna is a major factor in this decline. Conservation management decisions to implement control of introduced fauna are often based on diet studies. One of the most common metrics to report in diet studies is Frequency of Occurrence (FO), but this can be difficult to interpret, as it does not include a temporal perspective. Here, we examine the potential for FO data derived from molecular diet analysis to inform invasive species management, using invasive ship rats (Rattus rattus) and endemic frogs (Leiopelma spp.) in New Zealand as a case study. Only two endemic frog species persist on the mainland. One of these, Leiopelma archeyi, is Critically Endangered (IUCN 2017) and ranked as the world's most evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered amphibian (EDGE, 2018). Ship rat stomach contents were collected by kill-trapping and subjected to three methods of diet analysis (one morphological and two DNA-based). A new primer pair was developed targeting all anuran species that exhibits good coverage, high taxonomic resolution, and reasonable specificity. Incorporating a temporal parameter allowed us to calculate the minimum number of ingestion events per rat per night, providing a more intuitive metric than the more commonly reported FO. We are not aware of other DNA-based diet studies that have incorporated a temporal parameter into FO data. The usefulness of such a metric will depend on the study system, in particular the feeding ecology of the predator. Ship rats are consuming both species of native frogs present on mainland New Zealand, and this study provides the first detections of remains of these species in mammalian stomach contents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bastian Egeter
- CIBIO‐InBio, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos GenéticosUniversidade do PortoVairãoPortugal
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of OtagoDunedinNew Zealand
| | - Cailín Roe
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of OtagoDunedinNew Zealand
| | - Sara Peixoto
- Faculdade de Ciências daUniversidade do PortoPortoPortugal
| | - Pamela Puppo
- CIBIO‐InBio, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos GenéticosUniversidade do PortoVairãoPortugal
| | - Luke J. Easton
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of OtagoDunedinNew Zealand
| | - Joana Pinto
- CIBIO‐InBio, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos GenéticosUniversidade do PortoVairãoPortugal
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Waraniak JM, Baker EA, Scribner KT. Molecular diet analysis reveals predator-prey community dynamics and environmental factors affecting predation of larval lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens in a natural system. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2018; 93:616-629. [PMID: 29956319 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.13726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2017] [Accepted: 06/13/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
This study utilized molecular tools to quantify the prevalence of predation during the vulnerable drifting larval life-history stage of lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens. How predators, the co-distributed prey community and abiotic environmental conditions (e.g., stream substrata) affected predation levels was quantified. Nightly D-frame drift net surveys were used to estimate the biomass of A. fulvescens and co-distributed prey. Gastrointestinal diet samples (n = 1,140) from 28 species of potential fish predators were collected during electrofishing surveys. Sampling was conducted for 17 days across 2015 and 2016. Based on DNA barcode analysis using sturgeon-specific mtDNA cytochrome oxidase I primers, A. fulvescens DNA was detected in 73 of 1,140 diet samples (6.40%) from 16 of the 28 predator species examined. A logistic regression model was used to analyse the effects of biotic and abiotic variables associated with the likelihood a predator had consumed larval A. fulvescens. Increasing lunar illumination and biomass of larval A. fulvescens increased predation rates on larval A. fulvescens. Higher discharge and greater biomass and proportions of alternative prey decreased predation rates of larval A. fulvescens. Predation rates were slightly higher in habitats with sand substrata. Most predator species preyed upon larval A. fulvescens at similar rates. The study revealed considerably higher incidence of predation on larval A. fulvescens than previous studies had documented using traditional morphological diet analysis. Co-distributed prey and abiotic environmental variables that affected the predation rates of a species of regional conservation concern can inform future management actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin M Waraniak
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
| | - Edward A Baker
- Michigan Department of Natural Resources Marquette Fisheries Research Station, Marquette, Michigan
| | - Kim T Scribner
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
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Sethi SA, Larson W, Turnquist K, Isermann D. Estimating the number of contributors to
DNA
mixtures provides a novel tool for ecology. Methods Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Suresh A. Sethi
- U.S. Geological SurveyNew York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research UnitCornell University Ithaca New York
| | - Wesley Larson
- U.S. Geological SurveyWisconsin Cooperative Fishery Research UnitUniversity of Wisconsin‐Stevens Point Stevens Point Wisconsin
| | - Keith Turnquist
- Wisconsin Cooperative Fishery Research UnitUniversity of Wisconsin‐Stevens Point Stevens Point Wisconsin
| | - Dan Isermann
- U.S. Geological SurveyWisconsin Cooperative Fishery Research UnitUniversity of Wisconsin‐Stevens Point Stevens Point Wisconsin
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6
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Waraniak JM, Blumstein DM, Scribner KT. Barcoding PCR primers detect larval lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in diets of piscine predators. CONSERV GENET RESOUR 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s12686-017-0790-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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McMeans BC, McCann KS, Tunney TD, Fisk AT, Muir AM, Lester N, Shuter B, Rooney N. The adaptive capacity of lake food webs: from individuals to ecosystems. ECOL MONOGR 2016. [DOI: 10.1890/15-0288.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bailey C. McMeans
- Department of Integrative Biology; University of Guelph; Guelph Ontario N1G 2W1 Canada
| | - Kevin S. McCann
- Department of Integrative Biology; University of Guelph; Guelph Ontario N1G 2W1 Canada
| | - Tyler D. Tunney
- Center for Limnology; University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
| | - Aaron T. Fisk
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research; University of Windsor; Windsor Ontario N9B 3P4 Canada
| | - Andrew M. Muir
- Great Lakes Fisheries Commission; Ann Arbor Michigan 48105 USA
| | - Nigel Lester
- Harkness Laboratory of Fisheries Research; Aquatic Research and Monitoring Section; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources; Peterborough Ontario K9J 7B8 Canada
| | - Brian Shuter
- Harkness Laboratory of Fisheries Research; Aquatic Research and Monitoring Section; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources; Peterborough Ontario K9J 7B8 Canada
| | - Neil Rooney
- School of Environmental Sciences; University of Guelph; Guelph Ontario N1G 2W1 Canada
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DuFour MR, May CJ, Roseman EF, Ludsin SA, Vandergoot CS, Pritt JJ, Fraker ME, Davis JJ, Tyson JT, Miner JG, Marschall EA, Mayer CM. Portfolio theory as a management tool to guide conservation and restoration of multi-stock fish populations. Ecosphere 2015. [DOI: 10.1890/es15-00237.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Farmer TM, Marschall EA, Dabrowski K, Ludsin SA. Short winters threaten temperate fish populations. Nat Commun 2015; 6:7724. [PMID: 26173734 PMCID: PMC4518244 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2014] [Accepted: 06/04/2015] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Although climate warming is expected to benefit temperate ectotherms by lengthening the summer growing season, declines in reproductive success following short, warm winters may counter such positive effects. Here we present long-term (1973–2010) field patterns for Lake Erie yellow perch, Perca flavescens, which show that failed annual recruitment events followed short, warm winters. Subsequent laboratory experimentation and field investigations revealed how reduced reproductive success following short, warm winters underlie these observed field patterns. Following short winters, females spawn at warmer temperatures and produce smaller eggs that both hatch at lower rates and produce smaller larvae than females exposed to long winters. Our research suggests that continued climate warming can lead to unanticipated, negative effects on temperate fish populations. Reductions in winter duration under climate change may have negative consequences for ectotherms adapted to seasonal temperature regimes. Here Farmer et al. show how short winters have, in part, caused failed lake fishery recruitment by altering spawning phenology and lowering the quality of eggs and larvae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Troy M Farmer
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, The Ohio State University, 230 Research Center, 1314 Kinnear Road, Columbus, Ohio 43212, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Marschall
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, The Ohio State University, 230 Research Center, 1314 Kinnear Road, Columbus, Ohio 43212, USA
| | - Konrad Dabrowski
- School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, 473D Kottman Hall, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
| | - Stuart A Ludsin
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, The Ohio State University, 230 Research Center, 1314 Kinnear Road, Columbus, Ohio 43212, USA
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Benefits of Turbid River Plume Habitat for Lake Erie Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) Recruitment Determined by Juvenile to Larval Genotype Assignment. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0125234. [PMID: 25954968 PMCID: PMC4425522 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0125234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2014] [Accepted: 03/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Nutrient-rich, turbid river plumes that are common to large lakes and coastal marine ecosystems have been hypothesized to benefit survival of fish during early life stages by increasing food availability and (or) reducing vulnerability to visual predators. However, evidence that river plumes truly benefit the recruitment process remains meager for both freshwater and marine fishes. Here, we use genotype assignment between juvenile and larval yellow perch (Perca flavescens) from western Lake Erie to estimate and compare recruitment to the age-0 juvenile stage for larvae residing inside the highly turbid, south-shore Maumee River plume versus those occupying the less turbid, more northerly Detroit River plume. Bayesian genotype assignment of a mixed assemblage of juvenile (age-0) yellow perch to putative larval source populations established that recruitment of larvae was higher from the turbid Maumee River plume than for the less turbid Detroit River plume during 2006 and 2007, but not in 2008. Our findings add to the growing evidence that turbid river plumes can indeed enhance survival of fish larvae to recruited life stages, and also demonstrate how novel population genetic analyses of early life stages can contribute to determining critical early life stage processes in the fish recruitment process.
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Human-induced eutrophication maintains high parasite prevalence in breeding threespine stickleback populations. Parasitology 2014; 142:719-27. [PMID: 25498372 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182014001814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Anthropogenic activities are having profound impacts on species interactions, with further consequences for populations and communities. We investigated the influence that anthropogenic eutrophication has on the prevalence of the parasitic tapeworm Schistocephalus solidus in threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus populations. We caught stickleback from four areas along the coast of Finland, and within each area from one undisturbed and one eutrophied habitat. We found the prevalence of the parasite to be lower in the eutrophied habitats at the start of the breeding season, probably because of fewer piscivorous birds that transmit the parasite. However, while the prevalence of the parasite declined across the season in the undisturbed habitat, it did less so in eutrophied habitats. We discuss different processes that could be behind the differences, such as lower predation rate on infected fish, higher food availability and less dispersal in eutrophied habitats. We found no effect of eutrophication on the proportion of infected stickleback that entered reproductive condition. Together with earlier findings, this suggests that eutrophication increases the proportion of infected stickleback that reproduce. This could promote the evolution of less parasite resistant populations, with potential consequences for the viability of the interacting parties of the host-parasite system.
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