A stable isotope analysis of the dietary patterns of the aquatic apex predator, the African tigerfish (Hydrocynus vittatus)

Stable isotope analyses, specifically δ13 C and δ15 N, are useful tools increasingly used to understand ecosystem function, food web structures, and consumer diets. Although the iconic tigerfish Hydrocynus vittatus is regarded as an apex predator in southern African freshwater systems, little information is available regarding their feeding behavior and how this may change with growth or differ between ecosystems, with most information stemming from stomach content analyses (SCA). The aim of the present study was to address this lack of information through a baseline study of the diet of large and small tigerfish in various lentic and lotic ecosystems in South Africa using stable isotope methods. Fish and various food web components and food sources were collected from two river and two lake ecosystems in South Africa. The δ13 C and δ15 N values for all samples were determined and multivariate analyses and Bayesian analytical techniques applied to determine the feeding ecology of H. vittatus and how this may differ with size and habitat type. Analyses revealed a substantial difference in the type and abundance of food sources contributing to the diet of H. vittatus between ecosystems, most prominently between the lotic systems, where less dietary specialization was observed, and lentic systems where more specialization was observed. Furthermore, there was a distinct difference in diet between small and large tigerfish, especially in the lotic system, indicating an ontogenetic diet shift as tigerfish grow and further supporting previous SCA studies. This is the first study of its kind on the African continent for H. vittatus and the findings illustrate the value of stable isotope analysis in providing in-depth information into the feeding ecology of consumers and how this may differ between size classes and habitat types.

Two emetolite-pterosaur associations from the Late Jurassic of China: showing the first evidence for antiperistalsis in pterosaurs

Knowledge about the pterosaur diet and digestive system is limited, and there is little direct evidence in the fossil record. Here, we report two specimens of the wukongopterid Kunpengopterus sinensis, a juvenile and an adult, from the Late Jurassic Yanliao Biota of China with associated bromalites. Both of these concentrations are identified as emetolites, fossilized gastric pellets. These pellets contain scales of an unnamed palaeonisciform fish, confirming the pterosaur was a piscivore. It probably vomited the pellets, indicating the presence of two-part stomachs and efficient antiperistalsis in both juveniles and adults. Comparing the ganoid scales found in the pellets with those of complete fishes, it was possible to determine that the prey of the smaller pellet is an average-sized individual, while the prey of the larger pellet represents a large specimen. Kunpengopterus sinensis might have preyed on the same fish during ontogeny, with adults being able to feed on larger individuals. This article is part of the theme issue 'The impact of Chinese palaeontology on evolutionary research'.

Prey composition and ontogenetic shift in coastal populations of longnose gar Lepisosteus osseus

Longnose gar Lepisosteus osseus were collected from May 2012 to July 2013 in the Charleston Harbor and Winyah Bay estuaries (SC, U.S.A.). This study examined trends in stomach fullness, described major prey components and their importance in the diet of L. osseus, compared stomach content-based trophic level estimates with the stable-isotope-based proxy: δ(15) N and tested for the occurrence of an ontogenetic diet shift using stomach content analysis and stable C and N isotopes (δ(13) C and δ(15) N). Dominant prey families were Clupeidae, Sciaenidae, Penaeidae, Fundulidae and Mugilidae, with the highest consumption rates in autumn. Trophic levels calculated using stomach contents did not correspond to δ(15) N (P > 0·05). Stomach contents and stable-isotope signatures indicate ontogenetic prey composition shifts from low trophic level benthic prey (fundulids) to higher trophic level pelagic prey (clupeids) as the fish grow between 400 and 600 mm in standard length. Due to their biomass, abundance and top predator status, L. osseus play a significant ecological role in the estuarine community composition, although this effect has often been overlooked by past researchers and should be considered in future estuarine community studies.

Latitudinal and photic effects on diel foraging and predation risk in freshwater pelagic ecosystems

Clark & Levy (American Naturalist, 131, 1988, 271-290) described an antipredation window for smaller planktivorous fish during crepuscular periods when light permits feeding on zooplankton, but limits visual detection by piscivores. Yet, how the window is influenced by the interaction between light regime, turbidity and cloud cover over a broad latitudinal gradient remains unexplored. We evaluated how latitudinal and seasonal shifts in diel light regimes alter the foraging-risk environment for visually feeding planktivores and piscivores across a natural range of turbidities and cloud covers. Pairing a model of aquatic visual feeding with a model of sun and moon illuminance, we estimated foraging rates of an idealized planktivore and piscivore over depth and time across factorial combinations of latitude (0-70°), turbidity (0.1-5 NTU) and cloud cover (clear to overcast skies) during the summer solstice and autumnal equinox. We evaluated the foraging-risk environment based on changes in the magnitude, duration and peak timing of the antipredation window. The model scenarios generated up to 10-fold shifts in magnitude, 24-fold shifts in duration and 5.5-h shifts in timing of the peak antipredation window. The size of the window increased with latitude. This pattern was strongest during the solstice. In clear water at low turbidity (0.1-0.5 NTU), peaks in the magnitude and duration of the window formed at 57-60° latitude, before falling to near zero as surface waters became saturated with light under a midnight sun and clear skies at latitudes near 70°. Overcast dampened the midnight sun enough to allow larger windows to form in clear water at high latitudes. Conversely, at turbidities ≥ 2 NTU, greater reductions in the visual range of piscivores than planktivores created a window for long periods at high latitudes. Latitudinal dependencies were essentially lost during the equinox, indicating a progressive compression of the window from early summer into autumn. Model results show that diel-seasonal foraging and predation risk in freshwater pelagic ecosystems changes considerably with latitude, turbidity and cloud cover. These changes alter the structure of pelagic predator-prey interactions, and in turn, the broader role of pelagic consumers in habitat coupling in lakes.

Piscivores, trophic cascades, and lake management

The concept of cascading trophic interactions predicts that an increase in piscivore biomass in lakes will result in decreased planktivorous fish biomass, increased herbivorous zooplankton biomass, and decreased phytoplankton biomass. Though often accepted as a paradigm in the ecological literature and adopted by lake managers as a basis for lake management strategies, the trophic cascading interactions hypothesis has not received the unequivocal support (in the form of rigorous experimental testing) that might be expected of a paradigm. Here we review field experiments and surveys, testing the hypothesis that effects of increasing piscivore biomass will cascade down through the food web yielding a decline in phytoplankton biomass. We found 39 studies in the scientific literature examining piscivore effects on phytoplankton biomass. Of the studies, 22 were confounded by supplemental manipulations (e.g., simultaneous reduction of nutrients or removal of planktivores) and could not be used to assess piscivore effects. Of the 17 nonconfounded studies, most did not find piscivore effects on phytoplankton biomass and therefore did not support the trophic cascading interactions hypothesis. However, the trophic cascading interactions hypothesis also predicts that lake systems containing piscivores will have lower phytoplankton biomass for any given phosphorus concentration. Based on regression analyses of chlorophyll-total phosphorus relationships in the 17 nonconfounded piscivore studies, this aspect of the trophic cascading interactions hypothesis was supported. The slope of the chlorophyll vs. total phosphorus regression was lower in lakes with planktivores and piscivores compared with lakes containing only planktivores but no piscivores. We hypothesize that this slope can be used as an indicator of "functional piscivory" and that communities with extremes of functional piscivory (zero and very high) represent classical 3- and 4-trophic level food webs.