0000000000203772
AUTHOR
Rune Knudsen
From clear lakes to murky waters – tracing the functional response of high-latitude lake communities to concurrent ‘greening’ and ‘browning’
Climate change and the intensification of land use practices are causing widespread eutrophication of subarctic lakes. The implications of this rapid change for lake ecosystem function remain poorly understood. To assess how freshwater communities respond to such profound changes in their habitat and resource availability, we conducted a space-for-time analysis of food-web structure in 30 lakes situated across a temperature-productivity gradient equivalent to the predicted future climate of subarctic Europe (temperature +3 degrees C, precipitation +30% and nutrient +45 mu g L-1 total phosphorus). Along this gradient, we observed an increase in the assimilation of pelagic-derived carbon from…
Consistent isotopic differences between Schistocephalus spp. parasites and their stickleback hosts
Published version available at http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/dao02893 Parasite−host systems show markedly variable patterns in isotopic fractionation: parasites can be either depleted or enriched in 15N and 13C as compared to their hosts. However, it remains unknown whether isotopic fractionation patterns are similar in comparable parasite−host systems from markedly different ecosystems. Results of this study show that large-sized Schistocephalus spp. endoparasites are consistently depleted in 15N (by on average −2.13 to −2.20‰) as compared to their nine-spined stickleback Pungitius pungitius and three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus hosts. The differences between parasites and host f…
Lake size and fish diversity determine resource use and trophic position of a top predator in high-latitude lakes
Prey preference of top predators and energy flow across habitat boundaries are of fundamental importance for structure and function of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, as they may have strong effects on production, species diversity, and food-web stability. In lakes, littoral and pelagic food-web compartments are typically coupled and controlled by generalist fish top predators. However, the extent and determinants of such coupling remains a topical area of ecological research and is largely unknown in oligotrophic high-latitude lakes. We analyzed food-web structure and resource use by a generalist top predator, the Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus (L.), in 17 oligotrophic subarctic lakes…
Introduction of Mysis relicta (Mysida) reduces niche segregation between deep-water Arctic charr morphs
This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Hydrobiologia. The final authenticated version is available online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-019-3953-4. Niche diversification of polymorphic Arctic charr can be altered by multiple anthropogenic stressors. The opossum-shrimp (Mysis relicta) was introduced to compensate for reduced food resources for fish following hydropower operations in Lake Limingen, central Norway. Based on habitat use, stomach contents, stable isotopes (δ13C, δ15N) and trophically transmitted parasites, the zooplanktivorous upper water-column dwelling ‘normal’ morph was clearly trophically separated from two sympatric deep-water morphs…
Interactions between invading benthivorous fish and native whitefish in subarctic lakes
SUMMARY 1. Many species are expanding their distribution towards higher latitudes and altitudes in response to climate change. These range shifts are expected to change fish community structure and alter food-web dynamics in subarctic lakes. However, the impacts of invading species on native fish and invertebrate prey communities remain understudied. 2. The trophic ecology of invasive species determines the likelihood of direct resource competition with native taxa. In Northern Europe, perch (Perca fluviatilis), a trophic generalist, and ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus), a benthic specialist, are expanding their distribution ranges northwards, colonising lakes inhabited by a native generalist,…
Dietary plasticity of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) facilitates coexistence with competitively superior European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus)
– Habitat use and diet of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) coexisting with European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) and grayling (Thymallus thymallus) were studied in one deep and two relatively shallow subarctic lakes in northern Norway. Stomach content and stable isotope analyses revealed clear and temporally stable resource partitioning between the species in all three lakes. Arctic charr had a wide and flexible trophic niche and was the only piscivorous species. In contrast, whitefish and grayling had remarkably stable planktivorous and benthivorous niches, respectively. In the deepest lake, Arctic charr together with grayling mainly utilised littoral benthos, while piscivory was more…
Resource Partitioning in Food, Space and Time between Arctic Charr (Salvelinus alpinus), Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) and European Whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) at the Southern Edge of Their Continuous Coexistence
Arctic charr and European whitefish are considered to be strong competitors in lakes, with the latter usually being the superior species. However, high niche plasticity and lake morphometry may suggestively facilitate resource partitioning and coexistence between charr and whitefish. Here, we explore the trophic niche utilization (diet and habitat use) of charr and whitefish co-occurring with brown trout in the deep and oligotrophic Lake Fyresvatnet, southern Norway (59˚05’N, 8˚10’E). Using CPUE, stomach contents and stable isotope analyses, a distinct resource partitioning was revealed between brown trout and the other two species. Brown trout typically occupied the littoral zone, feeding …
Niche segregation of coexisting Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) constrains food web coupling in subarctic lakes
SUMMARY 1. Generalist fish species are recognised as important couplers of benthic and pelagic food-web compartments in lakes. However, interspecific niche segregation and individual specialisation may limit the potential for generalistic feeding behaviour. 2. We studied summer habitat use, stomach contents and stable isotopic compositions of the generalist feeder Arctic charr coexisting with its common resource competitor brown trout in five subarctic lakes in northern Norway to reveal population-level and individual-level niche plasticity. 3. Charr and trout showed partial niche segregation in all five lakes. Charr used all habitat types and a wide variety of invertebrate prey including z…
Species interactions, environmental gradients and body size shape population niche width
1. Competition for shared resources is commonly assumed to restrict population-level niche width of coexisting species. However, the identity and abundance of coexisting species, the prevailing environmental conditions, and the individual body size may shape the effects of interspecific interactions on species’ niche width. 2. Here we study the effects of interspecific and intraspecific interactions, lake area and altitude, and fish body size on the trophic niche width and resource use of a generalist predator, the littoral-dwelling large, sparsely rakered morph of European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus; hereafter LSR whitefish). We use stable isotope, diet and survey fishing data from 14 …
Cercarial behaviour alters the consumer functional response of three‐spined sticklebacks
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Born-Torrijos, A., Paterson, R., van Beest, G., Vyhlídalová, T., Henriksen, E.H., Knudsen, R., Kristoffersen, R., Amundsen, P.-A. & Soldánová, M. (2021). Cercarial behaviour alters the consumer functional response of three-spined sticklebacks. Journal of Animal Ecology, 90, 978-988, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13427. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by st…
Data from: Lake size and fish diversity determine resource use and trophic position of a top predator in high-latitude lakes
Prey preference of top predators and energy flow across habitat boundaries are of fundamental importance for structure and function of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, as they may have strong effects on production, species diversity, and food-web stability. In lakes, littoral and pelagic food-web compartments are typically coupled and controlled by generalist fish top predators. However, the extent and determinants of such coupling remains a topical area of ecological research and is largely unknown in oligotrophic high-latitude lakes. We analyzed food-web structure and resource use by a generalist top predator, the Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus (L.), in 17 oligotrophic subarctic lakes…