Predation on microcrustaceans in evidence: the role of chaoborid larvae and fish in two shallow and small Neotropical reservoirs

Abstract

This study was focused on the predation upon microcrustaceans by an invertebrate predator (chaoborid larvae), and vertebrate predators (fish), in two small reservoirs in southeastern Brazil, with and without macrophytes, in two climatic periods (dry and rainy seasons). Chaoborus larvae were sampled in the limnetic zone, as they are scarce in the littoral, and fish in both limnetic and littoral zones. Their diets were evaluated by the analysis of the crop (chaoborid) or stomach contents (fish). Chaoborid larvae consumed the dinoflagellate Peridinium sp. or other algae, rotifers, and planktonic microcrustaceans. The fish species that included microcrustaceans in their diets were juveniles caught in the littoral. Aquatic insects, plant fragments, and detritus were their major dietary items, microcrustaceans representing a minor item. Planktonic copepods contributed more to the diet of chaoborid larvae than planktonic cladocerans. Fish preyed on planktonic microcrustaceans, as well as on benthic and macrophyte-associated species. Microcrustaceans were not heavily preyed on by chaoborid larvae and fish in both reservoirs.

Chaoborus; cladocerans; copepods; diet; fish

• Agostinho, A.A.; Gomes, L.C. and Julio, H.F. Jr. 2003. Relações entre macrófitas aquáticas e fauna de peixes. p. 261-279. In: S.M. Thomaz, L.M. Bini (eds), Ecologia e Manejo de Macrófitas Aquáticas. Maringá, EDUEM.
• Ambrósio, A.M.; Agostinho, A.A.; Gomes, L.C. and Okada, E.K. 2001. The fishery and fishery yield of Hypophtalmus edentatus (Spix, 1829), (Siluriformes, Hypophthalmidae), in the Itaipu reservoir, Paraná state, Brazil. Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia, 13(1): 93-105.
• Araújo-Lima, C.A.R.M.; Agostinho, A.A. and Fabré, N.N. 1995. Trophic aspects of fish communities in Brazilian Rivers and Reservoirs. p. 105-136. In: T. Tundisi, C.E.M. Bicudo, T. Matsumura-Tundisi (eds), Limnology in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian Academy of Sciences, Brazilian Limnological Society.
• Arcifa, M.S. 2000. Feeding habits of Chaoboridae larvae in a Tropical Brazilian Reservoir. Revista Brasileira de Biologia, 60(4): 591-597.
• Arcifa, M.S.; Gomes, E.A.T. and Meschiatti, A.J. 1992. Composition and fluctuations of the zooplankton of a tropical Brazilian reservoir. Archiv für Hydrobiologie, 123: 479-495.
• Arcifa, M.S.; Northcote, T.G. and Froehlich, O. 1991. Interactive ecology of two cohabiting characin fishes (Astyanax fasciatus and Astyanax bimaculatus) in an eutrophic Brazilian reservoir. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 7: 257-268.
• Arcifa, M.S. and Meschiatti, A.J. 1993. Distribution and feeding ecology of fishes in a Brazilian reservoir: Lake Monte Alegre. Interciencia, 18(6): 83-87.
• Arcifa, M.S. and Northcote, T.G. 1997. Need for holistic approaches in food web experiments and biomanipulation in tropical lakes: a Brazilian reservoir experience. Verhandlungen der Internationale Vereinigung für Limnologie, 26: 661-665.
• Bezerra-Neto, J.F. and Pinto-Coelho, R.M. 2002a. A influência da larva de Chaoborus brasiliensis (Theobald, 1901) (Diptera, Chaoboridae) na distribuição vertical da comunidade zooplanctônica da lagoa do Nado, Belo Horizonte, Estado de Minas Gerais. Acta Scientiarum - Biological Sciences, 24(2): 337-344.
• Bezerra-Neto, J.F. and Pinto-Coelho, R.M. 2002b. Migração vertical das larvas de Chaoborus brasiliensis (Diptera: Chaoboridae) em um reservatório tropical: lagoa da Nado, Belo Horizonte, Estado de Minas Gerais. Acta Scientiarum - Biological Sciences, 24(2): 329-336.
• Bezerra-Neto, J.F. and Pinto-Coelho, R.M. 2002c. Population dynamics and secondary production of Chaoborus brasiliensis (Diptera, Chaoboridae) in a small tropical reservoir: Lagoa do Nado, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais - Brazil. Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia, 14(3): 61-72.
• Burks, R.L.; Jeppesen, E. and Lodge, D.M. 2001. Littoral zone structures as refugia against fish predators. Limnology and Oceanography, 46: 230-237.
• Burks, R.L.; Lodge, D.M.; Jeppesen, E. and Lauridsen, T.L. 2002. Diel horizontal migration of zooplankton: costs and benefits of inhabiting the littoral. Freshwater Biology, 47: 343-365.
• Câmara, C.F. 2011. Caracterização da comunidade de microcrustáceos zooplanctônicos e avaliação de potenciais predadores vertebrados e invertebrados em dois reservatórios na região noroeste do Estado de São Paulo. Master Thesis, Universidade Estadual Paulista, São José do Rio Preto. 140 p.
• Carvalho, M.L. 1984. Influence of predation by fish and water turbidity on a Daphnia gessneri population in an Amazonian floodplain lake, Brazil. Hydrobiologia, 113: 243-247.
• Casatti, L.; Ferreira, C.P. and Langeani, F. 2009. A fish-based biotic integrity index for assessment of lowland streams in southeastern Brazil. Hydrobiologia, 623: 173-189.
• Castilho-Noll, M.S.M. and Arcifa, M.S. 2007a. Mesocosm experiment on the impact of invertebrate predation on zooplankton of a tropical lake. Aquatic Ecology, 41: 587-598.
• Castilho-Noll, M.S.M. and Arcifa, M.S. 2007b. Chaoborus diet in a tropical lake and predation of microcrustaceans in laboratory experiments. Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia, 19(2): 163-174.
• Dorgelo, J. and Heykoop, M. 1985. Avoidance of macrophytes by Daphnia longispina Verhandlungen der Internationale Vereinigung für Limnologie, 22: 3369-3372.
• Elmoor-Loureiro, L.M.A. and Soares, C.E.A. 2010. Cladocerans from gut content of fishes from Guaporé River Basin, MT, Brasil. Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia, 22(1): 46-49.
• Esguícero, A.L.H. and Arcifa, M.S. 2010. Which is the best environment for the development of the early life stages of fish during the dry season? Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia, 22(3): 1-9.
• Fedorenko, A.Y. 1975. Feeding characteristics and predation impact of Chaoborus (Diptera, Chaoboridae) larvae in a small lake. Limnology and Oceanography, 20: 250-258.
• Fernandes, F.M.C.; Albert, J.S.; Daniel-Silva, M.F.Z.; Lopes, C.E.; Cramptom, W.G. R. and Almeida-Toledo, L.F. 2005. A new Gymnotus (Teleostei: Gymnotiformes: Gymnotidae) from the Pantanal Matogrossense of Brazil and adjacent drainages: continued documentation of a cryptic fauna. Zootaxa, 933: 1-14.
• Hare, L. and Carter, J.H. 1987. Zooplankton populations and the diets of three Chaoborus species (Diptera, Chaoboridae) in a tropical lake. Freshwater Biology, 17: 275-290.
• Hyslop, E.J. 1980. Stomach contents analysis - a review of methods and their application. Journal of Fish Biology, 17: 411-429.
• Iglesias, C.; Goyenola, G.; Mazzeo, N.; Meerhoff, M.; Rodó, E. and Jeppesen, E. 2007. Horizontal dynamics of zooplankton in subtropical Lake Blanca (Uruguay) hosting multiple zooplankton predators and aquatic plant refuges. Hybrobiologia, 584: 179-189.
• Lauridsen, T.L. and Buenk, I. 1996. Diel changes in the horizontal distribution of zooplankton in the littoral zone of two shallow eutrophic lakes. Archiv für Hydrobiologie, 137: 167-176.
• López, C. and Roa, E.Z. 2005. Day-night vertical distribution and feeding patterns of fourth instar of Chaoborus larvae in a neotropical reservoir (Socuy Reservoir, Venezuela). International Review of Hydrobiology, 90(2): 171-184.
• Maia-Barbosa, P.M. and Matusumura-Tundisi, T. 1984. Consumption of zooplanktonic organisms by Astyanax fasciatus Cuvier, 1819 (Osteichthyes Characidae) in Lobo (Broa) Reservoir, São Carlos, SP, Brazil. Hydrobiologia, 113: 171-181.
• Meerhoff, M.; Fosalba, C.; Bruzzone, C.; Mazzeo, N.; Noordoven, W. and Jeppesen, E. 2006. An experimental study of habitat choice by Daphnia: plants signal danger more than refuge in subtropical lakes. Freshwater Biology, 51: 1320-1330.
• Meschiatti, A.J.; Arcifa, M.S. and Fenerich-Verani, N. 2000. Fish communities associated with macrophytes in Brazilian floodplain lakes. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 58: 133-143.
• Meschiatti, A.J. and Arcifa, M.S. 2002. Early life stages of fish and the relationships with zooplankton in a tropical Brazilian Reservoir: Lake Monte Alegre. Brazilian Journal of Biology, 62(1): 41-50.
• Milani, V.; Machado, F.A. and Silva, V.C.F. 2010. Assembléias de peixes associados às macrófitas aquáticas em ambientes alagáveis do Pantanal de Poconé, MT, Brasil. Biota Neotropica, 10(2): 261-270.
• Moore, M.V. 1988. Differential use of food resources by the instars of Chaoborus punctipennis. Freshwater Biology, 19(2): 249-268.
• Moore, M.V. and Gilbert, J.J. 1987. Age-specific Chaoborus predation on rotifer prey. Freshwater Biology, 17(2): 223-236.
• Moore, M.; Yan, N.D. and Pawson, T. 1994. Omnivory of the larval phantom midge (Chaoborus spp.) and its potential significance for freshwater planktonic food webs. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 72: 2055-2065.
• Mumm, H. 1997. Effects of competitors and Chaoborus predation on the cladocerans of a eutrophic lake: an enclosure study. Hydrobiologia, 360: 253-264.
• Oliveira, E.F.; Luiz, E.A.; Agostinho, A.A. and Benedito-Cecilio, E. 2001. Fish assemblages in littoral areas of the upper Paraná river floodplain, Brazil. Acta Scientiarum - Biological Sciences, 23(2): 369-376.
• Pagano, M.; Koffi, M.A.; Cecchi, P.; Corbin, D.; Champalbert, G. and Saint-Jean, L. 2003. An experimental study of the effects of nutrient supply and Chaoborus predation on zooplankton communities of a shallow tropical reservoir (Lake Brobo, Côte d'Ivoire). Freshwater Biology, 48: 1379-1395.
• Pastorok, R.A. 1980. Selection of prey by Chaoborus larvae: a review and new evidence for behavioral flexibility. p. 538-554. In: W.C. Kerfoot (ed), Evolution and Ecology of Zooplankton Communities. London, University Press of New England.
• Pinto-Coelho, R.M.; Bezerra-Neto, J.F.; Miranda, F.; Mota, T.G.; Resck, R.; Santos, A.M.; Maia-Barbosa, P.M.; Mello, N.A.S.T.; Marques, M.; Campos, M.O. and Barbosa, F.A.R. 2008. The inverted trophic cascade in tropical plankton communities: Impacts of exotic fish in the Middle Rio Doce lake district, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology, 68(4, Suppl.): 1025-1037.
• Roche, K.F. and Rocha, O. 2005. Aspectos de predação por peixes em lagos e represas, com enfoque na planctivoria. p. 1-24. In: K. Roche and O. Rocha (orgs), Ecologia Trófica de Peixes com Ênfase na Planctivoria em Ambientes Lênticos de Água Doce no Brasil. São Carlos, Editora Rima.
• Roche, K.F.; Rietzler, A.C. and Rocha, O. 2005. Dieta de Astyanax bimaculatus, Cheirodon stenodon, Serrasalmus spilopleura e Plagioscion squamosissimus em duas represas com ênfase nos indivíduos juvenis. p. 81-92. In: K. Roche and O. Rocha (orgs), Ecologia Trófica de Peixes com Ênfase na Planctivoria em Ambientes Lênticos de Água Doce no Brasil. São Carlos, Editora Rima.
• Sánchez-Botero, J.I. and Araújo-Lima, C.A.R.M. 2001. As macrófitas aquáticas como berçário para a ictiofauna da várzea do Rio Amazonas. Acta Amazonica, 31(3): 437-447.
• Saunders, J.F. III and Lewis, W.M., Jr. 1988. Dynamics and control mechanisms in a tropical zooplankton community (Lake Valencia, Venezuela). Ecological Monographs, 58: 337-353.
• Saunders, P.A.; Porter, K.G. and Taylor, B.E. 1999. Population dynamics of Daphnia spp. and implications for trophic interactions in a small, monomictic lake. Journal of Plankton Research, 21: 1823-1845.
• Souza, F.D.R. and Elmoor-Loureiro, L.M.A. 2008. Cladóceros fitófilos (Crustacea, Branchiopoda) do Parque Nacional das Emas, estado de Goiás. Biota Neotropica, 8(1): 159-166.
• Swift, M.C. and Fedorenko, A.Y. 1975. Some aspects of prey capture by Chaoborus larvae. Limnology and Oceanography, 20(3): 418-425.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  27 Jan 2015
• Date of issue
  June 2012

History

• Received
  23 Apr 2012
• Accepted
  31 July 2012